I am a useless SUP'er but I try. Try irregularly, that is...
It is good rehab for all my windsurfing injuries.

Anyway, as an idea of skill level I am a bit overweight at 100kg in off season, and have a 10' x 33.5 " JP widebody. I can paddle around all day in 6-8kn and small swell and not fall off. Riding waves I suck, but have caught a few.


Now:

When I started I got sore arches under my feet and then saw tips along the lines of don't clench your toes etc, just relax. I thought yeah that make sense I can feel what I am doign with my toes all clenched up, so I relaxed my feet and it is all good.

Now after not SUPing for a few months, back out on the water and I am fine for 15mins and then feet get a tiny bit numb. Could stay out for ages, but it is there... Seems not to be from tensed up feet.

So after I get off the water it is worse, pins n needles in my feet like when you fall asleep on your arm and if you poke it, it feels dead. Feet not quite so bad, but enough.
I also have discomfort in my sacral area (spine meets pelvis).
This all goes away after 10mins packing up and then driving home (2mins)
Given I have fkd up hip, broken left ankle and suspect knees from windsurfing, and previous (minor) back issues, I wonder if it is not technique when SUPing and perhaps it is a nerve pinch.
On the other hand - it does not last long, so is it normal for unfit useless bastard beginner SUPers?

Anyone...?

try and move your feet around a bit as well while your paddling, it happens to me too when i dont sup regularly

As a fellow big windsurfer (110kegs...still!) turned to SUP for fitness throughout the doldrums (but also hooked on waves now), and I went through that also. All above replies are relevant, especially moving your feet, which is where big boards are good as you can move your feet around a bit. I'd also suggest some stretching beforehand and looking at your stance & technique.

A good piece of advice I got early was that you shouldn't try to pull the paddle back through the water, but try to dig the paddle in and pull your board forward. This engages the hips, lower back and core and will keep blood and warmth going through them throughout the session. You may tire a bit early & get some muscle stiffness the first few times, but as you know, like windsurfing - the more you do it, the better your muscle memory & strength gets.

I typed a really long and detailed reply.
I deleted it.
Keep paddling and your feet will stop hurting.

Hey Mark,without a physical assessment it makes it tricky as it could be any number of things, but a few things you're saying fit with some kind of spinal stenosis. This sounds scary, but it relates to the spaces where your nerves exit the spine. People most often associate pins, needles and numbness with a disc injury. This could be the case, and often it is, but you can have what you're describing from wear and tear on the bones themselves. This wear and tear can make the spaces where the nerves exit narrower, leading to them getting pinched - similar to a disc herniation but not necessarily caused by a disc herniation.What makes sense to me is that when you are standing upright for a while, on an unstable surface - you get your symptoms. When you stop this and even sit down in the car for two minutes, your symptoms improve. The clincher with these positions is that when your spine is bent, the holes where the nerves exit are provided with a little more space, compared to when you are in extension (standing up - with probably some over extension moments from balancing) then these spaces are narrowed.Disc injuries are usually the opposite of this, where symptoms are improved with extended positions and worsened with bending or sitting.Probably worth while getting a scan if these symptoms persist and are limiting your enjoyment of SUP. Then off to a physio for a core strengthening program and advice!

Pain in my feet as described is the same - I am getting out 1 - 2 days per week and about 1 hour into the surf my feet start to ache and they stay the same for the rest of the surf.

Pretty much the same in Summer - although I spend more time in the water - still aching feet. very annoying. I have been too lazy to find exercises as I had put it down to old age - I am also 100kg and certain that 10 - 15 kg less would be fantastic.

The other thing which i don't think has been mentioned yet is, TECHNIQUE!

Get yourself along to a SUP club and make sure you're paddling right. There's heaps of them in WA (as long as you're not too remote) and they're all extremely friendly. Also take a look at some pros paddling, in particular Travis Grant, Danny Ching and Dave Kalama who have the best techniques out there (IMO).

A good tip is to get a friend to video you paddling, as you might not be paddling how you think you are. Curving of the spine etc

Perhaps try wear some windsurfer type boaties with good arch support such as "Vibram five fingers" first, that may alleviate the pain and be a low cost solution.

i have cardio disease and my feet go numb every time i am in the water . get it checked out for you're own safety.

teatrea said..
Don't want to come across as an arsehole , but are you a natural 100kg dude or are you overweight? You would probably find many of your issues would lessen if you lost weight. I blew out to 96kg and had all kinds of aches and pains from my old footy days , sore back hips ect. I lost 10kg and much of those issues have gone , its not that hard you don't need to starve yourself or kill yourself in the gym , its just the little things adding up , like walking more eating less sugary **** ect. Loose 5 or 10KG and you will feel great.

Same experience for me, overweight and lots of pain, lost 10kgs from suping and swimming laps, pain gone. Now just a pleasant muscle ache occasionally to remind me of the kilometers I paddled/swam. The big gut hanging out the front really stuffs up the body. I cut out deep fried food but kept the beer and hamburgers.