Rowing Physio Presentation

Rowing Physio Lecture Outline

Star Physio’s principal Damian Oldmeadow was recently asked to present to the Shenton College/UWA Rowing Club. Damian has been involved as a physio to rowing athletes since his days working at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Damian and the Star Physio Team regularly see rowers for physiotherapy, particularly at the Mosman Park office which is close to many of the rowing schools and clubs.

Rowing Physio Lecture Part 1.

Discussion before dinner looked at the current research into rowing injuries, their causes, diagnosis and management. Many participants were interested to learn that rowing technique and posture may not be a cause of rowing injuries, but actually an effect.

Lower Back Pain the most common injury in Rowers.

Lower back pain was identified in the literature as the number one injury in rowing. Over 50% of rowers report some lower back pain each season. Rib stress fractures, knee pain and shoulder pain were the other most common rowing injuries that physios treat.

Having an expert rowing physio involved in early diagnosis is a critical part of injury management. The great news is that many rowing injuries can be trained through or around once the correct diagnosis is made.

The overuse and misunderstanding of scans for diagnosis was also discussed in the lecture. The Star Physio Experts understand that many of the findings on scans of rowing athletes are just normal variations. It is however very important to scan when certain findings are present. Check out this great blog from our lower back pain guru Simen Sletten if you want to know more about this!

Rowing Physio Lecture Part 2.

The second part of the evening focused on injury prevention and performance from a rowing physiotherapy perspective.

Warm up and Stretching

Traditional warm up and stretching beliefs were challenged. Expert physios understand that the previous ideas of passive stretching in warm up does not reduce injury risk. Thankfully the coaches in the room were very aware of this and have been implementing excellent warm ups for the Shenton and UWA Rowers with running and dynamic movements to prepare the rowers for their sessions.

Strength and Conditioning

An important focus of the Star Physio Rowing Presentation was strength and conditioning. The evidence is powerful that for athletes of all ages, strength and conditioning is the most valuable tool we have for injury prevention. Stronger rowers also go faster! Star Physio have been leaders in strength and conditioning for all levels of athlete and in rehabilitation for many years. You can read more here!

Strength and Conditioning for Rowers

Recovery for Rowing Athletes

The rowing physio night was rounded out with a discussion on recovery techniques. While there are many fancy tools and devices advertised on social media, the science is solid in that sleep and good nutrition are the big ticket items.

Less than 8 hours sleep has a significant risk on injury!

Next Up!

Later in the year Star Physio’s diet and nutrition experts will be presenting on “Fuelling for Performance”. You can read more about our nutrition experts here.

If you are a rower with injuries, or keen to prevent them, why not get in touch with our experts of book an appointment today! If your rowing club is interested in a similar presentation, feel free to get in touch! You can read more about Star Physio’s Rowing Physiotherapy Here!