G. Maximus Pain In The ***t

[[old] rusty891]

Hoping someone has experienced this, as I have searched the forums for something related, but find nothing. <br><br>My wife has attempted to row off and on for years, each time stopping because it was so uncomfortable. In early June she decided to give it a 100% try and has been very faithful. Unfortunately, despite becoming enthusiastic as she watched the numbers add up in the log, she is now thoroughly discouraged and about to be forced to quit. <br><br>Her problem is that as she pushes off, she experiences a pain in her Glutius Maximus muscles that increases after 15 minutes to be quite uncomfortable. She is never able to last longer than 30 min and the last 10 is agony for her. <br><br>I refitted my faithful Model C with the new handle, new flex footpads, added 2 foam pads and she often rows with a small pillow. She has tried adjusting her stroke (which basically looks right to me). She has been rowing through it on the assumption that the muscles must just need to get stronger but she is not totally out of shape anyway, working as a med surg nurse on 12 hour shifts, yard work in our mountain yard on days off, working out at the gym, etc. being her regular routines. <br><br>Any ideas would be appreciated . I love rowing, have it as a goal to row 'til I die and hate to see her lose out if there is something we can do.<br><br>Thanks

[[old] Canoeist]

In addition to different types of padding, I have found:<br><br>Changing the height of the feet on the footstops changes how one sits on the seat.<br><br>Changing how far forward you sit on the seat, changes the pressure points.<br><br>Good luck,<br><br>Paul Flack

[[old] rusty891]

Thanks...good suggestions we had not thought of. Will try.

[[old] remador]

Well, pain in those "sites" is one more of those things oarsmen and women and indoor rowers have to deal with. I just don't know, in the case you described, if it is because of the seat or the sitting position. Along with the suggestions allready given, did you ever tried to sit over a little towel? It works with me.<br><br>Keep rowing,<br>AM

[[old] PaulH]

It's odd that you say it's as she pushes off - the normal pain that people have is more of a diffuse (though increasingly painful!) ache, not a pain at a specific moment. Is there a chance that there's an injury lurking in there? Just a thought.<br><br>Cheers, Paul

[[old] John Rupp]

Likely causes:<br><br>#1- Shorts are too tight. Note that shorts are tightest at the catch. They might be fine standing up, but you need much more room in them when sitting, and especially when bending forward from the hips. For me, this would be the most likely cause. Make sure there is plenty of room in your shorts.<br><br>#2- The pillow. Anything containing foam or cotton is going to cause heat and moisture buildup, which causes pain and aching in the butt. There is no way I would be comfortable rowing on a pillow. Even chairs with soft padding are very uncomfortable.<br><br>#3- Weight being too far back. The weight is balanced between the feet and the butt. Keeping the weight upright and/or forward through the stroke helps to keep more weight off the butt.<br><br>Note: Butt = gluteus maximus etc<br><br>It sounds like #1 is most likely the cause, with #2 contributing, and #3 resulting thus contributing.<br><br>I've rowed 108 km in a day with unpadded shorts and no problems.<br><br>Hope this helps.

[[old] michaelb]

If she hasn't tried this already, I would try rowing strapless and at a slower rate (say 10 meters per stroke). I found rowing strapless forced me to balance on the seat throughout the stroke, so this resulted in a different feel and different pressure points on my bottom. Reducing the stroke rate is a good thing too, and concentrating on less strokes, and higher quality strokes, will give her more time to shuffle around on the seat when necessary.<br><br>I would guess that rowing long distances hurts everyone at some point, but I would think she should be able to do 30 minutes without significant discomfort (I find rowing up to and anything over an hour is going to really start to hurt). So I would suspect something wrong with her stroke, or some other cause/injury. For really long rows like marathons, bubble wrap is the favorite suggestion, although I would feel silly rowing on that every day.

[[old] Godfried]

Prevention : see <a href='http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/Inflexibilit ... or13258452' target='_blank'>www.exrx.net</a>

[[old] rusty891]

Thank you one and all. This is the first time I have posted to the board and I have to say I am blown away by the response. Proves true what I have known in my heart ovr the years, though I have only been to one erg meet in Gainesville GA. Ergers are a great community. <br><br>I saw a post on the board from a person considering the purchase of a concpept2 erg vs. one of the other rowers and the response I viewed was interesting because it pointed out that with the erg one gets an international community of people. I had not given that full credit. This proves it. Thanks. I even received a personal email from a person at the company today!<br><br>Hopefully one of the suggestions will give her a clue on how to get through this.

[[old] Canoeist]

If all else fails, you can change the seat. Some rowers prefer the old model B seats. I don't know if Concept still sells them, but you could probably find one if you really looked and asked around. Another idea is the tractor seat. One rower bought one from Concept and used it on his 100K row.<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Paul Flack

[[old] John Rupp]

I have the model B and my butt would start aching after only 10 minutes on the model B seat.<br><br>That seat is now in the back of a cabinet.<br><br>I have been using the model C seat for the last 10 years.

[[old] raverlaw]

I am new to erging and just purchased a new model D. I've rowed over 60K meters in the ten days that I've owned the machine, and love indoor rowing.<br><br>I have noticed, however, that I begin to get "numb" in the butt after about 18-20 minutes of rowing. It doesn't hurt, but there is a definite loss of feeling. As I keep rowing, this proceeds down my legs (right leg, mostly) and eventually my right foot goes numb as well. This goes away as soon as I'm off the erg and stand up and walk around a bit.<br><br>I haven't been able to row more than 45 minutes at a stretch, because of the numbness, and also because I'm still new at this! <br><br>I assumed that the numbness was due to pressure on a nerve (I don't have much padding back there), so I ordered the foam seat pad and have used it for about three days now. It seems to help, but I still get numb before 30 minutes is up.<br><br>Any advice?

[[old] rusty891]

<!--QuoteBegin-raverlaw+Aug 18 2004, 12:35 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'><span class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></span> (raverlaw @ Aug 18 2004, 12:35 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I am new to erging and just purchased a new model D. I've rowed over 60K meters in the ten days that I've owned the machine, and love indoor rowing.<br><br>I have noticed, however, that I begin to get "numb" in the butt after about 18-20 minutes of rowing. It doesn't hurt, but there is a definite loss of feeling. As I keep rowing, this proceeds down my legs (right leg, mostly) and eventually my right foot goes numb as well. This goes away as soon as I'm off the erg and stand up and walk around a bit.<br><br>I haven't been able to row more than 45 minutes at a stretch, because of the numbness, and also because I'm still new at this! <br><br>I assumed that the numbness was due to pressure on a nerve (I don't have much padding back there), so I ordered the foam seat pad and have used it for about three days now. It seems to help, but I still get numb before 30 minutes is up.<br><br>Any advice? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><br> Actually, Mary had a great row this morning. first ever without pain and the way she did it was to follow the advice of several at Concept 2 to use bubble wrap for the seat (it dispurses the body weight very well) and raise her feet higher. That made all the difference for her. Suggest experimenting a little in those directions. <br><br>Good luck. don't give up. It is solveable.