Finger Stiffness While Erging

[[old] tremorviolet]

Hey y'all, Hoping someone has an idea of what I'm experiencing.<br /><br />Lately when I do (medium length or longer) erg pieces, my fingers start to hurt. After I stop, the middle fingers of both hands are "locked" in a curled position and I cannot straighten them by themselves. It hurts to try and straighten them manually but if I wait five or so minutes, they'll loosen up on their own. This only occurs when I'm erging but not when I'm rowing.<br /><br />My coach, former college coach for 20 years, hasn't seen this before so I guess it's not common. But I was hoping someone here might have an idea.<br /><br />Possibly relevant data about me: 38-year old female lightweight. I've been rowing since '97, usually get in 30 to 50 k on the water in a week. (I'm in Texas so I row year round) I am not an ethusiastic erger (I actually actively avoid it) but I've been doing more lately for the Holiday challenge.<br /><br />Another possibly relevant fact: I've been diagnosed with compartment syndrome of the forearms but that usually only bothers me during longer, heavy sweep pieces. And the symptoms of that are pretty different from the locked up fingers.

[[old] SlugButt]

Howdy!<br /><br />I used to have similar problems when I was (much) younger and rowed on a model A. It sounds like you get lots of time on the water, so I assume that your hands are relaxed on the recovery and "hanging" on the drive. If you tend to do pieces at very low ratings or on very heavy settings on the erg that can put a lot of extra pressure on your fingers. Alternately, if you have small hands and usually use smaller grips for sculling then it may be that the C2 handle diameter is not a good fit for you, and making a smaller substitute might work better.<br /><br />Just some thoughts - I'm certainly no expert!<br /><br />Good luck,<br />David

[[old] Xeno]

Hi<br />I am not expert either in this situation.<br />BUT, have you compared how you hold the erg handle in comparison to your sweep and scull handle? As David mentioned, the diameter of the handle could play a role in your erging problem. Do you hold erg handle in your with your top two knuckles? My thought is that you might hold the sculling oars in a more ergonomical fashion.<br />All the best,<br />XENO

[[old] onethirtyfive]

At times I have had problems with the 'ring' fingers on both hands (for no apparent reasons at all)... I find now that I dont really grip the handle at all my fingers are more just 'hooks' that keep me 'attached' <br /><br />Just thinking tho along the lines of Xeno's comments that 'hand' size might make a difference and mine are good size which might make life a little easier<br /><br />cheers Onethirtyfive

[[old] Byron Drachman]

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->It hurts to try and straighten them manually but if I wait five or so minutes, they'll loosen up on their own. This only occurs when I'm erging but not when I'm rowing. </td></tr></table> <br /><br />Me too. I thought it was old age at first. I use a homemade handle that has the hands a little more vertical, more like sculling, with the thumbs on the outside just like an oar (sculling), and the grips rotate so I can feather while erging. The feathering while erging solved the problem for me.<br /><br />Byron

[[old] tremorviolet]

<br />

Me too. I thought it was old age at first. I use a homemade handle that has the hands a little more vertical, more like sculling, with the thumbs on the outside just like an oar (sculling), and the grips rotate so I can feather while erging. The feathering while erging solved the problem for me.

<br /><br />Huh, that sounds like an interesting handle. My coach's one suggestion was to go try out a Model D (my club only has Model Cs) to see if those handles made a difference.<br /><br />My sculling handles are smaller than the erg handles so I can feather properly and I'm pretty sure I'm not overgripping the erg handle. Maybe it's the hand motion that keeps my hands from cramping up when rowing. I guess I'll have to spend more time on the erg (good for me but not fun) and experiment.<br /><br />Thanks for all y'all's help.<br />

[[old] Kirky]

Sounds just like something I experienced (left hand, middle finger)at the end of the MAD Team 100k Record. A little internet searching suggests to me it could be 'Trigger Finger'.<br /><br />By the way, coincidentally, just today I was at the hospital getting a diagnosis of compartment syndrome! (right forearm)<br /><br />Kirky

[[old] tremorviolet]

<!--QuoteBegin-Kirky+Dec 19 2005, 12:37 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Kirky @ Dec 19 2005, 12:37 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Sounds just like something I experienced  (left hand, middle finger)at the end of the MAD Team 100k Record. A little internet searching suggests to me it could be 'Trigger Finger'.<br /><br />By the way, coincidentally, just today I was at the hospital getting a diagnosis of compartment syndrome! (right forearm)<br /><br />Kirky<br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />hmmm, "trigger finger" does sound apt. I guess I should go visit the arm guy.<br /><br />Good luck with the compartment syndrome. Nobody really seems to know what to do with it in the forearms. I was diagnosed by a doctor who actually met me on the dock (very cool guy) to see my arms right after I got off the water. But he was mostly a leg guy and referred me to the arm guy who's kinda baffled. I did PT for a while but it didn't do much.

[[old] Kirky]

I have heard that surgery, consisting of either an incision into the sheath surrounding the muscle affected (fasciotomy (sp?)) or removal of a small piece (or pieces) of the said sheath (fasciectomy (sp?)) are the only effective remedies. A rowing friend has had one of these ops performed - quite easily done seemingly, with what I would consider a short recovery period - back to full rowing training within about a month.<br />It is also apparently known to affect Motocross riders, or some such types.<br /><br />Regards<br />Kirky