When it’s gone… Forcibly benched through SUP injury.

The old saying: ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’ certainly rings true if you’re a SUP obsessed type that injury suddenly befalls. For any regular paddler (or watersports nut in general), who’s used to being afloat often, injury can be a real pain! And that’s both in the traditional sense of the word as well as being frustrating. We should clarify that when we’re talking ‘injury’ we’re not on about life threatening types. Minor injuries are what we’re discussing here.

SUP injuries and niggles.

Injuries caused from paddling – muscular, strain and so on – can be all too common. These niggles can be prohibitive rather than disable the paddler fully. There no less uncomfortable, and often painful. Sometimes chronically – especially if the injury’s recurring (which it can often be with sports like stand up paddle boarding.

Other injuries that happen freakily, such as lacerations, can also be extremely uncomfortable and do their level best to keep riders off games. It may seem like eons in the moment but a period of no activity isn’t always a bad thing. Even if it’s extremely annoying.

Benched!

Those truly bitten by the SUP and watersports bug can often be the types that can’t sit still. Constantly on the move and needing to be active a niggling injury that ‘benches the player’ is 100% groan inducing. What’s a keen paddler to do when sitting on the side lines?

We’ve seen it recently where a rider on the water daily ended up filleting the sole of their foot after sliding across a sharp reef. 8 stitches later it’s no water time for a while which we know will cause immense frustration for the person in question. But what can you?

Injury avoidance.

There are steps to be taken for avoiding some SUP related injuries. Warming up before going afloat can see muscles and joints subtle and loose. There’s still no guarantee you won’t break yourself but this does reduce the risk.

As per the example given above, if you’re going to be riding anywhere near rocks a reek then wearing more attire could be a good move. Thicker wetsuits or layers and boots will reduce the probability of shredding skin on rocks. But we appreciate (as is the case with subject A) not everyone’s comfortable wearing multiple layers.

Stand up paddle boarding – whichever way you look at it – carries some degree of risk. The actual act of paddling itself, as well as things like launching and landing can put the rider in certain ‘situations’. But and large, however, we can all avoid scrapes and damaging our bodies. If you should be unlucky to pick up a knock, however, then resting up until fitness and health returns won’t be too long! Honest, it’ll be a period of time that’ll pass quicker than you can blink. In the meantime why not gen up on your SUP knowledge and glean even more info about the sport you love?

What are your top tips for recovering from niggling SUP injuries?