Difference between lower back soreness and potential injury?

[multi21]

Hi all, I’m new to erging. I’ve been using my Model D for about 3 weeks, rowing 25 minutes every day. I try to row at a steady heart rate focusing on technique so I am certainly not focused on explosive power.

I submitted a form video to an online coach who said my general technique and sequencing was good, but guided me to be better about not taking shins past vertical and leaning forward more at the catch.

I have made these changes and my times have improved without any meaningful change to HR.

However, today is the first day I feel a slight “burn” or sensation in my lower back the rest of the day after rowing this morning. I wondered if that might be because I am leaning forward more at the catch and potentially putting too much of a load on my lower back instead of the lats.

To be honest, my lower back is probably quite weak so I am not sure if this is just normal soreness or an expected feeling after rowing, or an indicator that my technique might be off and I am rowing in a way that may cause injury?

Would appreciate any pointers you all might have. Thank you!

[Cyclist2]

Welcome to erging. Good for you!

You don't say what other activities you've been involved with, but if you are just starting dedicated working out, then it may be just soreness. But, if you don't start out slow with a low drag factor (damper around 2), and correct technique you can definitely injure yourself. For the first few weeks, watch lots of videos on how to row the erg, and be sure to watch a few on errors in technique and how to avoid them. Get a side mirror to watch yourself or post that video here for critiques from the forum members, because what you feel is right may not quite be right.

It takes a strong core to support all the force going through it, so do exercises to strengthen that as well.

Best of luck, you'll enjoy it once you get everything figured out.

[chrisl]

Here is an article about lower back pain, with a link to a study, from World Rowing which may be useful. And another article talking about it.

https://worldrowing.com/2021/05/11/guid ... -in-rowers
https://www.topiom.com/blog/how-to-avoi ... back-pain/

Generally, it's a good idea to address muscle soreness with a short rest period, a day or two. Then resume and reassess. Does it return, is it of reduced intensity or the same intensity each time? Speak to your coach and see what they advise. Injury can be muscle soreness taken past the point of recovery, which means too much action at once or insufficient rest or both.

From my own experience I don't get lower back pain, but when I once switched to a seat pad I did get lower back pain after a 21K. I stopped using the seat pad and it went away. I'm not sure if it would have resolved anyway had I continued to use it.

One technique I find useful, mentioned by Shane Farmer from Dark Horse Rowing, is to imagine there is a hook in your sternum attached to a chain pulling you upright so you cannot sink down. As you lean forwards imagine you are being pulled upwards and forwards by the chain. I find that helps maintain an upright posture which in turn removes stress from the lower back and makes for comfortable long distance rows.

Perhaps you are experiencing your lower back muscles starting a drive from a position where your legs, past vertical, can no longer be used as a "spring" to help each stroke, and so they are doing more work than usual and will soon become more able to support the correct stroke and posture, again with adequate rest while they do feel sore.

You can practice this by stopping at the catch and reviewing your posture and then performing the stroke. It means each stroke stands on its own rather than taking any momentum from the previous stroke. After doing this for, say, ten minutes it can feel a bit sore as it's hard work holding the catch like that, so then take a few minutes rowing it out gently and normally and keep assessing your posture and imagining the hook pulling you up.

[Ombrax]

Would appreciate any pointers you all might have. Thank you!

Don't try to do too much too quickly. As you start out I would consider rowing every other day to give your body a bit more time to recover. There's plenty of time to push yourself harder once your body is better acclimated to the stresses you get from rowing.

Good luck.

[jamesg]

rowing 25 minutes every day. I try to row at a steady heart rate

Far too much; https://insideindoor.com/training/training-plans/

Rowing is hard work since it's done with the legs where there's plenty of muscle, so if unfit HR will go up like a rocket.

I feel a slight “burn” or sensation in my lower back

Could be due to slouch. If so, head up, straight back, vertical shins or less with a slight lean forward at the catch, to get the weight on the feet and use the legs. The back carries the load to the arms, but should not be called on to do work any more than necessary.

My instant cure for back ache is: standing, twist round both ways once or twice to look backwards. Coffee helps too, also rocking from heels to toes and back.

[hikeplusrow]

I agree that it could be due to slouching. Could also be caused by overdoing the lean back.

[Dangerscouse]

Do you have a sedentary job and/or drive a lot? What other sports do you do / have done? What drag factor are you using? Is the pain muscular or nerve ie does it tighten up after sitting down or is it a constant ache? Tight hamstrings can also be an issue, for back pain which is common with modern lifestyles.

