Exercises to Prevent Surfers Elbow
5 comments| by Ryan HuxleyAs surfers we are obsessed with shark talk, particularly in the Surfbodysoul studio. This prehistoric creature invokes emotions of fear and respect in equal measure.
Placing nationalistic bravado aside, the reality as an Australian surfer is a bare minimum of 1 shark encounter in our board sliding lives. We all have a loose friendship or connection with someone who has been bumped, nudged or gobbled by one of these oversized carnivorous fish. My good friend Dave Pearson was lucky to keep his arm below the elbow after a head on collision with an inquisitive bull shark last year. Thanks to a brave spirit, loving family and a new stick from the team at Tracks, Dave is back ripping. And I can't even begin to imagine the trepidation our surfing brothers and sisters over in West Oz are feeling every time they hit the water.
The only positive I can take from the presence of these predators is that it signifies our broader interaction with a rich marine ecosystem, one literally teeming with breathtaking oceanic life. Just this morning at 'Broken Head' I witnessed a bait ball being aerially bombarded by varieties of gannet and tern, while a large pod of dolphins excitedly herded and devoured the same fish. This was appreciated in between saluting the rising sun on a pristine beach devoid of any rubbish. And the really lovely thing is this scene can be enjoyed on any given day.
Following on from last weeks 'Surfers Elbow: The Causes' below I have outlined 3 stretches (in order of difficulty) to help prevent or manage this nasty injury. Try it out and if it feels good add it to your daily Yoga or fitness regime.
Stretch 1
Start with the elbow bent at 90 degrees and gently pressed in at the side of your torso. Open your palm.
Now gently pull the fingetips and wrist backwards with the opposing hand until a moderate stretch is felt in the forearm muscles between the wrist and elbow.
Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Stretch 2
Start with the elbow bent at 90 degrees and gently pressed in at the side of your torso. Open your palm.
Now gently pull the fingetips/wrist backwards with the opposing hand and begin to straighten or extend the elbow until a moderate stretch is felt in the forearm muscles between the wrist and elbow.
Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute
Stretch 3
Open your palms so that your fingertips are facing back towards you and begin to very gently place as much of the palm of your hand on the table as possible until a moderate stretch is felt in the forearm muscles.
It is important to maintain a tiny amount of bend in your elbows to avoid locking, and keep your knees slightly bent and tuck your belly button in to protect your lower back.
I look forward to seeing you on the mat, or in the water!
Ryan Huxley is the co-founder and program creator at www.surfbodysoul.com, a website that provides safe, effective, holistic, scientific e-book exercise programs catering for surfers of all age, level and experience. Ryan is a qualified Physiotherapist, Exercise Physiologist, Advanced Yoga and Pilates instructor. His list of pro surfing clients includes Fergal Smith, Chippa Wilson, Anthony Walsh, Liz Clark, Paige Hareb, Paul Morgan & Rusty Miller.
Looks like the text for stretch 2 is wrong and the picture for stretch 3 is wrong.
Just a heads-up.
Thanks for the heads-up. Picture 1 was duplicated for picture 3. The correct image is now in place. Text is OK.
Thanks Ryan, this is exactly the info I'm after. My job entails a lot of sitting behind a computer which aggravates it along with the surfing. Double whammy.
Hi Ryan, thanks for the tips. Would holding a 10month old on the same side contribute to the surfers elbow? It feels like I’ve got severe growing pains in my left elbow after about 30 minutes of paddling. I’ll have a crack at the stretches and see how I go.
i have a daily job with computers so i think that has aggravated it, also last year i started using a midlength and perhaps the extra effort to try to duck dive has also affected since pain has become chronic