Thigh Muscle Pain Hampers Rowers
Thigh muscle pain can hamper a rowers ability to powerfully force his/her body back as a key part of the rowing pattern.
Movements are done simultaneously: as the thigh muscles are pushing the seat back, the rowers arms are pulling back on the oars.
It is the smooth interaction of the two movements that enable the rower to glide smoothly toward the finish line.
Thigh muscle pain is caused by repetitive strain injury to the quadriceps muscle fibers. As the fibers are forcefully contracting while the rower is straightening out his/her legs, hydrogen ions, an acid, are formed. The hydrogen ion buildup causes spasms to form in the thigh muscles, and pain is felt as the acid is being forced through the muscle fibers.
It is vital to force the toxins out of the thigh muscles in order to release the tension that is being placed on the pelvis and knees, and to stop the pain.
To complicate matters, because of the muscle attachments to the bones and joints, the thigh muscle will also cause pain to be felt in the hip, low back, and knees.
Thigh Muscle Pain Treatment
This is an easy treatment to do, and one that uses a strange “tool”….. a 12” length of PVC pipe.
Start by sitting and holding the PVC pipe easily in your hands. Don’t grip it too tightly or you’ll end up hurting your forearm muscles.
Begin at the top of your thigh muscle and press, don’t roll, all the way down to your knee.
The most important thigh muscle is called the Rectus Femoris. (Go to #13 on graphic shown in this link)
This thigh muscle not only has pain caused by its own repetitive strain, but also because muscles in your low back can be rotating your pelvis and causes a domino-effect that shortens the muscle.
After you do 2-3 passes along the length of the muscle, stay on top of one of the spasms (you’ll feel the bumps as you go down your leg), and just press while slightly rotating the PVC pipe to force the toxins out of the muscle fibers.
This treatment, and MANY others, is demonstrated in my book Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living. Or you can get the eBook version and an excellent, unique, stretching program that incorporates self-treatment with Yoga stretches by purchasing Focused Flexibility Training.
Thigh muscle pain, or any other muscle-joint pains, won’t go away on their own! If you have pain, you need to be proactive and force the toxins out of the muscles, and then safely stretch the fibers back to their proper length. It’s easy-to-do, and you’ll be amazed at how good you’ll feel.
Wishing you well,
