anybody have knee pain from rowing? I originally bought myC2 for cross training as I was a 28 yr runner and never had a serious injury . I fell in love w/rowing espiecally in the winter as it was the only workout I ever found to match running. I was diagnosed w/chondromalacia rough surface cartlidge under the knee cap. I only run 1 day a week now on grass and haven't rowed in month's . Ortho said only option is scope knee as all X-rays and MRI are normal. I had cortisone shots and PT basically resigned to myself to old reliable the Nordic-Trak zero knee impact. And weekly mountain bike rides maybe 2X week time permitting wo/pain. anbody have any ideas as I comtemplate getting scoped or selling the C2?
Boy I miss rowing even the sore butt and dripping sweat .......... God it's fun.
Swollen knees
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Dodgerpaul
- Paddler
- Posts: 1
- Joined: July 14th, 2006, 11:09 pm
- Location: LV,Pennsylvania
Re: Swollen knees
Paul,
Have you had your PT look at your mechanics when you row? I believe rowers are sometimes used for rehab'ing knees. If you haven't had someone look, you might consider it.. You'll want to make sure that your knee is "tracking straight"--that is, your knee only goes up and down...no "kneeing" in or out.
That's all I can suggest...hope someone else has ideas for you. Good luck!
Alissa
Have you had your PT look at your mechanics when you row? I believe rowers are sometimes used for rehab'ing knees. If you haven't had someone look, you might consider it.. You'll want to make sure that your knee is "tracking straight"--that is, your knee only goes up and down...no "kneeing" in or out.
That's all I can suggest...hope someone else has ideas for you. Good luck!
Alissa
How hard are you going?
How hard are you pulling? I tore my right meniscus (the cartiladge in my knee) and for a couple months after that rowing and erging especially hurt if I pulled to hard but after some time pulling 2:00 splits I could pull fine again.
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Byron Drachman
- 10k Poster
- Posts: 1124
- Joined: March 23rd, 2006, 9:26 pm
Re: Swollen knees
More than likely your condromalacia was pre-existing from your running days. Running is a high impact activity which can lead to chondromalacia. Rowing, as is cycling, is a low impact activity since most of your weight is supported the machine.Dodgerpaul wrote:anybody have knee pain from rowing? I originally bought myC2 for cross training as I was a 28 yr runner and never had a serious injury . I fell in love w/rowing espiecally in the winter as it was the only workout I ever found to match running. I was diagnosed w/chondromalacia rough surface cartlidge under the knee cap. I only run 1 day a week now on grass and haven't rowed in month's . Ortho said only option is scope knee as all X-rays and MRI are normal. I had cortisone shots and PT basically resigned to myself to old reliable the Nordic-Trak zero knee impact. And weekly mountain bike rides maybe 2X week time permitting wo/pain. anbody have any ideas as I comtemplate getting scoped or selling the C2?
Boy I miss rowing even the sore butt and dripping sweat .......... God it's fun.
When you run all your weight comes down on one knee at a time. When you cycle or row your body weight is supported by the machine and only the force of the legs is felt by the knees.
The forces produced by running are more of impact forces rather than smooth continuing forces such as in cycling and biking.
I would therefore suspect that your years of running set up the conditions necessary to develop chondromalacia and the condition only surface at a time that you were running. It could have appeared at any time.
You should discuss this with your orthopedic physician.
Ralph Giarnella MD
Southington, CT
Southington, CT
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rowbear
I think I might have the same sort of knee problems as you. After 20 years of basketball, mine are well and truly shot - at least you can still run once a week.
It was the basketball that finally pushed me into rowing. I was looking for something physically demanding but not on the knees and ideally not a team sport. Along came rowing. I had thought about it for years but thought that with my knees, my chance at rowing was long gone. After seeing a physio who knew what he was talking about and seeing a ortho that was also a rower, I found out I was thinking all wrong - rowing is one of the best things for the knee.
It might seem that pushing back on the slide is the same as standing up, and it is, but up to a point. When standing, all the pressure goes in the knee goes forward, pressing against the back of the knee cap, hence the pain. Same when walking. When rowing however, although the legs are using the same movement, the pressure is going backwards, there being no knee cap to contend with at the back of your leg, means there should be no pain.
The fact that you are feeling pain has me wondering if you have the same problem I have, that being the occasional bit of loose cartilage floating about and getting caught during your rowing sessions. It's rare but I get it from time to time. I usually drop the intensity but keep the workouts up. After a while, only a few days at most, I seem to work through it. Medically speaking, I don't know what I'm doing, but it works - for me at least. If you've tried the gently does it method and still no luck, all I can suggest is shop around for a good physio, ideally one who knows his sports and thier respective muscle and joint issues. Happy to discuss knee issues anytime - rakov@bigpond.com
It was the basketball that finally pushed me into rowing. I was looking for something physically demanding but not on the knees and ideally not a team sport. Along came rowing. I had thought about it for years but thought that with my knees, my chance at rowing was long gone. After seeing a physio who knew what he was talking about and seeing a ortho that was also a rower, I found out I was thinking all wrong - rowing is one of the best things for the knee.
It might seem that pushing back on the slide is the same as standing up, and it is, but up to a point. When standing, all the pressure goes in the knee goes forward, pressing against the back of the knee cap, hence the pain. Same when walking. When rowing however, although the legs are using the same movement, the pressure is going backwards, there being no knee cap to contend with at the back of your leg, means there should be no pain.
The fact that you are feeling pain has me wondering if you have the same problem I have, that being the occasional bit of loose cartilage floating about and getting caught during your rowing sessions. It's rare but I get it from time to time. I usually drop the intensity but keep the workouts up. After a while, only a few days at most, I seem to work through it. Medically speaking, I don't know what I'm doing, but it works - for me at least. If you've tried the gently does it method and still no luck, all I can suggest is shop around for a good physio, ideally one who knows his sports and thier respective muscle and joint issues. Happy to discuss knee issues anytime - rakov@bigpond.com
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rowbear
Just read your post again.
Might I suggest you give running the flick, as well as the nordic track? The nordic might feel okay, but it's probably doing more damage than you think. Yes, it is low impact, but the pressure is still there and that's not going to help the knee cap in any way. Also, with mountain biking, if you're standing on the pedals and using your legs to absorb shock over the hard terrain (or drops), you're doing more harm than I would if I went back onto a basketball court (which by the way I did a month ago, to help out a friends team. Bad move. Whole month off - couldn't even do pushups because of the knee). After years of relying on running for fitness, to supplement all my sports, it's hard to stop. Either that though or have less than I have now.
Might I suggest you give running the flick, as well as the nordic track? The nordic might feel okay, but it's probably doing more damage than you think. Yes, it is low impact, but the pressure is still there and that's not going to help the knee cap in any way. Also, with mountain biking, if you're standing on the pedals and using your legs to absorb shock over the hard terrain (or drops), you're doing more harm than I would if I went back onto a basketball court (which by the way I did a month ago, to help out a friends team. Bad move. Whole month off - couldn't even do pushups because of the knee). After years of relying on running for fitness, to supplement all my sports, it's hard to stop. Either that though or have less than I have now.