Tight inner middle back muscles

[Dangerscouse]

When I do a long rowing session my inner middle back muscles tighten up quite quickly (usually about 40 mins in and I feel them starting to ache) and my usual solution is to just get on with it until my first stretching stop (about 2hrs 20mins) and then quickly use the foam roller.

Is there anything else I can do or is it just one of those things? I have started foam rolling every day but it's not seeming to help too much.

[Cant Climb]

Look up "Thoratic sprain" in google. This is what it sounds like, even though you might not have a full sprain. Might just be tightness and immobility.
I went through this pain since late June. Just now starting to feel normal but i have to stay on top of it.

Biggest thing that helped me was -
1. Trunk twist stretches.
2. Laying with foam roller in different parts of mid-back and leaning back with head back (keep butt on the ground).
3. Doing some PT with the elastic bands to get blood flow and strengthen.

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks mate, it's not an issue at all until I row so it can't be a sprain as I do weights and Pilates with no issue.

I suspect it's too much driving and hunching over a laptop and my rowing style is too upper body / calf dominant so won't help either.

Very regular foam rolling is probably the best option for me

[gregsmith01748]

You might want to use something more focused than the foam roller, maybe a lacrosse ball up and down along the side of your spine to get in there and loosen up the muscles

[sekitori]

You might want to use something more focused than the foam roller, maybe a lacrosse ball up and down along the side of your spine to get in there and loosen up the muscles

A lacrosse ball is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. In the past, I've used a hard dog ball of the same diameter which is similar, and it's helped. I now have a larger fitness ball that's five inches in diameter which for my purposes (loosening up a tight hip flexor) is even better.

https://smile.amazon.com/Mobility-Massa ... tness+ball

There are other similar ones available.

I also have used a foam roller for several years and for general purposes, it's been quite useful. But as was stated by gregsmith01748, something smaller which concentrates better on an isolated area such as the middle back might be more effective.

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks Greg and Sekitori...i totally forgot i bought a spiky massage ball a while ago so I'll use that instead

[JerekKruger]

If you don't mind paying, and you can find a good practitioner, a sports massage can really jump start the process. After you've had that done you can go back to self massage techniques to maintain what they've done. Of course finding a good practitioner can be hard, I'd recommend trying to get a good recommendation from someone who you trust and who is also fairly into their sport.

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks Tom. I'm still trying to find a good sports massuer.

Luckily in England there's Medicash that costs £7.20 a month and you can claim back up to £150 on physio / chiro and £150 on opticians and dentists too. So you can claim back loads more than you pay in!!

There's a physio that I'm going to try soon and I think it needs to be a fella to really pummel me.

[JerekKruger]

Luckily in England there's Medicash that costs £7.20 a month and you can claim back up to £150 on physio / chiro and £150 on opticians and dentists too. So you can claim back loads more than you pay in!!

Huh, interesting, I should look into that as I'm in the UK myself.

There's a physio that I'm going to try soon and I think it needs to be a fella to really pummel me.

I know what you mean. If you're really tight you need the massage to be quite rough. My own physio is a woman, but she's a competitive crossfitter as well and is probably stronger than I am so gets the job done.

[Dangerscouse]

Defo have a look Tom. Medicash.com it's great and i have been using it for about four years. There's more expensive options than £7.20 but they aren't as cost effective for what I need.

All you need is a receipt and you can claim back 80% of the cost