Rowing with one arm shorter

[ptsns]

Advice needed...

During the past 10 years I had several left arm fractures (humerus head, clavicle, wrist fracture). As a result my left arm is about 1 inch shorter than the right one. About 6 month ago I took up rowing and as I increased intensity, my left arm feels quite sore compared to the right one.

Has anyone had experience with a similar situation? Should I be worried? Any advice on what to pay attention to?

P.S. I have about 95% of movement range in my left arm. No problems with other workouts. Approaching middle age fast...

[Dutch]

Have you seen a physio for an assessment ? Do you do any type of weight training. Maybe you have some imbalances due to the injuries you have sustained. If the pains are in the lower bicep, elbow area and wrist then it could be due to weak tendons and ligaments.
Just ease down a bit on the intensity now and then. Don't just up the intensity every row, try longer slower rows to allow yourself to adapt as you get fitter.
Do get it looked at though, especially if you have any pins or things like that.

[ptsns]

I've seen physio on regular basis and eventually was given "a clean bill of health"... Since then I've been cycling a lot with no ill effects. On a bike it is easy to change your position and engage different muscles (on drops, hoods, standing up, etc.). While rowing I can compensate by using more legs or lower back.

P.S. This problem manifests itself on rows longer than 30min only.

[ampire]

I don't have an arm length imbalance, but I have pain in my arms occasionally, what I do to handle it is to try adjusting grip width periodically, and I try to hold handle with a loose grip so that when I drive with my legs out of the catch position, I feel the tension in my fingers and I'm not death gripping the handle. When I grip the handle really hard, often my arms feel more fatigued afterwards and the RPE is much higher for the same wattage.

[ptsns]

...try adjusting grip width periodically, and I try to hold handle with a loose grip so that when I drive with my legs out of the catch position, I feel the tension in my fingers and I'm not death gripping the handle.

Thanks! Will try that.

On my bike, I do use slightly misaligned handlebars, so that left side is 1/4 inch closer than a right side. Perhaps, will try asymmetric grip on rowing handle.

[Popcorn]

Have you had any success with making changes to your grip? I was just thinking of you as I noticed the adjustments friends have made to accommodate hand issues. (Mostly they use padding to make the handle larger to grip it with arthritis.) Since all you need to do really is hook the fingers over the handle, could you add padding to the far side of one handle so that the spot you grip is slightly farther away? Keep your grip as relaxed as possible.
You mentioned being able to compensate somewhat by using more leg and lower back.... really focus on legs doing almost all the work and minimize what your arms are doing. The arms should be doing an arm draw more than an arm pull anyway.
You also said it doesn't bother you unless you go over 30 minutes, so why not stick to that time limit for a while at least so that you don't injure yourself? Maybe switch to something else for 15 minutes, then go back to it?

[alien878]

I have a 1-2cm imbalance with both arms and legs. I noticed that the chain would be at a slight angle at the end of the stroke (angling toward my short arm/leg). Enough so it would sometimes make noise where it comes out of the gearbox.

Moving the hand on my short arm slightly closer to the end of the handle seems to have worked. The chain is now straight during the stroke.

For my legs, I put a folded hand towel under my foot.

Allen

[ptsns]

Moving the hand on my short arm slightly closer to the end of the handle seems to have worked. The chain is now straight during the stroke.

That's what I'm currently testing. It seams to work. I move my longer arm (right arm, stronger) ~2cm inwards from normal position. This makes right arm work more than the left one.

[alien878]

That's what I'm currently testing. It seams to work. I move my longer arm (right arm, stronger) ~2cm inwards from normal position. This makes right arm work more than the left one.

Hope it helps. Make sure the chain stays parallel to the rail. It is when the chain starts to angle away that things went pear shaped for me.

Luckily for me both my arms are about the same strength. I’m not sure why I was pulling towards the short one. Trying to pull straight while maintaining a symmetric grip felt like I was going to injure myself when pulling hard.

It would be interesting to hear from other symmetrically challenged people. Moving my hands seems like an odd solution and I keep wondering if I’m doing something else wrong.

Allen