Shoulder Injuries in Young Female Paddlers - Shoulder Injuries in Young Female Paddle

[davebrads]

1) The Brace

As old editions of the coaching handbook will tell you, there are not 2 types of brace (low and high) but 3: low, high, and hanging (see also the

Both low and high: paddle shaft level with lower chest/stomach. Difference is which way up the paddle is, i.e. are the wrists above the shaft pushing down, or below the shaft pulling down. Both these techniques are safe, because if the water wrenches the paddle backwards, the body catches it.

I agree the hanging brace is horrible, but the high brace is definitely the cause of shouder injuries.

In fact I would say that there are a lot more variations of the brace than the three you list, and it depends upon how it is used. A high or low brace is fine as a supporting stroke when surfing stoppers or waves, but neither are particularly useful as capsize-preventing strokes.

The traditional high brace support (or "slap support" as it was taught to me) actually doesn't work as a capsize-preventing stroke, even on flat water, but it is still taught. A nervous paddler capsizes and desperately slaps their paddle on the water, the body continues to fall in leaving the paddle on the surface, and now the arm is raised above the head and the shoulder is vulnerable. I have seen shoulder dislocations occurr exactly this way, including on slow-moving water (at our club site on the Goyt)

The low brace support works fine on flat water, and it is pretty safe. The only problem is that it pushes you back to where you came from, definitely not much use if you are racing, but also not much use if you are a recreational paddler landing at the bottom of a drop.

There is also what I call the "high brace recovery stroke" to differentiate it from the high brace support stroke. This is like a screw roll executed before you are fully upside down, and relies upon the paddler's head being in the water to absorb the shock. It therefore can't be taught to beginners, as they have to be comfortable with their head in the water before it can be taught.

[John Sturgess]

Dave

I was not talking about the effectiveness of the brace - which I would sum up as fine for surfing a stopper, retrograde for breaking in/out, useless for support, where a powerful forward stroke is the most effective - but about its safety; and making the point that it does not matter in safety terms whether the wrists are above or below the shaft as long as the shaft is at stomach or chest height: the danger comes when the inboard hand is above the head, and can therefore be forced back behind the head.

[kendall chew]

I would say the bank based coaches do have to be assessed on technique! If if they are not doing it them selves, they will have to teach it, I would have thought that knowing how to do the techniques you're teaching is nessesary!

Bank based coaches are assessed on their ability to coach the correct technique. However Mike you need to remember what a level 1 coach means, it is an assistant to a level 2 or higher coach. From a UKCC perspective they should never be left unsupervised.

Level One coaches can coach beginner courses on 'very sheltered water' alone, which is the particular example I was refering to!

One other thought; would it be possible for some form of shoulder stability/general conditioning module to be created for coaches?

Mike,

In part, the reason for raising the original question was to establish a need - "Do we need to address the situation". My research will last for about a year and should come up with a plan, which we will then place before the sport.

I am concerned that what we establish will be agreed to by the whole of slalom (and beyond), that the process of change is not just something that is paid lip service to - in other words, something useful comes of it, that it is simple and practical. There is no point coming up with a plan if it is not easy to use. Whilst we are developing a questionaire which will be introduced to the sport later this year, ( the breadth of questions are altering as a result of this forum) we are also looking at research articles to draw some simple practical conclusions.

Kendall.

[jjayes]

One way to avoid straining or popping the shoulder is to keep the pectoral fins short..

[John Sturgess]

Gareth

Disappointing that in a post which denounces Balyi for non-peer-reviewed science you should quote verbatim from a highly contentious web-site article which is not only not peer-reviewed, but anonymous (The Ruff Guides to Sports Development)

'Correct me if I'm wrong but the model was based on an 8 year plan for Alpine skiers' !!! Only on the same basis that Leonardo da Vinci's designs for a helicopter were based on the Mona Lisa! How could a model of what children should be doing at each stage of their development (dictated by their degree of physical maturation) be based on a model of what adult elite athletes should be doing (based on where they are in a double Olympic cycle)?

You ask why Balyi has not published articles in peer-reviewed publications. The answer is that LTAD is not one piece of research, does not claim to be, and could not be: it is a synthesis of all the research on children's physical development in relation to sport that has been publshed in peer-reviewed publications to produce a constantly evolving model which coaches can use. He cites all those references: I did not put them in my post because it would have been (a) too long and (b) rather patronising. But you could start with the research that underpins the Windows of Opportunity: like most of what Tanner, Blimkie, Welsman, Bar-Or and Malina have written (in peer-reviewed publications).

[c2canoeslalom]

John,



I have not quoted anything from a website article. My opinion has been formed from personal research, peer groups from Universities who are pro and con LTAD AND professional coaches (namely rugby, swimming, soccer, volleyball and rowing) as well as a range of lecturers on my MSc course. Hence no reference.



I understand that the LTAD is an evolving model which is underpinned by other people's research which has been brought together for publication. Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour is a model which incorporates Bandura's Self effiicacy theory and has been published by peer reviewed journals. Why not LTAD? Would this not make the model more credible and silence critics? Is there evidence, peer reviewed or not, of an individual (in ANY sport) who has followed the development plan and achieved their 'athletic potential'? i.e. from fundamentals to training to win and winning?

