Forearm Tendinitis

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » March 19th, 2009, 1:50 pm

I began rowing just after the 1st of the year. My poor technique caused me a couple of injuries. My lower back pain is gone but I'm left with persistent tendinitis in my right forearm. I've done little to no rowing in the last 3-4 weeks but I'm seeing absolutely no improvement in my condition. My improved technique has me using much less force with my forearms and upper body than I'd been using. I actually feel no pain whatsoever while using my rower.

Has anybody else experienced forearm tendinitis? Can I expect this to be an ongoing sort of problem? Any advice or experience with this would be appreciated. Thanks.

Kevin g

PJM · Post by **PJM** » March 19th, 2009, 5:48 pm

I am a personal trainer and will give you my 2 cents worth here.I am sorry that you have had issues since you have been rowing but I do believe that we have all "been there done that" at some point in time.During one team challenge I rowed over 1 million meters in a month.My forearms and elbows and hands took a serious "beating".I had to take a look at my form and at my upper body strength.I had to strengthen my forearms.I did exercises to work those muscles.We tend to forget that we have muscles there like we have biceps and triceps

I also had to get my hands back in order..and I got a pair of rowing gloves made especially for indoor and outdoor rowers.Called New Grips.Many find them to be cumbersome and bulky but for me they were a lifesaver.I also bought a Grip Stick and worked with that every day to increase my forearms.Now that was about 3 years ago and now I row with no problems and can row for long periods..my hands have recovered and so have my forearms.It simply takes evaluating your own body and musculature.
There are many who will give you advice..there are so many great people here in this community.I hope I have helped just a little..rowing is an adventure and great exercise..alot of bang for your buck.

Pat
Team Captain
TIMBUK2/TimbukTOO

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » March 19th, 2009, 8:19 pm

Hi Pat,

Thanks for your comments. I understand endurance sport as I typically ride my bike between 7000-9000 miles yearly and I also understand muscle soreness and over-training. But, this tendinitis is something I've never encountered. It has me concerned because in the past with any sort of overuse injury I've quickly recovered through rest. That simply isn't happening this time around. It's as sore today as it was nearly 3 weeks ago when I last rowed. I'm a fairly patient person but this has me frustrated and concerned unlike other injuries I've overcome.

One million meters in a month is an amazing accomplishment! Did that result in tendinitis or was it more a matter of muscle soreness? I'm beginning to realize that there is a significant difference between the two. One goes away quite quickly and the other does not. I'm so worried that once I begin to see improvement that it will return again only to keep me off the rower for an even longer time.

Thanks again,

Kevin g

grams · Post by **grams** » March 20th, 2009, 11:29 am

Try rowing underhanded gently for part of your workout to strengthen the muscles on the other side of your arms. You may lose a little speed, but you probably won't mind right now. It worked for me.

grams

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » March 20th, 2009, 11:35 am

Thanks, Grams. I'll give that a try.

Kevin g

capistro · Post by **capistro** » September 22nd, 2009, 9:43 am

Hello,

Do you still have a problem? I had that this spring as well. Really bad! But I fixed it:
a) Cool down forearm with icebags after rowing
b) Using weightlifting hooks (brand APT, velcrow / aluminum)
c) Training handgrip (tennisball-type squeeze)

I did overtraing to get into trouble. Slightly less rowing for some weeks and the above recepie got me out of it.

I still use the hooks when I do long hard rows. No more problem.

Good luck out there!

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » September 22nd, 2009, 9:49 am

I can't row without it coming back and I'm extremely careful about my form. I don't know what to do at this point. I've been working out the arm with a gyro ball regularly which I think is helping but not enough. What are the hooks you refer to? I don't ice it and maybe I should.

Thanks,

Kevin g

dr. espo · Post by **dr. espo** » September 23rd, 2009, 12:33 pm

did rowing underhanded help at all? I had some elbow issues that were resolved by a little strength training, stretches (VERY important) and underhanded rowing.

What I did was alternate my grip every 500-1000 meters...it helped tremendously.

On the other hand, you may have a more substantial injury, a tear somewhere? Best to get a professional opinion from your doc at this point I'm thinkin'.

Good luck,
Mike

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » September 23rd, 2009, 12:39 pm

No, I didn't try underhanded rowing but I will. Thanks for the suggestion. I think a trip to the doc may be in order too.

Kevin g

Citroen · Post by **Citroen** » September 23rd, 2009, 12:55 pm

onekgguy wrote:No, I didn't try underhanded rowing but I will. Thanks for the suggestion. I think a trip to the doc may be in order too.

Kevin g

Is the trip to the doc before or after you try the underhand rowing? If you want to exercise your biceps use a weights machine or do preacher curls with free weights. Underhand rowing just makes you look like a clueless moron.

dr. espo · Post by **dr. espo** » September 23rd, 2009, 1:09 pm

Citroen wrote:
onekgguy wrote:No, I didn't try underhanded rowing but I will. Thanks for the suggestion. I think a trip to the doc may be in order too.

Kevin g
Is the trip to the doc before or after you try the underhand rowing? If you want to exercise your biceps use a weights machine or do preacher curls with free weights. Underhand rowing just makes you look like a clueless moron.

Underhanded rowing may not be "popular" or "cool" but I can tell you it does help...

I would reserve the term "clueless moron" for those without an open mind

Mike

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » September 23rd, 2009, 7:20 pm

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

Kevin g

leehamster · Post by **leehamster** » September 25th, 2009, 2:21 pm

I just posted this on another thread. It may be helpful. Certainly on the water forearm tendonitis means your holding the handle too tight and feathering with your wrist instead of your fingers. The comments below are more about the erg.

Sore forearms:

There's some training effect to help here as you get conditioned, but most likely you need to loosen your grip. The grip on an erg handle (or an oar) should be nothing like a motorcycle grip. On an erg, you should be able to row with your thumbs never touching the handle -- you can touch if you want, but there should be no pressure and it should not effect your stroke to keep the thumbs just hanging down. Your hand is a hook, meaning only your 4 fingers matter, not thumb. This will relax your forearm and indeed everything from hand to upper back & shoulders.

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » September 25th, 2009, 2:39 pm

I hope to get on my C2 later today. What do you think of Capistro's suggestion to try weight lifting hooks?

Kevin g

onekgguy · Post by **onekgguy** » September 28th, 2009, 1:02 pm

I've been on my C2 a couple times in the last few days and I tried some underhanded pulls as suggested. I don't know that I like the way it feels but I think it helps to change it up some. I'm really focusing on using my forearms very little in the pulling. Using them too much was a big mistake of mine early on and got me into trouble in the first place. I'm being careful to lighten my grip and use my fingers as hooks and nothing more. I'm trying to let my forearms just go along for the ride until the very end of the stroke. I'll stick with 2000 meter efforts for now and see how it goes. I'm an endurance sort of guy so that's not easy for me to do but I must.

I've still got my tendinitis and have been routinely working with my gyro balls but probably not enough. I've never experienced an injury this persistent before. It's very frustrating.

Kevin g

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Forearm Tendinitis

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