Middle Back Pain/Tightness - What Am I Doing Wrong?

[GottiFire]

I just started rowing (apart from when I used to do a bit while Crossfitting a few years ago) and every time I seem to get this middle back pain/tightness on both sides of my spine.

Oddly enough it reminds me of a pain I often get when I'm stressed or have been sitting at the computer for too long. Usually getting on my Triggerpoint foam roller for a couple minutes makes it go away.

After a few minutes of rowing today I rolled out my back several times and the feeling went away until I started rowing again.

I'm wondering if my technique is bad.

Here's a 45 second video of me on my concept2 if you're up for having a look at my technique and offering any suggestions

https://youtu.be/DUH-tGdMe_g

[mitchel674]

What's your drag factor?

[GottiFire]

What's your drag factor?

Is that the damper setting?

If that's what you mean I had it on 4

[mitchel674]

The damper setting is how you adjust your drag factor. You can see your actual drag factor by choosing display drag factor in your PM menu. Unlikely to be too high when set at 4 on your damper.

I'm a novice, but the only thing I notice is that you do not hinge forward on your catch. Your upper body is still at 90 degrees at the catch. I wonder if this body position is putting too much strain on your lower back.

[Erik A]

unrelated question but whats with the light in your face?? that must get very uncomfortable?

[Ombrax]

What's your drag factor?

Is that the damper setting?

If that's what you mean I had it on 4

As Mitchel says, a damper lever at 4 is unlikely to be part of the problem. (there is a PM menu that will tell you what the DF is for a given lever setting on your machine)
The issue would have been if you had the lever at 10 (which would result in a DF around 200) that would have been "too hard" and could possible have resulted in back issues.
In your case, with a lever at 4 (and the resulting DF probably around 100-110) that fine.

I'm no expert on technique, but I also noticed that you weren't leaning forward much, if at all, at the catch. And perhaps leaning a bit too far back at the end of the drive.
However, I'll defer to others who know a lot more than I do about the details and how to assess technique.

Good Luck

[Ripples]

I just started rowing (apart from when I used to do a bit while Crossfitting a few years ago) and every time I seem to get this middle back pain/tightness on both sides of my spine.

Oddly enough it reminds me of a pain I often get when I'm stressed or have been sitting at the computer for too long. Usually getting on my Triggerpoint foam roller for a couple minutes makes it go away.

The experts here will make suggestions about technique, but you might consider giving this a try if your back hurts while at your computer so you don't need to use a roller.

http://www.sonima.com/fitness/static-back/

I have no back issues while rowing, but did have some heavy duty back pain from computer work at my job. The static back has resolved that and it's now a regular part of my exercise routine. Just be sure you're lined up evenly and your legs are elevated at 90-degrees.

[hjs]

Very likely specific conditioning you lack. I see you pull the handle firm, which is ok, but don,t hit your body, this works those muscle. Its simply a matter of slowly making the meters and getting used to working them.
You do have a big error in your technique, you don,t rock your body over, but stay upright at the catch, you should make a 11 oclock 1 oclock movement. You chest should be very close to your thighs when you start the stroke. From here the legs should drive, halfway the back comes in, last bit is the legs.
You now cut off the first part of the stroke, making it shorter, and compensating it with a hard finish.

Re crossfit, in general those guys are strong, doing a lot of strenghwork, I seldom see them rowing ok, thats not to put them down, but rowing is only a very small portion of their training, so the body is completely not suited to make that movement.

[jamesg]

The basic things that are wrong are high feet and incorrect recovery and pull sequences. These lead to a weak posture for the catch. You then try to take the catch with your back, a very bad idea. In rowing we swing forward onto our feet, so that the catch can be taken with the legs.

The C2 technique video shows how rowing is done and the wording has to be read too: http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/t ... que-videos

[jimmyshand]

I've been rowing for just over a year and in the early months I had lots of back issues. Nothing terrible, but it would occasionally keep me awake with the discomfort. I found that after my technique improved there was no problem. However, I did find it helpful to lower the drag factor when my back was feeling most tender.

So instead of the damper on 4/5 I had it on 2/3 which equated to a DF of about 90/100 on the machine I was using at the time.

I also rowed at a really slow rate so that I could focus on proper technique and this also helped. This isn't really meant as advice but it helped me.

EDIT: sorry, one more thing which maybe you've already done. Run your video at 0.25 speed side-by-side with one of the proper technique videos on YouTube and compare. I did this and it really helped me see where I was going wrong because it wasn't always 100% clear from the words on the forum alone - I found I had to see it done to understand it.

[Dangerscouse]

I agree with all of these comments, but I used to get a sharp muscular pain on one side of my mid back near the spine that started after about 45mins of rowing and would be very distracting.

The foam roller helped temporarily but the solution for me was three good sports massages. I haven't had the issue in over four months now. Worth every penny.

[Dangerscouse]

EDIT: sorry, one more thing which maybe you've already done. Run your video at 0.25 speed side-by-side with one of the proper technique videos on YouTube and compare. I did this and it really helped me see where I was going wrong because it wasn't always 100% clear from the words on the forum alone - I found I had to see it done to understand it.

This is great advice for anyone looking to improve their technique

[GottiFire]

I've answered everyone's questions and comments below.

But first, WOW, I'm blown away by all the people who took time to give me their input. Thank you so much.

