Our rotator cuff muscles are behind the shoulder blade, so when we paddle, we do not want to take the load through the Shoulder.
When the blade comes down to the water if you bend your elbow, you will take the load of the paddle through your bicep and shoulder which can aggravate your rotator cuff muscles.
Instead, we need to keep the elbow straight and create a strong lever, and when the paddle head pulls against the water the paddler needs to rotate the torso and take the load through the ‘lats’, ‘obliques” and “quad” muscles. Squeezing through these bigger muscles can take the load off the paddle and reduce the risk of injury.