aching fingers
Tanya A. Faltens
I started out with a "grip of death" I have since learned to relax my
grip. The problem is that the pain in my fingers, particularly swelling
in the second joint, is continuing and I have developed a "trigger finger"
in my little finger and ring finger. My doctor has recommended quitting
rowing in addition to medication, cortisone injections, and very
possibly surgery to remove a nodule from my tendon. This course of
action seems rather severe, and I would like to hear from any rowers
who have encountered similar problems and hopefully cures or suggestions
as to what exactly I am doing that is aggrevating my joints and tendons.
I really love rowing and hate the thought of having to quit before I
really become a "rower."
Thank you for any suggestions,
Tanya Faltens
Grad Student
UCLA
--
David Benedict Bailey
--
I experienced something similar and ignored it for months. In my case,
it was tendinitis, and when I finally saw a doctor he told me I needed
ultrasound therapy and all kinds of other things. Ultimately, the only
way to get better is to avoid aggravating the tendons. This means
you should try not to scull in the early AM for a while, because it's
cooler and your tendons will not like that. Also it's good to spend
more time than normal just warming up and cooling down so you don't
shock your tendons at the beginning or end of a workout. Continue
to concentrate on your grip so that it involves as little stress as
possible. You want to minimize the amount of work your fingers and
forearms have to do in order to move the boat at the same speed.
Of course I suppose this applies to all muscle groups, and that is the
essence of technique. I don't know. Just be careful because it
can take a long time to heal if it develops past a certain point.
They also said Advil was good for inflammation.
--
Dave Bailey
dba...@leland.stanford.edu
scott morris
>--
You might want to talk to someone who really knows their anatomy well first.
I have rowed for many years, but developed problems when (of all things) I
started using a ConceptII erg. My index finger would swell at the knuckle
and was exremely painful, but by chance I talked to an Osteopath who
knuckle (the one closest to the palm, (first?)) was a little out of line with the rest of them (most people's knuckles
lie more or less in line), and was bearing all of the load every time I
pulled on the handle. Solution? Point my index finger out and row with
the remaining three fingers and a loose grip. No fuss, no muss, no bother.
I think that you might find something similar, from your description. The
horsepower that you generate all flows through those knuckles and if one
or two are bearing the load unevenly, they will be put under trmendous
stress 20-30 times/minute.
Keep searching till you find someone who solves the problem rather than
the symptoms!
Harry Weide
second year trying to deal with it. Last year, I cut my season short
(because the pain was excruciating) and had treatments that included
ultrasound, heat, cold, massage, you name it. I also tried
anti-inflammatories and pain killers. The consensus was also that it was
tendonitis, and my sad conclusion is that the only sure-fire way to make
it go away is to not row. However, let's be realistic:. That's like
saying that abstinence is the only sure form of birth control.
I haven't sculled a lot this year because of holidays and trips, but now
my finger is acting up again. My humble opinion is that avoiding
death-grip (a goal I don't think I've totally achieved) will probably go
a long way.
Another thing to ponder: I spend a lot of time at a keyboard at work,
and I've started thinking about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Perhaps this is
playing a role here as well, and rowing is merely aggravating a
condition caused by something else. I'll have to get a new job, I guess.
Harry
Nunan
>I've been suffering from the same problem. Unfortunately, this is my
>second year trying to deal with it. Last year, I cut my season short
>(because the pain was excruciating) and had treatments that included
>ultrasound, heat, cold, massage, you name it. I also tried
>anti-inflammatories and pain killers. The consensus was also that it was
>tendonitis, and my sad conclusion is that the only sure-fire way to make
>it go away is to not row. However, let's be realistic:. That's like
>saying that abstinence is the only sure form of birth control.
>
>I haven't sculled a lot this year because of holidays and trips, but now
>my finger is acting up again. My humble opinion is that avoiding
>death-grip (a goal I don't think I've totally achieved) will probably go
>a long way.
I originally sent something like this to: fal...@tornado.seas.ucla.edu
who asked the question initially, but since somebody else has this
same problem, I thought I would post my words of "wisdom" :-) (You decide).
Having proper technique would certainly
help, but it takes time. If your hands are big enough, then you should
feather by opening your hand; that is, let the oar handle slide out to
the tip of your thumb, and straighten the bigest knuckle of each finger,
so that just your first two knuckles are bent around the oar. (I am
counting the knuckle closest to the finger tip as first, and the one
to be straightened is number three. I hope this is the usual notation.)
Ideally, you should not bend your wrist at all to feather, but I have
big hands, so that is easy for me to say. If you find that you just
cannot get the blade fully squared and still retain control by
feathering with the fingers only, then you may have to drop your wrist
a little, but make sure your wrist is straight for the pull-through.
The technique I am describing will help to relax your forearms, and the
flexing of the fingers helps to prevent the problems associated with
the "death grip" which you mentioned. The key is relaxing on the
recovery; that goes for the hands, neck, shoulders, and mind. The
problem is that if one is nervous about set-up, and the possibility that
a blade will hit the water, then this relaxation is hard to achieve.
One thing which helps is to think about correcting balance problems
with your feet, not your upper body. If the boat is down to port,
then lift your right foot and press down with your left foot on the
recovery, and vice-versa if you're down to starboard, of course.
Avoid keeping your upper body tense and ready to react, because that
is not the part which should be reacting anyway.
Clearly, since I have not seen you row, I do not know if all (any?) of
these suggestions are relevant, but I think some of this typically goes
along with the "death grip".
As far as recommending how to recover from existing injuries which may
have been caused by incorrect technique, I should be cautious. I am not
a doctor, have not seen you, and do not know if you are a cry-baby or
a (wo)man of steel with regard to pain. If you manage to avoid those two
extremes, to expect that exercise is going to cause the usual pain, and
also occasionally, an injury, but also to listen to your body when it
really needs a break, then I would think that you could continue rowing.
If you are still very new to this game, then for the purpose of developing
good technique which will pay off over years, you may want to ease off
on the intensity of your workout, and instead, spend lots of time just
paddling or rowing quarter pressure. Focus on a relaxed, slow, effortless
recovery. The actual opening of the hands at this time will probably
improve the flexibility of your fingers. I do not know if all of your
symptoms will subside on their own, but I think this is a step in the
right direction.
If your fingers really hurt, even at low pressure, then maybe you would
need to actually stop rowing for a week or two, but such things happen.
Come back to it when you are sufficiently recovered, and start off
thinking only of smooth technique and a relaxed recovery. If you need
to get your heart rate up, try running, swimming, cycling, or whatever.
Rowing is a great combination strength and endurance workout, but only
if your technique is correct.
When I started rowing in college, I had the feeling, for the first month
or two that this was not such a tough sport after all. I was hardly
tired after practice. This changed dramatically, once we had learned
how to row, and the coach could start pushing us, but those early weeks
were well spent. One must lay a firm technical foundation, before trying
to race against jet skis! :-)
>Another thing to ponder: I spend a lot of time at a keyboard at work,
>and I've started thinking about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Perhaps this is
>playing a role here as well, and rowing is merely aggravating a
>condition caused by something else. I'll have to get a new job, I guess.
That seems possible, but I would suspect imperfect rowing technique is
a more likely culprit.
I hope this helps.
Bill Nu...@physics.ucla.edu