Q: I have tenderness / pain in my shoulder whilst i am paddling. What can i do?

Without a proper diagnosis it is very hard to say. Unless you have wiped out big time and landed on your shoulder causing damage then it sounds like it could possibly be a typical surfer's injury of overuse. During a session a surfer can repeat the overhead motion during paddling 1,000s of times. This repetitive overhead motion can create similar pain and overuse injuries as seen in many other sports requiring repetitive overhead motion such as swimming, volleyball, tennis, etc. The localized tenderness/pain in your shoulder could be several things: tendonitis, bursitis or tissue damage. My advice would be rest it up and head straight to a Physio to get it checked out. They can they advice on the best rehab for you, probably incorporating rest, ice, massage, heat, stretching and then strengthening before heading back into the water. Don't continue surfing on it, as it will never repair, just get worse and you will be even longer out of the water. Trust me! I've been there!! Take up yoga too. It really helps iron out those muscular imbalances and strength train on non-surf days to help prevent this happening again in the future.