Foot issue

[dsirard]

Hello,

I've been rowing for about a month now and can't seem to rid myself of this issue. About ten minutes into a session, my heels start to hurt - not bone pain but the type of pain you get from blisters and rubbing. I've tried several different shoes, including Chucks and water slip-ons - and padded socks. I have very narrow feet that slide out of the foot strap if I try rowing with socks only - so that's not an option. The only thing that kind of works is if I layer my heels with band aids, put on the padded socks and the water shoes. Even with this solution, my heels eventually start to hurt - and it's totally distracting! Any suggestions? Thank you! Dawna

[jamesg]

There are a few things that can help:
- keep your shoes tight so that your feet cannot move in them and make sure the shoes are very flexible
- reduce heel lift-off, by not sliding too far forward, using swing and shoulders before sliding forward, so that at the catch shins are vertical, and thighs at 45° to the ground
- set the foot holders lowish, same reason, with straps over your toes.

The catch position is as shown here, you can see that the heels need not lift off:
http://www.britishrowing.org/taking-par ... oke/indoor

If on the other hand by "rowing" you mean afloat, put shoes in your boat rather than use straps.
Here too, foto 1 is the catch position:
http://www.britishrowing.org/taking-par ... ing-stroke

[Cyclist2]

I assume you have the flex foot on your rower. I can't row with those unless I put pads around my heels inside my shoes. I removed them from my model C and replaced with them a wooden footboard just like my model B. Barring that, maybe running shoes with that flared heel sole will reduce some of the pressure.

[gregsmith01748]

I'm going to suggest something that will probably draw some rebuttal.

I suggest that you get yourself a good pair of cushioned running shoes with a flared sole at the heel. Try them on and lace them so that you can avoid slippage in the show. The flare of the heel will keep the shoe anchored in the footplate.

This is not optimum in terms of efficiency of the drive because running shoes absorb some of the energy that you are trying to put into the stroke, but I prefer that to having my heels slip around.

A couple of other things.
1. Try adjusting the height of the footplate. If it is too high, your ankles will lift more. If it is lower, they will lift less.
2. Try to row with you feet on top of the straps instead of strapped in. This will force you to slow down your stroke and finish strongly with your arms and upper body. I do most of my rowing this way and it ended up being a lot more comfortable.

[Cikan Vuz]

I have RSD/Causligia in my feet, so I feel your pain. The nerves in my feet and ankles no longer communicate properly with the brain and pain never leaves them, something I have come to live with and become uncomfortable accustomed to. But, when a new pain is introduced, i am down for the count so I have to so ever thing I can do to avoid that, plus, my right ankle is locked and rigid with no range of motion, so to keep the muscles in balance, i have to concentrate on the drive and the recovery, as well as every movement in between.

I HAVE to use "croc" type shoes always, including rowing. But I too, do not use my heels, but the balls of my feet, and I keep my feet lower in the cradle too, with the strap closer to my toes than my ankle. This helps alleviate much of potential pain, I hope the suggestion to try "croc" style shoes helps you too.

[KCBerg]

I row in Keen H2 sandals. They have a lot of flex, stretch to fit your foot, don't slip off, and best of all, don't rub. Very stable to walk in, too.