Knee Pain/Technique

[DoctorShock]

Hi all. I'm a 54 yo male, and started rowing a little over a year ago as a replacement following years of running that resulted in two resurfaced hips. I've loved it, and now feel quite fit with what I think is pretty good technique. My 5K's are in the 19:30 range, and 2K around 7:25.

Recently I've started The Pete Plan to work on improving my 2K/5K times. I've started to notice some left knee pain (no history of injury there). I'm wondering if this may be technique related. I find that my knees come together on the catch when I'm really pushing it on hard intervals. Should the knees remain absolutely in line with the feet/hips through the pull and recovery? For some reason I seem to get more leverage on the pull when the knees move somewhat closer together...

I've learned a ton from you guys, and feel like rowing has resurrected my aerobic fitness. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[bonefixer]

Where's your pain? The specific site can help with the diagnosis, but most likely thing is going to be patello-femoral. Solution to this may be to fix your technique and do some specific medial quads exercises to help with tracking (see a physiotherapist). And probably lower your drag if you have it high.

As ever, with vaguely medical posts from me, usual disclaimer applies about seeing your own doctor and not relying on this as a definitive medical opinion.

[DoctorShock]

Thanks for the reply. The soreness does feel like it's under the patella, and in fact I can feel a little "grinding" of the patella and an occasional click with leg extension. Using a DF around 125, so I'll play with backing off on that.

I certainly understand the disclaimer (assume you're an orthopedic surgeon- I'm a cardiologist). Very much appreciate the input! Sounds like I should have one of my local ortho friends check it out.

[lindsayh]

IMO could be technique - keeping legs parallel is best but has a whiff of osteoarthritis in a long time runner about it.
I would have some imaging done. My OA snuck up in exactly the way you describe (though never a runner)

[Carl Watts]

Also don't come too far forward on the catch or extend too far on the drive, its quite easy to do both.

[InlineJinn]

I'm almost 56, with a touch of chondromalacia and OA in my knees. I've had mild knee pain with popping for years, and have discovered three things that help me. The first is applying cold to my sore knee after any workout (rowing or otherwise). I keep several flexible blue gel packs in the freezer, and simply strap one over my knee for 10 minutes or longer. That helps eliminate any pain right after the workout and later in the day.

The second is rolling my back on a hard foam roller (I know, you asked about knee pain, but everything is connected so I'm tossing this in anyway). This helps to immediately loosen my back muscles right after rowing. Plus it feels really good!

The third and most important for me is stretching. With rowing, I discovered the imbalance between muscle groups, and increased tension in individual muscles, led to pain in my ankles, knees, lower back, and shoulders. I was surprised when all these were reduced or eliminated by stretching after a rowing workout, usually before going to bed. My routine includes stretching all the major groups in my legs (calves/achilles tendons, quads, hamstrings, iliotibial bands, groin, hip flexors, glutes, piraformis), obliques, my lower back, and my shoulders. I hold each stretch for 30-60 seconds (no bouncing). As a side benefit, it also helps to calm me before bed as I become aware of, and consciously relax, tense muscles.

Something that may also help is strengthening the weaker opposing muscle groups. I don't do this any more, but I did get a set of exercises from a physical therapist to help balance out the weaker muscle groups in my legs. This helped when the knee pain became chronic. Same for exercises for an episode of shoulder pain.

Finally, this is just my own experience--I agree with bonefixer about seeing a professional.

Best of luck!
John B.