Tag Archives: Knee

It Takes a Village

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kneeAs March delivers more daylight and some warmer weather, we’re back on the water more often these days. Having survived this much of ski season with knees in pretty good shape, it was a surprise when I managed to make them sore when paddling. As a precaution, since a few meniscus surgeries indicate I have very little cushion and some arthritis in the old knees, I had some injectable medication called hyaluronan delivered. It is a once a week procedure over 3 weeks (ouch!)

Using some GoPro footage (which should be done again from the back-of-the-paddler view) I was able to share my technique with some experts kind enough to provide suggestions.  I tired out the very good advice from Karen Wrenn, Naish team rider,  over the weekend.  With knee braces on, a more narrow stance and full attention on keeping my torso rotation a bit higher toward the upper ribs I had a great time!  The entire process of awareness and concentration almost made me miss the awesome sun on water and mild breezes, but not quite.

Keeping my knees tracking more forward really seemed to make a difference in my ability to “drive power through the board” for consistent acceleration. Karen mentioned that I might expect more after exercise soreness in the upper ribs area when i was getting the rotation closer to what might be ideal. I can vouch for that – in a good way.

bridget

Bridget Fitzpatrick Evans joyfully shares yoga with us bright and early in the morning.

Even greater reinforcement of how a body could be gently nudged toward a new (and hopefully, better) technique came with my 6 am yoga class at Groove Yoga Bend this morning. We were going through our moving-breathing-meditation led by Bridget Evans and we were deep into Warrior Two when I noticed a light “coaching” toward moving hips to the side as arms pointed forward and back. With another barely noticeable touch, Bridget coaxed my thigh to bend just a bit more toward parallel with the ground – and “LIGHT BULB!”

It might have been 1/16th of an inch more of a torso rotation, but I caught a twinge of that upper rib exertion from the paddling and my hips moved a bit more – and there was the reminder. If patience and awareness team up, even a tough old body can learn to move in new (and more effective) ways.  A little shaky and really sweaty insight.

Later as we moved into single pigeon, I babied my left knee and did a variation on my back. My cooler and healthier right knee found its way into the pose a bit easier.  Breathing in and then breathing out and deepening the pose I was feeling really good about how it was all settling in. Maybe Bridget noticed some tense areas that were holding me back – who knows. Whatever, she appeared at just the right time and managed to relax some large back muscles, some teeny neck muscles and gently coax a bit more deepening of the stretch.  Wow! it was such an easy transition, and reinforced hope.

Consistent practice and listening to one’s own body – partnered with professional advice – can make training an adventure and a journey.  I guess the take away is paying attention – what do you think?  We welcome your comments, e-mail and insights.

SUP MUSE: Karen Wrenn

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There are many meaning of “muse” – both as a noun and as a verb. One meaning I like is describing a muse as an inspiration, a catalyst for change. We can have many muses on our journey in life, in sport and adventure. Karen Wrenn inspires many  – an active “verb” of a person. She’s also a true catalyst for change. Do you want to be better at something and reach new goals? I know I do, and I know that I can do it better when a muse helps along the way. Karen, Naish team rider, seems to always be on the move sharing her spirit and aloha for standup paddling.

KIALOA captured the determination and drive that Karen Wrenn harnesses during winter training

KIALOA captured the determination and drive that Karen Wrenn harnesses during winter training

Ask a busy person! I did, and Karen generously shared some time and insights. First, some background: Few are more busy than Karen – wife, mother, friend, athlete, teacher and SUP superwoman. We all know that honing our skills and keeping whatever our personal “athletic edge” might be is a full-time effort. In the cold and wet Pacific Northwest, staying trained and motivated takes a bit more psyching up. The recent photo used in a cool ad for KIALOA paddles captures that “brace yourself for a cold an challenging training run” moment perfectly.

I have been less determined to brave the wet and cold through January and February – then March arrived with a few days that shouted “SPRING” with abundant sun and little wind. No question! It was time to head to the Deschutes River and take a few loops. No one else was out that day. It was a visual and sensory wonderland to be gliding up-current and getting cobwebs out of arms, trunk and legs. Luckily, I had my GoPro with the board suction mount. It stayed on solidly and could be shifted from front view to back view easily.

The next day was full of OUCH! I watched the video of my paddle (see above) noticing a strange inward rotation of my knees and a waggle of the hips that seemed out of place. I had just gone through my first of three series of knee injections (yup, the old meniscus has apparently vanished). The last thing I want to do is annoy my knee further. So I sent off the video to Karen for some insights. We had connected at the Naish Gorge Paddle Challenge last year when she encouraged me as I tried the fast and sleek Naish Glide for the first time.

You may want to have your own technique guide do what Karen suggested, film from behind for a better view of body mechanics. The second suggestion was to adjust my stance from time to time. Karen explains, ” One thing I do all the time when something is bothering me is to play around with my stance. I think with a bit of a narrower stance you might not be able to lean the knee in so much Or, possibly a slightly staggered stance might help to. If you haven’t already… play around with that. Try a narrow, try a wider than usual and a slightly staggered stance and see what happens.”

Karen’s next suggestion reinforced my commitment to the twists and stretches of yoga, “Try to also focus on the torso rotation being a little higher making it happen through the rib cage instead of  by your hips. When I am paddling really hard and efficiently I feel sore through my the sides of my ribcage. If the rotation is happening a little higher you might find that your hips stay a little more fixed and that would cause less inward knee movement. It would give you the torso rotation and take it out of so much arms.”

There is no doubt that I will take these few suggestions to the river and to my indoor TRX training. Motivated even more – it’s only 56 days until Ed and I head to Maui, get our Naish 14′ Glides and prep for the Olukai Ho’olaule’a Maliko Run. Yipppeee! And thanks so much for your suggestions, Karen!