Stiff leg rowing.

[dardog]

I just had bilateral ACL knee surgery last week and was wondering about rowing with my braces on stiff legged. I am just trying to stay some what active and keep my blood flowing. I was wondering if anyone else has done this and if I really run the risk of injury. I would just be doing some short rowing intervals. Thanks!!

[Cyclist2]

Wow, both knees at the same time?! I would lock the seat in place very securely (clamps, as one person is commenting on in another thread lately) at the right distance from the foot plates so your legs are straight and comfortable and then just use the upper body. There are lots of rowboats in the world with no sliding seat so you'll still get a great workout.

My daughter has had both ACLs done (but not at the same time). They encouraged her to get moving as soon as the major pain was over to regain flexibility and not lose strength. Maybe you'll be rowing full strokes again soon!

Good luck!

[bloomp]

From anecdotal experience, you should be able to row regularly after such a surgery. One of our top rowers in high school tore his ACL (maybe MCL) on a trampoline. He was able to row about one week after his surgery and went on to win the state championships in the 4+. I'm not sure of how well you can compare the injuries and surgeries, but you may be able to do more than you think.

[JohnBove]

From anecdotal experience, you should be able to row regularly after such a surgery. One of our top rowers in high school tore his ACL (maybe MCL) on a trampoline. He was able to row about one week after his surgery and went on to win the state championships in the 4+. I'm not sure of how well you can compare the injuries and surgeries, but you may be able to do more than you think.

You should certainly dismiss medical advice based on anecdotal evidence acquired online. The above is irresponsible.

[gregsmith01748]

Hi,

I was the "clamp guy". I used two padded bar clamps, one in front, one behind the seat. It worked very well. I was also able to use the clamps to create "stops" to enable limited range of motion to avoid over compressing or extending my knees. I hesitate to recommend the approach to others because you need to be really careful and make sure the clamp is well padded on the top of the rail to avoid scratching or denting the top surface. You would totally feel any dent or scratch as the seat travels over it. You might want to try wrapping a bungee cord around the rail instead, it would be less risky thing to do to your erg.

By the way, it was a vicious upper body and core workout.

Greg

[bloomp]

From anecdotal experience, you should be able to row regularly after such a surgery. One of our top rowers in high school tore his ACL (maybe MCL) on a trampoline. He was able to row about one week after his surgery and went on to win the state championships in the 4+. I'm not sure of how well you can compare the injuries and surgeries, but you may be able to do more than you think.

You should certainly dismiss medical advice based on anecdotal evidence acquired online. The above is irresponsible.

Sorry, but that is the truth. ACL/MCL injuries usually prohibit weight bearing exercise, not something like rowing that only uses the knees in one direction. And rowing doesn't require the stability that running does.

I did not say "I'm a doctor, go row your heart out" nor did I say "your bilateral surgery is no worse than a single ACL surgery".

[luckylindy]

I second the motion to ask your doctor about rowing before embarking on full range of motion exercises. Every operation is different, and your doctor can provide much better guidance on what you should/shouldn't do (and warning signs to watch out for while rowing - for example, with some injuries pain/discomfort is acceptable during the recovery ... with others it means 'STOP!').

Hopefully you've been able to row for the past couple weeks. I had to row stiff legged for over 2 weeks due to a popping in my knee, and it is a KILLER workout, particularly if you notch up the drag.

Good luck!

[TabbRows]

I've been stiff leg erging on my Model B for the past couple of weeks just trying to get some excercise while mending a torn vastus medialis in my quad. It is indeed a "killer" workout. Arms only and I feel exhausted after 2 minutes. Add body over and I'm struggling to keep it near 2:30/2:35, 25-26 spm for 15 minutes. I use bungies front and back to hold the seat on the slide. On nice benefit is it has helped me focus on getting my arms out fully and waiting until I'm almost fully in layback position before bringing the arms in play. Waiting for the PT to kick in next week and see when I can bring in 1/2 slide.

[Nosmo]

Back in '84 I hurt my knee. Rowed arms and back for almost a year until I figured out what to do. Didn't do anything to fix the seat just didn't bend the knees. No comment on when you should start using your legs.

Arms and back can be surprisingly fast--best time was 5 mi in ~17:30 (on the model A). I was 5'7" and 138 lbs at the time.

[dnl17]

Happy to have found this discussion; just tore my MCL in a soccer game... and am hopeful that I will be able to row w/ a limited range of motion. Did just upper body today, waiting for my PT to release me to use limited range of motion -- anyhow... good to know that others have found the upper body workout to be stout!