Posture And Back Aches

[old] piston · Post by **[old] piston** » January 8th, 2005, 6:38 pm

Hi all, I'm new to this new forum - I used to post to the old one. I've noticed that after a long session on the erg (40+ min.) my back is sore. The problem is that I have a rather weak back and my posture while rowing isn't great. I've tried focusing on my posture while rowing, but I just can't maintain a good posture for very long. I do a back exercise while stretching, but I think my problem goes deeper than that (well, this one problem of many!). I'm wondering whether it might help if I wore a back brace while rowing. I don't wear one now, so it would be something new for me. Does anyone know of any potential problems with wearing a back brace while rowing? Thanks. Ted

[old] giniajim · Post by **[old] giniajim** » January 8th, 2005, 7:12 pm

I've always attributed it to the nature of rowing; you're just naturally putting a lot of stress on your back. Mine is sore when I finish and try to stand up But it very quickly goes away, within less than a minute, the time it takes me to walk upstairs from the basement. I've never worried about posture while rowing and during my active competition days, no coach mentioned it that I recall. If you're tall (I'm 6'2") there might be extra stress on the back.

[old] piston · Post by **[old] piston** » January 8th, 2005, 8:05 pm

Thanks for the reply. Like you, my back feels better soon after straightening up and stretching. However, the other day I got up after 2 x 20' and my back hurt for a few days. I may have just pulled a muscle doing any number of dumb things, but I've wondered for a while whether long-term erging with a poor posture can cause long-term problems.

[old] Byron Drachman · Post by **[old] Byron Drachman** » January 8th, 2005, 8:13 pm

When I started erging on a regular basis many years ago, there was a large mirror off to the side so I could see what I was doing. It took me several years until I could hold my back as straight as I wanted. I found looking in the mirror very helpful. Is there any way to use a mirror when you row? That is still my mantra: "back straight, back straight, back straight,..." Byron

[old] pduck · Post by **[old] pduck** » January 8th, 2005, 9:52 pm

I've had a sore and overly fatigued upper back for the last week or so. Actually, it's more in the middle, on either side of my spine. I just discovered that my abs are pretty week. I'm wondering if a muscular imbalance could be causing my problem. In any event, I'm going to be working hard with leg lifts and crunches to see if that helps.

[old] Bill · Post by **[old] Bill** » January 8th, 2005, 10:46 pm

Hello, Try a session with a physiotherapist ask them to check posture. I have had some problems that have been helped by doing exercises targeted at improving my posture and strengthening muscles that are not used much in my increasingly sedentary job. These exercises focus on back and abs and yes they are from a pilates program. Bill

[old] DIESEL · Post by **[old] DIESEL** » January 8th, 2005, 10:53 pm

If you are having posture problems while rowing it's most probably that your spinal erectors are weak. Weak spinal erectors are the main reason for back problems as you get older, especially in older guys. The only way to remedy this is to weight train and work on exercises that will blast the posterior chain of muscles and get them strong enough to support your bodyweight. Here are a list of exercises to try. Deadlifts Rack Pulls Trap shrugs Good Mornings Romanian (Stiff-Leg) Deadlifts Squats good luck, D for animations on how to perform: www.exrx.net

[old] piston · Post by **[old] piston** » January 8th, 2005, 11:17 pm

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. It makes sense that if my core muscles are weak, then my posture would suffer - and that's what it probably is. I do some crunches before every session, but I think I need to include some back strengthening exercises as well. Thanks, Diesel, for the suggestions! Ted

[old] seat5 · Post by **[old] seat5** » January 9th, 2005, 1:34 pm

Hi Piston, I have the same trouble, and the solution is in making sure your very low abs are nice and tight at the catch for every stroke. I have been also working with a Swiss ball to strenghthen core muscles (this was suggested by Mel Harbor, and others, too) and it's been very helpful. You should try to get the habit of keeping those very low abs muscles tight most of the time, but especially if you are going to bend over, and especially when you apply the pressure with your legs at the catch. As an experiment, do some toe touches, some just letting your stomach hang there, and some with the abs, the LOW ones, tight. You will feel a whole different sense of support for your back; if there is usually pain when you do toe touches, it will be considerable lessened. Carla

