Lack of Full Knee Extension on 1 Side: What's Up?

[philwhite7]

Hello all. Noticed that when I'm rowing, my right knee does not come close to full extension at the end of the drive phase. Left knee is fine.

What the heck is going one? I'm not a novice indoor rower (6:30s 2K) but this lack of extension can't be good/normal. Is it the knee that's at fault, or something else up or down the kinetic chain (hip, ankle)?

And what can I do to increase the range of motion?

Thanks.

[TabbRows]

I'm going to guess, without observation or other information, that it's your hamstring flexibility that's preventing full extension. Are you tighter in your right side than your left when doing any hamstring excercises or stretches? Have you ever had any injuries to groin or hamstrings? There are a numbe rof ways to improve flexibility if that is the issue--dynamic exercises, yoga, pilates, etc.. So long as you warmup with dynamic excercises, not static stretches, and are pushing with your whole foot, this may not really make a whole lot of difference on an erg, unless the right knee is raised really high. In a boat, especially a single it could dip you to one side or steer you to one side.

[Quatroux]

This might not be it, but it wouldn't be unusual for one leg to be longer than the other. It is not uncommon. It is more likely flexibility. Does this change as your row goes on? Does dynamic stretching or a longer warmup affect it at all?

[philwhite7]

Thanks for the quick and thoughtful replies. It doesn't change as the row goes on. Now, I'm not getting any knee pain, but then again you can drive a car with the handbrake on for quite a while before things go badly wrong!

I do a dynamic warmup plus 3 to 5 mins easy on the C2 before jumping into my rowing workout. Hamstring flexibility is pretty good, as I incorporate yoga and some banded distractions into my post workout routine (see http://www.mobilitywod.com). I'll try to work on more hamstring ROM stuff in the next couple of weeks and see if that helps.

Hadn't thought about the leg length. Interesting point.

Could it also be tightness in the lower quads (not like we rowing folk no anything about that, right? )

I appreciate your suggestions.

Phil

[JoeRower]

I did not see a final answer on this question. So, I am posting something I noticed today.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to perfect my technique and breathing. I have only officially been at this for 3 1/2 months, so please understand that I am a beginner still. This is just an idea.

Today, while watching my technique in the mirror, I noticed that when I push off a little harder with either heel -- that leg straightens out, while the other leg does not complete the full stretch. This was noticable in the mirror, as one knee was noticably higher than than the other. This changed automatically when one leg was giving more thrust than the other. I suppose this would be called "unbalanced" leg power?

So, the question would be, is one leg possibly being favored over the other?

Just a thought.