Concept2 Forum

i'm new to this so sorry if i have this wrong... when i was a young girl i broke my tailbone, its healed of course but i cant take long amounts of direct pressure on it. <br /><br />first day on the rower i was fine - second day a bit of pain - thrid day it killed - and fourth day i just couldnt sit on it. <br /><br />i c that theres a pad i can purchase, but does this work for people? does anyone else have advice here?<br /><br />on this same note i also get muscle strain pain on the inside of my thighs, am i doing something wrong?<br /><br />anyways wish me luck on this, i want it bad .<br /><br />xoxo val

<!--QuoteBegin-valey+Jan 16 2006, 10:24 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(valey @ Jan 16 2006, 10:24 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->i'm new to this so sorry if i have this wrong... when i was a young girl i broke my tailbone, its healed of course but i cant take long amounts of direct pressure on it. <br /><br />first day on the rower i was fine - second day a bit of pain - thrid day it killed - and fourth day i just couldnt sit on it. <br /><br />i c that theres a pad i can purchase, but does this work for people? does anyone else have advice here?<br /><br />on this same note i also get muscle strain pain on the inside of my thighs, am i doing something wrong?<br /><br />anyways wish me luck on this, i want it bad  .<br /><br />xoxo val[right] </td></tr></table><br />Hi Val!<br /><br />Nice to have you here. It sounds to me as if the tailbone problem might be a posture problem... I'm wondering if you've tucked your pelvis under too much so that you're sitting on your tailbone instead of forward on your "sitz" bones? (If you're sitting on your "sitz" bones, your tailbone won't touch the seat, so won't feel any pressure at all!) <br /><br />Think of sitting with very erect (almost regal) posture on the forward edge of the seat (so that the crease at the top of your thigh is more or less at the edge of the seat). Make yourself as "tall" as you can as you sit, but keep your shoulders down, with as much distance as you can manage between your ears and shoulders. You should be looking for a "neutral spine" orientation as you sit on your sitz bones (neither tucked under nor extended back), then rotating the entire torso forward or backward from the hip when the the back swings. You should maintain this stable/solid torso and "almost regal posture" throughout the stroke. <br /><br />Do you have a coach? or someone who could check your form and advise you on your stroke? Sometimes it's easiest to pick up a new activity when someone can help you see what you're doing. <br /><br />If you still need a pad, I'm not sure what sort would be good...I've heard others discuss either soft bath towels or bubble wrap. I have no ideas at all on the inside-the-thigh muscle strain/pain...<br /><br />Best wishes (you're not going to need luck with your determination!).<br /><br />Alissa

Hi Alissa<br /><br />I broke my tailbone too as when I was 8 and then suffered ripped ligaments in the same area last year. The rowing has certainly helped the ligaments, if I don't row for a couple of days I get pain. I agree that you should have someone look at your posture - you could be on the seat incorrectly. The sooner you get someone to look at the posture the sooner you will be able to row comfortably - it should be an enjoyable exercise, bot a pain in the bum!!

Hi Val,<br /><br />I agree with everyone who says good posture is crucial. In addition, my suggestion is to experiment with pads shaped like seats that are in boats. For example, you could take a C2 seat pad or two and trim it so it is in this shape:<br /><br /><a href='http://www.math.msu.edu/~drachman/row/rockin_seat6.jpg' target='_blank'>http://www.math.msu.edu/~drachman/row/r ... jpg</a><br /><br />If you clicked on that link, you can see that your tailbone would not be near the seat. <br /><br />Then use that pad or pads on top of the C2 seat. Just one C2 pad might not be enough. They are soft and compress a lot. <br /><br />You could do some experiments first with cardboard to see what shape of seat pad is most comfortable for you.<br /><br />Once you find what shape works, you could experiment with large mouse pads or other materials. <br /><br />added later: As others have already said, it would be good to have an expert check out your technique. An expert would be somebody who had done crew or at least gotten some coaching from a rowing coach. Someone who works in a gym might or might not know about correct technique. You might be doing too much of a layback. Can you row strapless? That means not using the straps to hold your feet in place. If you can't get some coaching, Xeno Muller has some fabulous training DVD's and he teaches you good technique as well as showing you an enjoyable workout. He uses slides, but the DVD's work for the C2 without slides, except in a few obvious places. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Byron

<!--QuoteBegin-valey+Jan 16 2006, 11:24 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(valey @ Jan 16 2006, 11:24 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->i'm new to this so sorry if i have this wrong... when i was a young girl i broke my tailbone, its healed of course but i cant take long amounts of direct pressure on it. <br />first day on the rower i was fine - second day a bit of pain - thrid day it killed - and fourth day i just couldnt sit on it. <br />i c that theres a pad i can purchase, but does this work for people? does anyone else have advice here?<br />on this same note i also get muscle strain pain on the inside of my thighs, am i doing something wrong?<br />anyways wish me luck on this, i want it bad  .<br />xoxo val <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Are you sure that the seat is mounted correctly? The high point of the seat should be to the front. The cut out is in back, under the tailbone so that it doesn't get any pressure. I have heard of instances, both in boats and on ergs, in which the seat was in backwards and the user was wondering why it was painful to the tailbone. No wonder! The high point of the seat was pressing on the tailbone.<br /><br />Bob S.