Injuries

Its a 12 footer

Sounds like people need to be sailing a trapeze boat with a high boom and low sheets loads ... can you guess what it is yet?

Rick

I've had tendonitis/rotator-cuff problems in both shoulders and related to sailing in different ways.

Right shoulder was never quite the same again after I catapulted into the mast when windsurfing using a harness and landed on my shoulder.  It hurt a lot at the time and for a couple of weeks after, but it has also caused recurrent long-time weakness.

I injured my left shoulder polishing a keelboat. A sailing-related injury if not sailing! I think the problem was that, in order to avoid constantly moving the ladder, I did a lot of the polishing at a stretch, which inflammed the shoulder joint. This took about 6 months to go away, which was tedious.

I've had tennis elbow in both arms - caused by the loads in a split mainsheet and exercises to manage them. But I've had no symptoms for years since.

My answer - rest the elbow a few weeks at least, then start gentle stretching exercises, then finally re-start strengthening exercises+stretching. I suspect that if I'd stretched properly all along (incl after sailing) I'd never have had the problem. And, of course, replace the split main with a 2:1 ! (just as fast in my view - the absolute centrelining of the boom is of dubious benefit - feels powerful, but mostly adds side-force + leeway + induced drag)

Also needed a cartilage op. after twisting my knee on a high-floored boat (self-draining has a price). Subsequently sorted things out with a good regime of all-round (- important to include the sides) knee-strengthening exercises from a good (and they do vary) physiotherapist. Again, I suspect that if I'd done the exercises in the first place, I'd never have twisted my knee and needed an op. After initial a daily sessions, I do them just once a week now and feel pretty bomb-proof.

Curiously, when recovering from the op., straight leg hiking in a Laser actually seemed to help strengthen my muscles. What I'm sure does your knees no good is bent-knee hiking - you're levering the knee joints open against the ligaments...