As the title says, broken fingers. I can paddle on my left side, my strong side, with full strength. The right side is out of action. I've been sup riding for ten years and my boards feel like an extension of my body, but I've never mastered a 'j' stroke.
anyway, is it possible to surf on the paddlebord whilst only paddling on one side? Has anyone been in a similar situation and overcome it? Thanks in advance.

I can't imagine you won't hit or pressure your fingers in the surf one way or another. They will heal faster if you stick to a more controlled environment like flat water ( that might even end up hurting) where you can perfect your J stroke which you need to have anyway. Finger injuries can often be slow and people tend to not treat them seriously as you would for legs but you should aim to heal them %100 asap and get appropriate medical advice and rehab so they don't take forever or cause problems in future.

colas said..
Like slsurf, I would advise to let the fingers heal.

Maybe just prone surf your SUP boards?

I surfed with an injured thumb, it was doable with some finger braces inside a glove.

Or look how people with one arm SUP, with special paddles or prosthetics.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/One-Arm-Sup-Paddle?page=1

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=137487023586518

Thanks. I watched the video and then went back out and worked out a solution. With the left arm I put the end of the paddle up to my shoulder and then with the other arm I put my hand over the paddle, instead of gripping it, and was able to push the paddle with my palm. It was about 1/4 of the strength. It was enough to turn but not enough to go forward. I then just got parallel to the wave facing the opposite way I wanted to go and when a wave I liked came I turned 270 degrees to catch the wave by starting out in front of the wave.

I still couldn't manage the j stroke. Does the depth of the paddle make a difference and I'm on a 32' wide, Jo wide body, does a 32 wide bord ruin the j stroke a bit?