“Shoulder injury relief through floating”, by Marc
Snowboarding accident
felt compelled to write this short blog post based on a recent floatation tank experience.
To set the scene, let me rewind a little…
3 months ago, I fell whilst snowboarding in Bulgaria – something I did a lot of (falling, not so much the snowboarding). Whilst this didn’t typically cause more than a few bruises (ego included), the particular fall I’m referring to was at about 30mph and over compacted ice and rock. I was pretty lucky to escape with nothing broken.
Hobbling around Bankso (the resort) I soon realised that one of my shoulders had taken a pretty severe hammering in the fall. On returning to the UK, it took little time to medically verify the extent of the injury: the dreaded ‘rotator cuff’.

Now, back to floating…
Completely independently of the accident, I had planned to take a float at the Floatworks in Vauxhall, London. I’d not floated in the last 10 years or so, and had fond memories of it. Considering it nothing more than a relaxing indulgence, I’d put it off until very recently.
I have to say though, I was entirely blown away by the impact it had on my shoulder. After an hour’s float, I walked out feeling strangely light and relaxed. I’m pretty sure I’d fallen asleep in there – it felt like just 5 to 10 minutes of floating time!
But then suddenly, it hit me. My shoulder no longer ached, not even slightly!
I was convinced this was just a short-term relief (albeit far more powerful pain relief than even the strongest painkillers I’d found to tackle the last 3 months of pain). But no, I spent the rest of the day, and night, completely pain-free! Amazing.
I can’t claim to have been miraculously cured by the experience. The ache and pain has returned, although somewhat reduced, after a few days of blissful absence. But wow, what a joyous respite from the pain that was. So much so, I’ll be back again in the next few weeks. If it’s able to relieve the pain entirely for even just a few days, it must surely be doing the shoulder joint some good.
I urge anyone with a similar injury to try the experience. Many sports injuries take months to properly heal, and the value of even just a few days of pain-free relief is immense.
So, what did I learn from the experience? Next time I’m snowboarding, I’ll make sure to save a small percentage of the holiday budget for a session of floats when I’m back. If you’re as bad at snowboarding as me, you should seriously consider it too.
Marc