[old] neilb · Post by **[old] neilb** » January 9th, 2005, 3:28 pm

Crunches are only part of the answer. You may develop good abs but it is the deeper, core, strength that you really need for good posture etc. The core ball (swiss or stability ball) is good for this as is pilates. The secret is like rowing, you need good techinque to get the benefits. I see lots of people at the gym who are "bouncing" around on them but ask them to stand on a ball, or even kneel on it for any period and they struggle. The ball (or pilates) will be a good aid to rowing and to live genrally but like rowing - learn it properly.

[old] shorttrack · Post by **[old] shorttrack** » January 9th, 2005, 3:53 pm

During your next rowing session draw your abs in (belly button towards your spine) and maintain the traction all times during the row.By doing this your transverse ab musle (inner muscle)is like a belt and naturally keeps the lower spine in its proper anatomical position. I also have back problems and I this is what I do,even in weight lifting too. To maintain proper lower back posture you must do these following excercises: crunches versus back extensions and hip flexion versus hip extensions.Keep the reps and sets equal to all excercises. Try it and let me know, shorttrack

[old] Byron Drachman · Post by **[old] Byron Drachman** » January 9th, 2005, 8:32 pm

Maybe you've already seen it, but in case you haven't, there is a section in the training guide at the UK Concept2 website called Core Stability Training by Ade Roberts. It starts on page 7.25 If you download the pdf file, it starts on page 139 of the pdf file. There are clear instructions with good pictures, and I suspect these are consistent with the previous suggestions in this thread. Maybe you'll find it useful. My experience is that if you row holding your back straight, you strengthen the abs. But it certainly makes sense to strengthen the core muscles using other means. added later: <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE </td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>During your next rowing session draw your abs in (belly button towards your spine) and maintain the traction all times during the row.By doing this your transverse ab musle (inner muscle)is like a belt and naturally keeps the lower spine in its proper anatomical position.. </td></tr></table> I realized that this is exactly what I have been doing, and how it allowed me to hold my back straight while rowing after working at it. Nicely put. Byron

[old] pduck · Post by **[old] pduck** » January 11th, 2005, 1:09 am

Whenever I try to straighten my back, I find that my speed slows down. Is there something about having your back slightly rounded that adds power to your stroke? I remember watching the Olympics and watching the rowers, they were not all bolt upright!

[old] Byron Drachman · Post by **[old] Byron Drachman** » January 11th, 2005, 2:09 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE </td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>I remember watching the Olympics and watching the rowers, they were not all bolt upright! </td></tr></table> I’ve noticed the same thing. I’ve seen some of the videos of strong rowers from this forum with backs not straight. Maybe it’s just the way their backs go. I do see your point. Maybe a straight back isn’t best for everybody. What do I know? I’m just making this stuff up as I go. Then there are examples from other sports of successful athletes not using what experts would call perfect technique. For example, there was Jan Ulrich, a successful bike racer and another strong guy. After all, he did win the Tour de France once and finished second many times. His training was suspect and his technique on the bike was terrible in the opinion of many including me. I wonder how he would have done with different training and better technique. I’m not big and strong, and I am very interested in using the best technique I can to compensate. I do know that in my case my abs got much stronger after concentrating on holding my back straight while erging and after working on it long enough, I could erg faster and longer with the back straight. Byron

[old] chudwell · Post by **[old] chudwell** » January 14th, 2005, 9:04 pm

I didn't read all the replies, but if your back is already hurting, you probably don't feel like doing deadlifts, right? So, while you are sitting in your car, or at a desk during the day, sit up straight and try to hold your gut in by contracting your abs while maintaining good straight posture. This is a gentle excercize for strengthening most of your core muscles. It worked for me when I was to sore to excercize. Good luck.

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