Headown and hand position

[edid 0]

Here's one for all freeflyers. I recently received a shoulder injury (torn rotator cuff) from headown flying. My own fault it seems. Using my arms too much and grabbing too much air with my hands. But I have been working on a slower fall rate. Someone at our DZ just came back from America where she was jumping with some hot freeflyers there and she was saying that that type of shoulder injury is relatively common so a lot of people are now flying headown with the backs of their hands to earth (instead of cupping the air with their palms). It does seem to take some strain of my shoulder but just turning my hands over increses my fall rate again dramatically. Anyone out there with their own spin on a) alleviating this type of shoulder injury and b) headown flying on the backs of the hands?

[freeflir29 0]

#1 It is "Free Flying" Fly however you need to.
#2 If you injured yourself cupping wind maybe you need a new sport. Like watching grass grow.......LMAO Go to the Gym!
"This conversation ends right here Captain! You can talk to the ALO when he gets back."-Me
Clay

[VivaHeadDown 0]

Your arms are useless when compared to the affect your legs have. Stretch and get more flexible in your legs if you want to open up your range of speeds. And wear a suit with baggier legs can help as well.

[edid 0]

Yeah, sounds pretty lame tearing your shoulder cupping air, but, I surf regularly so I have pretty stroing shoulders. Must've just caught something on the wrong angle. But I tell you, if you ever tear your shoulder, you may not be so quick to chide.
However the lesson is, as the other guy said, it's all in the legs, not the arms. Now, where did I put that tapestry I was working on.

[Geoff 0]

Dunno about the risk of injury, but I recently started experimenting with palms-to-sky rather than palms-to-ground flying (after about 100 head-downs) and found it a lot smoother, easier to balance, and greatly easier to move your arms around e.g. to take a grip. No significant change in fall rate. Maybe your fall rate increase and the shoulder strain mean you were really grabbing air hard with your palms?
Geoff

[crazy8 0]

i rock climb also along with my dad and brother. so, if my dad can dislocate his thumb from a carebeener, than i suppose you can tear your rotator cuff grabbing wind. heal and go again

[bloody_trauma 2]

yes do heal, but i would think that just by strengthening your shoulders would do wonders, try working your trapisimus, latisimus, and triceps, also try to hit your surpaspinatus muscles, and perhaps some biceps brachii!

Fly it like you stole it

[ScottyInAus 0]

You shouldn't be hanging off your arms, fly more with you legs.
I keep my thumbs to earth, so neither your palm or back of you hand is facing the ground.

Cheers,
Jason.

[dharma1976 0]

stop flying lazy legs

go to gym...

ask a trainer what you can do to strengthen your rotator cuff (the exercises are relatively easy)

and then again learn to fly your legs....

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.