paragliding study

[pea]

Hope you don't mind me butting in here. I flew with some of you a couple of years ago at lords seat when I was CP+0. Turned up with Brian and Gordon. Gordon took his sump out on the way down and was duly abandoned as we took a lift to East hill.
Anyway I am involved with a study that I would appreciate if you took the time to fill in. It takes less than 10 mins and is querying shoulder pain. please still take part even if you don't experience pain as it balances things out. Feel free to pass it on to neighbouring clubs. This will be coming through the club contact system as well but am very aware that could be by carrier pigeon. cheers P

https://plymouth.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/pa ... -pain-copy

[gary stenhouse]

well filled it in as I have had problems and still do get discomfort when flying in my shoulders

[colin keightley]

Have done that however I have no issues flying it's a different story driving though

[pea]

Cheers guys

[John Wallis]

I've done it as I've got a lot of pain with shoulders and have had several steroid injections lately. What really set my left shoulder off was carrying my own and John Miller's glider down from Buttermere Moss it was a very steep decent and that played havoc and has since :/

Glad to help with the survey

[pea]

Cheers John

[pea]

Will have to run a clinic on launch next time I am up there

[Sad Northerner]

Yep, paragliding related shoulder pain is a definite problem for me so filled it in.... best of luck getting some answers.

Ali

[Gordon C]

Cheers pea, all the best finding a solution

[pea]

Thanks Gordon, unfortunately we have to prove there is a problem before we can begin looking at solutions as no-one has ever looked at this before. All opinions help though.

[ron freeman]

I think the prime cause of shoulder pains when paragliding are.. flying in top end conditions (too windy) Hope this helps (PG instructor)

Enjoyed the survey pea.

[gary stenhouse]

Why would flying in windy conditions have anything to do with shoulder pain?
This has no relevance to shoulder pain, basically shoulder impingement is the common cause as with bodybuilding weight training from over head exercises. Controlling your glider does not change in strong winds.

[ron freeman]

Gary, often I see pilots getting dragged when trying to launch in strong winds (Youtube is full of it..) now since your hands are connected to your shoulders you are now being dragged with the full weight of your body lagging behind you ! I would say the shoulders are taking the strain.. thus eventually leading to wear & tear then leading to shoulder pain

p.s. your then have land ! more pain..

[gary stenhouse]

a few tips on shoulder pain and office workers at the desk try not to lean on your elbows as this was definitely causing some of the problems.

what I find in paragliding if its full on thermal flying very little should pain as contently taken the weight of the deltoids, however this then caused tendinitis in the elbows (golfers elbow). however coastal where you are rarely pulling the strings or smooth ridge soaring is the same.
however when I am getting in lots of hours should get better elbows get worse.

[colin keightley]

Sorry before my operation strong wind ground handling was my thing and your arms and shoulders don't get loaded, these forces are transmitted through the harness to your ass and midriff. One of the main causes of shoulder pain is not supporting the weight of your arms when relaxed. Hence when bed ridden in hospital they will always support your elbows with pillows to prevent your arms hanging on your shoulders.

[Gordon C]

Unfortunately we are all getting older, the most interesting result may come from the age groups

[pea]

Gary is spot on with impingement. Basically we fly in the ABER position (abduction - external rotation) - a position which is used to check for impingement. We then create a sawing motion by active flying. In a healthy shoulder this is no problem but your average 35 year old plus, its not that healthy and often has history of rugby, cycling etc.


I think what Ron was getting at with strong winds may be launch techniques where beginners are trying to force their body forward to get weight over the hang points so they can drive forward. Depending where they find their flexibility from governs how painful this is. Often they end up going into extension and almost doing a forward roll to try and get the brakes higher.

I might find myself taking this further postgrad as the idea of highlighting a problem without at least exploring solutions doesn't sit well with me.

[gary stenhouse]

Hi pea out of interest are you training as a physio or Dr ? I have had some fairly serious injuries so spent a fair bit of time with physios and still am trying to sort out elbows. However should injuries as I had severe inflamed tendons in the shoulder and was my worst injury almost 6 months without sleeping properly. I got huge steroid injection that helped but cam back and ended up with decompression surgery. It took 15 months to become mostly pain free but would never throw anything hard again and stopped trials riding. Both shoulders were not great but I think slouching at a desk started some of this

Cheers gary

[pea]

A physio Gary. I have had my fair share of trauma so have done the practical. I find it helps a great deal, genuinely knowing what the patient is going through. I have been through the whole jabs into the elbows scenario. The blame sat firmly with a mouse and sitting at a desk. At the time I was very active and doing a lot of climbing but sitting at a desk using a computer took me out.

Pain in the elbows, I would always look at posture and shoulder movement, you already say you have had previous shoulder problems.

An easy fix to try is lengthening your brakes, this then moves your flexion extension point but more importantly gives you options, you can take half a wrap and move it up, full wrap and move it further etc.
Acro handles may also help as they can change the tension in the forearm muscles.

For shoulders, you probably feel like you have done every exercise under the sun but have a look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZNVMPamslk

Dean and Tony are very good and explain activation very well. I haven't bought this latest series purely because the lack of professionalism in previous videos drives me mad (the content is solid though).
There is a bit of a gap in healthcare bridging from treatment to preparation for sport, unless you have private healthcare or area member of a top end health club. None of the exercises above can do any harm and can all be done on the living room floor.