knee pain and erging

[carlb]

I'm looking to upgrade and trying to figure out if a D/E or Dynamic would be any easier on my knees. My only concern is I still want the best workout possible. In other words if one works less muscles or doesn't provide as good of a workout but is slightly harder on the knees I would still prefer it.

So D/E or Dynamic?

Which is better exercise?
Which uses more muscles?
Which is better for knees?

The D and E are identical for motion and exercise. The E is designed to be super-durable for a high-use club setting. It is higher off the floor, but that does not change the motion at all.

The Dynamic is a different animal. Some have said it uses hamstrings much more. It is very easy to get high SPM like 30 to 45, and kind hard to slow down to 20. So I'd say if high SPM is a problem the dynamic is not the best choice.

Don't forget the Skierg option. I don't find it exercises as much muscle as the rower, but it does get HR up. IMO it is a good complement to the rower using opposing muscles, i.e. buy it 2nd. Works core well.

For those with knee pain it would be helpful to provide more description then just "knee pain". Where is the pain (behind,below,under knee?), what kind of pain, when (during rowing, after, day after, ...), details (sore to touch, sore crouching, etc). E.g. "a burning pain that would indicate tendonitist, below knee, starts 20 minutes in, still sore the next day".

[wsmith]

patellar tendinitis can occur from rowing as an overuse injury. if you were in pretty good shape when you started, you can row fairly hard and yet your body may not be well conditioned to the specifics of the rowing motion as several of the other posts have mentioned. i had similiar experience switching from another sport to the erg. if your volume or intensity increased quickly, even more likely to have overuse injury. consider using a bit higher drag factor so you have a more controlled slower stroke and focus on form. the experienced rowers have very efficient form. time is needed to develop that. unless you have a specific chronic knee problem such as meniscal tears or osteoarthritis, this should get better with a slow but steady approach. you may want to consider a little extra weight training focusing on building up your vastus medialis (leg extensions and leg presses) but be careful not ot overdo, especially f you are rowing 5-7 d per week, good luck.. wsmith md (ortho surgeon)

[JRBJR]

consider using a bit higher drag factor so you have a more controlled slower stroke and focus on form. the experienced rowers have very efficient form. time is needed to develop that. unless you have a specific chronic knee problem such as meniscal tears or osteoarthritis, this should get better with a slow but steady approach.(ortho surgeon)

Even if patellar tendinitis was the cause for the knee pain, wouldn't it be advisable to use a low drag factor as well as a slow stroke rate to minimize stress on the inflamed tendons and give them more opportunity to recover? You can still get a good workout with a low drag factor.

[Steelhead]

All I meant was that the drag factor is a more accurate measure of resistance than damper setting. Damper setting will control the drag factor, but if you want to get the same "feel" on two different machines you will want to set their dampers so that they each are reading the same drag factor. That is my understanding, feel free to correct me.

At any rate, do you know the drag factor that you like to use for the low SPM workout? Thanks.

Try rowing without using the straps and shoes -- rowing barefoot or with socks only. That should help the knees -- as well as the other advice given.