When you're new to rowing the issue can be that when someone is watching you, you'll have good technique as you're really giving it attention, but when you're tired / stressed etc and lose concentration your technique can become a bit sloppy and coupled with weak core it can aggravate the lower back, especially if you start 'shooting the slide' so there's a slight jerk on the rowing motion.

A strong core is an essential part of rowing as it centres the gravity and acts as fulcrum for the transfer of power from lower to upper body. Plank variations are a great way of strengthening the core girdle, as they're adaptable for when you improve and don't need any equipment.

[p_b82]

I've had a weak lower back for most my life - not helped by my natural posture being quite slouched.

For the first 3 months my lower back hated me - my "normal" lower back ache that was probably a 3/10 on the pain scale all the time, ramped up to a 5/10; the sort of levels of pain where you stop doing things naturally/normally because it's intrusive, but not so high that you confine yourself to bed/sofa/bath with tons of painkillers etc.

It was never a sharp pain - of a pulled muscle or trapped nerve, or something equally sinister - but a dull ache that was always there.

After about 4 months, things started to die down and now I can say gladly that I don't actually have any back pain anymore - the first time I woke up to no bodily aches was a revelation. I've since been able to ramp up the pace/effort over time, more so in the past 6 months than my first 12.

So if you're anything like me (non-medical advice incoming), then it should pass, just keep gently ramping things up in terms of volume and don't try to push too hard too quickly - just listen to the body and if the pain changes from a dull pain to a sharp one, stop and give it some rest.

It's probably just the lower back muscles sulking that they're doing work they're not used to - esp if you've relied on the upper back historically to do the "heavy lifting" and not the core.

[multi21]

I am very grateful to everyone for the fantastic feedback.

I've had a weak lower back for most my life - not helped by my natural posture being quite slouched ...

... So if you're anything like me (non-medical advice incoming), then it should pass, just keep gently ramping things up in terms of volume and don't try to push too hard too quickly - just listen to the body and if the pain changes from a dull pain to a sharp one, stop and give it some rest.

Thank you. This is great advice. I am very similar in that I historically have not asked my lower back to do much and have developed quite a slouch (I am now trying to correct, slowly). My instinct says I am in a similar boat - I have no pain, just a gentle feeling of occasional soreness and mild burning that feels like the muscle, as you put it, complaining as it learns to work.

When you're new to rowing the issue can be that when someone is watching you, you'll have good technique as you're really giving it attention, but when you're tired / stressed etc and lose concentration your technique can become a bit sloppy and coupled with weak core it can aggravate the lower back, especially if you start 'shooting the slide' so there's a slight jerk on the rowing motion.

Thank you. I think you hit the nail on the head. I do notice I tend to slouch a little more as I get closer to the end of my row, and a little lazier about making sure to intentionally activate and lead with the lats. Very helpful to put it into words!

As many have pointed out, my conclusion is this is likely due to a combination of introducing a new type of work to a lower back accustomed to not doing much and a tendency to slouch as I tire.

[hikeplusrow]

I have a very vulnerable middle and lower back that I've had serious issues with in the past (prior to my rowing 'career'), and it's required osteopathy on a number of occasions. Careful management is required. Generally, rowing hasn't caused me any problems, but I have a weakness in my right lat, and have trouble with eyeballs out intervals. If I set it off, I generally can't row for at least a couple of weeks.

[Dangerscouse]

As many have pointed out, my conclusion is this is likely due to a combination of introducing a new type of work to a lower back accustomed to not doing much and a tendency to slouch as I tire.

FWIW, I'm not very flexible and I've fairly recently started doing yoga. We did yogi squats, and that flared up my lower back with a constant slight aggravation, I assume, due to a different ROM that I'm used to. I don't ever squat that low, for that long

Interestingly, I have done hot dynamic Pilates for about 10 years, but I had to stop due to the trainer moving on. She has recently started again, and I went to her class on Thursday, which was brutal, but it resolved the aggravation almost over night. Don't forget the almost always correct adage, "motion is lotion, rest is rust".

[HornetMaX]

2 things that helped me cope with random pain (back, but also rib-cage) after picking up rowing (after 10 years of couchpotatoing):

• Lower drag factor. Even now, if I push the DF too high, I can feel it in my lower back after hard sessions. I keep it on 90-100 for long steady state sessions, 130 or a bit more for hard short ones (or short time trials).
• 2min of stretching right before going to bed. Simple stuff, focused on back (especially lats, in my case) and lower back/hips (I do standing hamstrings stretch, I can put my hands flat right next to my feet).