I Walk on Water: SUP to Heal Injuries

Stand up paddling (SUP) lets me do what I love most: walk on water.
SUP helps me also heal from injuries. In a hit-and-run bike accident, I recently tore muscles in my left thigh plus displaced and broke my pelvis in two places, my left superior and inferior rami bones. SUP gave me a fun way to heal these extremely painful injuries.

Check out the video below:

SUP is fantastic for practicing all the components of walking, also known as gait. In the above video, I demonstrated a traditional gait by walking up and down on my SUP board. In the video below, I showcase stay-in-place walking. Look at how I bend and straighten my knees, fully rotate my torso, and swing my arms, as if I were walking in place on land. 

Lastly, I used an advanced SUP turn to progress the intensity of my SUP training and specifically challenge my injured muscles. It also helped me enhance my coordination, balance and SUP paddling. 

N. Raine O’Connor
Ambassador of Yoga, Pilates, and Sensational Fitness
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Author of Rescued by My Breath