Recovery from Injury in Paddle Sports

My experience of injury in paddle sports - Tom Robson, Flow Team Paddler

Getting hurt sucks. I’m sure everyone has gotten hurt on the river in some capacity, sometimes it is just a scratch but sometimes it can be much worse. I dislocated my shoulder 7 months ago, it feels like only yesterday when I was sitting on the side of the river cursing at myself for letting that happen. Now it’s not like I am a medical student or particularly accident prone, but I am a professional over thinker which is why I decided to write about my experiences. I was so worried that I would never get back to where I was so I tried to find stories online of people getting back to white water kayaking after injuries and there wasn’t much out there. Logically, I decided this meant I was doomed and would never paddle again. It's obvious now that I was a touch overdramatic, but at the time I was really worried. So while I might not be a doctor, I hope that someone who is worried about their future in kayaking reads this and feels a bit better about their situation.

 
Checking out the river Wharfe through the Strid woods the day before my injury.

So what happened to me? Well, I dislocated my right shoulder on the river. We went to A and E to get it put back in with the aid of A LOT of painkillers. I was told to follow up in the fracture clinic where I would get an MRI to see the extent of the damage. It was bad. My shoulder had already had some issues in the past thanks to my days playing rugby and when combining this with the dislocation, the doctors said surgery was essentially my only option if I wanted to get back to sport. This is when the panic set in. There are so many articles about shoulder dislocation in white water kayaking and the sciencey stuff behind it but at that point, I was more interested in how people got back on the water after surgery. Unfortunately, google did not fill me with confidence.

More than anything injury is a mental game. Firstly, you're mad that you let this happen. I convinced myself that I was a bad kayaker and that nobody would trust me out on the river. Then I convinced myself that I would never be able to get back to the level of paddling I was at before. How can I ever trust my shoulder again, especially in dangerous environments? I didn’t know anyone who had been through shoulder surgery and I quickly became negative about the entire situation. Eventually, I had my surgery and it all went well ,but it was still more time not being able to do much and stressing about my future on the water. I reached out to a couple of people online to see if they had any advice and this was really comforting. People I had never met told me about their experiences with shoulder surgery and that it turned out well for them.

Managing this mental game is tough. You're at a stage where you just have to let your body heal. You can't put your emotions into physio and gym, you just have to wait. This was the hardest part of my recovery so I’d like to offer advice to anyone struggling with the same thing.

Firstly it seems so obvious but anyone of any skill level can make a mistake and get hurt, don’t beat yourself up over it like I did. Learn what went wrong and why this happened and you’ll be a better paddler because of it.

Secondly, reach out to people. This community is so lovely and most people are willing to offer any help when they can. Trying to google for answers will probably do more harm than good so just message people and go from there.

Finally, it is ok to feel however you feel. This period will be tough and it’s ok to get emotional sometimes, reach out to the people that you trust and find the little things that make you happy. Your body will heal and you’ll get back to paddling!

The next step for me was physio. The surgeon gave me the all-clear to start with some more active physio. During this stage, I finally began to feel better about the whole situation because it felt like I was actually in control of my recovery. Sometimes the exercises seemed pointless and boring but it is worth it in the long run. It started off with trying to get range of motion back and then we added a bit of resistance to work the muscles. By 4 months post-operation, I was ready to get back in a kayak. The flat river Thames isn’t the most exciting paddling but it was a step in the right direction and that filled me with confidence. All the advice I can offer here is to take physio seriously. It might start out simple but in a month or two you will be moving some weights and gaining some strength back. Also, celebrate the small wins. For me, it was getting my arm above my head, then being able to lean on my shoulder, and then getting on flat water. It will hopefully keep you positive and motivated like it did for me.

 
Tom back on the water at Lee Valley White Water Centre

Finally, after letting your body heal, working to get some strength back and practising on flat water you will be ready to take on some moving water again. This is where I am now and I finally feel confident that I will get back to running waterfalls and playing on the local sections. I was told that the main reason for getting re-injured is coming back too fast. So work your way up and you will get to where you want to be, just give it time!

Article by Tom Robson