Rowers – danger to career….

Safe and efficient rowing requires the whole body to be in correct alignment. When I have watched international rowers during competitions, I have winced at how badly some of them use their bodies! Whilst this may not affect their immediate performance, it will most certainly cut short their international careers.

For this practitioner, the most important part that needs to be correctly aligned is the back. It needs to stay upright for as long as possible during the stroke – this video explains correct alignment throughout the stroke. Watch this video of Sir Steve Regrave and Matthew Pincent to see how well these Olympians use their back. In addition to preventing back pain, this keeps the chest open, allowing the lungs to expand and provide much needed oxygen to fuel the body and produce the effort. It is not uncommon to find rowers with stress fracture of the ribs caused by undue strain. Getting this diagnosed and treated appropriately is essential.

Other areas to be looked at are the legs and arms – again the correct technique will help to prevent injury.

For Sweepers, the one sided nature of their stroke immediately creates an imbalance in the body; my suggestion to all sportspeople whose sport only uses 1 side is to stretch and use the other side during warm ups; if this is not acceptable or possible, then ensuring the ‘unused’ side is developed alongside the used one in the gym is essential.

To prevent injuries then, rowers should

• Make sure their technique is correct
• Warm up and warm down appropriately
• Do some crosss training to make sure the whole body is balanced
• Have a body work session, including deep tissue massage, pre and post session

Here is a testimonial from Rower – Justin Savage, an ex GB rower who was treated by FiXme for his lower back problems.

If you need help, give me a shout 0n 0118 9261464 or 07878 148 229