The damper setting is how you adjust your drag factor. You can see your actual drag factor by choosing display drag factor in your PM menu. Unlikely to be too high when set at 4 on your damper.

I'm a novice, but the only thing I notice is that you do not hinge forward on your catch. Your upper body is still at 90 degrees at the catch. I wonder if this body position is putting too much strain on your lower back.

Others mentioned the same thing so that must be some of the issue. Oddly enough I thought hinging forward to much would create more of a problem. So I'll be working on improving my hinge. Thank you

Also my drag factor is 108

unrelated question but whats with the light in your face?? that must get very uncomfortable?

I'm rowing in my basement which has very little natural light. The light mimics natural light. Not uncomfortable at all

As Mitchel says, a damper lever at 4 is unlikely to be part of the problem. (there is a PM menu that will tell you what the DF is for a given lever setting on your machine)
The issue would have been if you had the lever at 10 (which would result in a DF around 200) that would have been "too hard" and could possible have resulted in back issues.
In your case, with a lever at 4 (and the resulting DF probably around 100-110) that fine.

I'm no expert on technique, but I also noticed that you weren't leaning forward much, if at all, at the catch. And perhaps leaning a bit too far back at the end of the drive.
However, I'll defer to others who know a lot more than I do about the details and how to assess technique.

Good Luck

Yes my drag factor is 108. And nearly everyone else has been mentioning the same issue with the hinge. I'll start working on that today. Thanks for your insight.

The experts here will make suggestions about technique, but you might consider giving this a try if your back hurts while at your computer so you don't need to use a roller.

http://www.sonima.com/fitness/static-back/

I have no back issues while rowing, but did have some heavy duty back pain from computer work at my job. The static back has resolved that and it's now a regular part of my exercise routine. Just be sure you're lined up evenly and your legs are elevated at 90-degrees.

Thank you so much for the link, I will give that a try.

Very likely specific conditioning you lack. I see you pull the handle firm, which is ok, but don,t hit your body, this works those muscle. Its simply a matter of slowly making the meters and getting used to working them.
You do have a big error in your technique, you don,t rock your body over, but stay upright at the catch, you should make a 11 oclock 1 oclock movement. You chest should be very close to your thighs when you start the stroke. From here the legs should drive, halfway the back comes in, last bit is the legs.
You now cut off the first part of the stroke, making it shorter, and compensating it with a hard finish.

Re crossfit, in general those guys are strong, doing a lot of strenghwork, I seldom see them rowing ok, thats not to put them down, but rowing is only a very small portion of their training, so the body is completely not suited to make that movement.

Thank you for your insight. I can see now that I need to working on being at 1 o'clock at the catch

The basic things that are wrong are high feet and incorrect recovery and pull sequences. These lead to a weak posture for the catch. You then try to take the catch with your back, a very bad idea. In rowing we swing forward onto our feet, so that the catch can be taken with the legs.

The C2 technique video shows how rowing is done and the wording has to be read too: http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/t ... que-videos

Thank you, that's very helpful. I will adjust my feet so they are lower, and watch that video several more times.

I've been rowing for just over a year and in the early months I had lots of back issues. Nothing terrible, but it would occasionally keep me awake with the discomfort. I found that after my technique improved there was no problem. However, I did find it helpful to lower the drag factor when my back was feeling most tender.

So instead of the damper on 4/5 I had it on 2/3 which equated to a DF of about 90/100 on the machine I was using at the time.

I also rowed at a really slow rate so that I could focus on proper technique and this also helped. This isn't really meant as advice but it helped me.

EDIT: sorry, one more thing which maybe you've already done. Run your video at 0.25 speed side-by-side with one of the proper technique videos on YouTube and compare. I did this and it really helped me see where I was going wrong because it wasn't always 100% clear from the words on the forum alone - I found I had to see it done to understand it.

Great ideas, I'll lower the damper on today's row. Definitely a great idea on you video suggestion.

I agree with all of these comments, but I used to get a sharp muscular pain on one side of my mid back near the spine that started after about 45mins of rowing and would be very distracting.

The foam roller helped temporarily but the solution for me was three good sports massages. I haven't had the issue in over four months now. Worth every penny.

Great idea thanks so much

[Dangerscouse]

There are loads of extremely helpful rowers on here and I'm constantly amazed by the depth of collective knowledge and helpfulness.

Hope it all helps, and you're smashing your PBs soon

[GottiFire]

The basic things that are wrong are high feet and incorrect recovery and pull sequences. These lead to a weak posture for the catch. You then try to take the catch with your back, a very bad idea. In rowing we swing forward onto our feet, so that the catch can be taken with the legs.

The C2 technique video shows how rowing is done and the wording has to be read too: http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/t ... que-videos

@jamesg, okay I've been working on my technique after watching that video several times. I thought I made improvement yesterday when I was trying to lift my heels more but the seat kept hitting my achilles and I noticed in the video that her seat doesn't come near that close. So I backed off a bit and tried to lean at the hips more. Also I changed the feet holder from a 2 to a for so they aren't as high.

I think one of the things creating the problem on reaching that 1 o'clock position is the extra weight in my mid section which I'm working on. Really seems like my belly pushing up against my thighs is getting in the way.

Here I am today. Grateful for any more insight you have. Thanks so much

https://youtu.be/WeuSqBZTKj0