Gaz

[davebrads]

Dave

I was not talking about the effectiveness of the brace - which I would sum up as fine for surfing a stopper, retrograde for breaking in/out, useless for support, where a powerful forward stroke is the most effective - but about its safety; and making the point that it does not matter in safety terms whether the wrists are above or below the shaft as long as the shaft is at stomach or chest height: the danger comes when the inboard hand is above the head, and can therefore be forced back behind the head.

John

The dislocations I have observed have been on the supporting arm. I am not 100% sure how the injury has occurred, and talking to the paddlers involved they have not been able to say precisely at what point the dislocation happened.

This is what I suspect has happened: the paddler finds himself capsizing, and his reaction is to go for a high brace support. Although he has been taught to keep the shaft below the shoulder, because he was caught unawares he was not in the brace position, and by the time he reacts he is already a good way over, and moving fast. He then desperately brings his blade down on the surface of the water, but by this time he is so far over that this results in the supporting arm being above his shoulder, and the impact is transmitted directly to the joint causing the dislocation.

This is only my opinion from observation, and it has always happened very quickly so I can't be positively sure that this is the sequence of events. In the meantime I don't teach support strokes.

[PaulBolton]

My sons just turned 12, learned to roll this winter and trains (with me) regularly on white water. As his ability to undertake support strokes has developed, I have also taught him to judge each situation. If he's in doubt, or the boat is being pushed or accelerated into a position requiring high support, I advise him not to risk it and go straight for the roll. He has good technique but, comparatively, little strength. I think this is prudent in one so young. Also, I'm now 43 and there are certain situations for me too where 10 or 15 years ago I could have supported and stayed upright that today I just take the dunking as I think there's a risk of injury. Paddlers need to be taught that certain situations require discretion in attempting recovery moves, particlarly high braces that twist the shoulder where the load is increasing.

[MikeR]

This is what I suspect has happened: the paddler finds himself capsizing, and his reaction is to go for a high brace support. Although he has been taught to keep the shaft below the shoulder, because he was caught unawares he was not in the brace position, and by the time he reacts he is already a good way over, and moving fast. He then desperately brings his blade down on the surface of the water, but by this time he is so far over that this results in the supporting arm being above his shoulder, and the impact is transmitted directly to the joint causing the dislocation.

Again I think it comes down to being taught proper technique Dave: it is perfectly possible to rescue yourself from being almost upside down with a high brace support (else how could you roll) it's simply a matter of being your body round into the position.

Paul: Part of the problem will be when you don't have time to think 'roll' and impulsively use a brace stroke. Over time things will become more and more impulsive to do (we learn, and cannot co-ordinate all movements consiously).


Concluding: I personally think that we have to teach these high brace supports from the beginning, so that it is the correct technique that becomes the implusive reaction; not the bad technique that people will pick up over time anyway; this is much harder to correct.

[PaulBolton]

MikeR, I agree, but the young and very confident sometimes think they can stay upright from any situation. I'm trying to teach my son that there will be times when discretion is the better part of valour. I've done high braces, felt stress coming on and given it up - sometimes, potential injury can be avoided through awareness and the experience to recognise a bad/highly stressing situation.

[davebrads]

Dave: it is perfectly possible to rescue yourself from being almost upside down with a high brace support (else how could you roll) it's simply a matter of being your body round into the position.

What you understand as the high brace support is what I understood it to be for a long time, but I have learnt that this has very little to do with what the majority of paddlers undertand to be the high brace. I now call it a high brace recovery stroke to differentiate it from the high brace support stroke which is the stroke that is taught to beginners on flat water. Since the high brace recovery stroke depends on the head being in the water to be done safely and successfully, it is not a something you can teach at the beginning, which is why I teach it at the same time as teaching rolling.

[kendall chew]

Dave,

It seems to me that there is a degree of confusion over the naming use of these techniques. With the availability of t'internet should we not be able to produce a visual library of these techniques, both good and bad, in order that good advice might be passed on to the sport as a whole?

Kendall.

[oldschool]

Dave,

It seems to me that there is a degree of confusion over the naming use of these techniques. With the availability of t'internet should we not be able to produce a visual library of these techniques, both good and bad, in order that good advice might be passed on to the sport as a whole?

Kendall.

Excellent idea, but i vote it doesn't get done until summer has arrived!!

[Nick Penfold]

On behalf of Bryan Crookes:

I am not registered with the website but here is a comment in relation to the shoulder injuries in young female paddlers post/thread.

I am a physio who has experience of a number of different sports both from a participation and treatment perspective. Here are a few observations/comments in relation to the shoulder injuries:
I concur that shoulder injuries are likely partly attributable to poor posture.
Poor warm up/training when your body is suggesting you shouldn't are both potential and (in other sports) proven reasons for injuries occuring in training
In relation to the male/female comparison - the shoulder joint is held together by muscles and ligaments. Several comments have been made about muscle balance/imbalance which in paddling is inevitable without specific training of the opposing muscles; both males and females will experience this.
Young girls however experience hormonal changes that boys do not. The hormonal changes affect ligament laxity and this makes the shoulder joint more unstable than it inherently is, increasing the likelihood of injury/dislocation.

[kendall chew]

Bryan,
Thanks for the input. One of the groups of questions we shall be asking is to do with menarche, growth spurt and age of injury. With a bit of luck it will be subtle enough to identify a difference.

Kendall.