crepitus and bad knees, is rowing still okay?

[mishima]

I cannot comment on whether rowing is OK for you.
If so, I suggest to use the C2 on slides. This significantly lowers the peak power on the knee and the knee moments. I believe you can freely download the article The Effect of Ergometer Design on Rowing Stroke Mechanics, by A.J. Greene and others in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports (2011). Look at Fig. 3 and 4 for differences on a static C2, a C2 on slides and on a RowPerfect.

Thanks Nomath, this is great. i got the paper, will read it over the weekend when I have more time.

[mishima]

5 quick thoughts:

1. (And this is most important) I'm not a knee specialist. Nobody here is - and even if they are, they aren't YOUR knee specialist. So, take anything anybody (especially me) says with a grain of salt. If you are unable to receive appropriate guidance from a professional, your own body is usually the best guide.
2. Typically, the biggest impact on joints occurs during the eccentric (lowering) and reversal of load. With the rower, there is very little load during these phases; this should dramatically reduce the amount of force the joint is exposed to.

3. You mentioned foot placement. This is relevant, but I may have misunderstood what you wrote - the higher my feet are the more knee flexion I experience. More importantly, the more my quadriceps (and knees) are loaded; the lower my feet are the more load is in my posterior chain (hamstrings and hips).

hm...that is strange as I seem to be experiencing the opposite. But maybe this has to do with my knee problem as well.

4. I would argue that you can absolutely play with the stroke a little bit. By not bending your knees as far (either by shortening your stroke, or by reaching more with your torso (of course, be mindful of additional strain on your lower back if doing this) you will decrease the amount of force your knees are exposed to. This would likely be ill-advised if your aim was to become a competitive rower. Assuming that's not the case, I don't see an issue (with possible exception of increased load on your lower back).
5. Good on you for not just giving in to being sedentary!

Btlifter, thanks for your reply too. All of you are giving me some good pointers here. I will try to play with the stroke technique. At this point, my only goal is to stay active. I don't think I'll be every able to do anything competitively, but that's okay as long as I can do some type of cardio. Of course swimming will be the next thing I'll do as soon as COVID is behind us.

[mishima]

Any ideas about rowing or how to set it up so that i don't make my knee even worse? I'd like to row roughly 1 hour a day, say 4-5 times a week.

Backstop rowing could be worth a try. Swing and pull can get you to 100W easily; more if you can add a short leg action. Similar to Paralympic rowing, there are erg events like this (PR2).

What is a backstop rowing? Tried to google it but couldnt' find out.

[mict450]

Try "pick drill" on youtube.

[jamesg]

We sit on the backstop and row first arms only, then add swing, in sequence. It's used for warmup, coordination and loosening, but on the erg which reads power and stroke rate we can see how much work goes into each part of the stroke.

This is one of the many technical points illustrated on the C2 site.

[Popcorn]

everyone is different and it would be best to get your doctor to help you. Or a physical therapist. I saw a physical therapist a couple of times after injuring the knee running and it was very helpful. A couple of years ago, when ramping up exercise levels, I paid for a session of PT (since I wasn't injured, insurance wouldn't pay) to reassure myself that I was on the right track and it was extremely helpful.

I was diagnosed with chondromalacia as well decades ago. Over the years it has acted up sometimes. I find the rower helpful because there is no twisting or turning. For me, it is a good way to build strength around the knees without issues. But I would say start with SHORT sessions, careful technique, low drag factor, no over-compression at the catch, and listen to your body. Try to row smoothly and at a moderate or easy pace--don't yank yourself around. And slowly build up to more.