Question for the docs: dequervains, rowing and forearms stuff

Triathlon Forum
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this summer I’m going to try to get back into rowing. the only thing that would hold me back is a screw in my right forearm and dequervains tenosynovitus that has developed in my forearm.

the rowing will probably be sculling–so my right wrist will need to rotate up and down to feather the oar. this makes me a little nervous because my forearm can get pretty painful using tools in the garden, like the gardenclaw.

so, how do you think this dequervains would handle rowing? especially sculling?

i do have perscription anti-inflams, which will help a little. ultimately i’m going next wed to try it out, but am trying not to get my hopes up too much in case my arm can’t do it. i’ve never had therapy for it and will look up some stretches for it today.

thanks for any advice and insights,

kittycat

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bump. seriously, i need advice friends.

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Kittycat, I’m not a doc, but I was a rower and was always very careful about maintaining very good strength and flexibility throughout my wrists and forearms. I would say if you have dequervains and you want to row, get your doc to give you a prescription for PT and go see them. Do the PT and then go back to rowing once the PT says you can try it. If it bothers you, stop. But PT can make a world of difference.

My own suggestion for rowing would be to row a double/quad as much as you can and to see if you can row square-blades or 1/4 feather to minimize the wrist action required. Good for your rowing too…

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I’m not a doctor but I rowed a double for several years so I am very familiar with the sculling movement, feathering etc… all I can say is build up your time slowly so that you don’t get over sore. Time will tell if you will be able to do it or not. I hope it works out for you because rowing is the best…

Where do you row out of? I have not done it in a few years but used to dock off the Licking (yuck) and rowed for UC during undergrad. Ahhh…the good ole days…

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kc
15 years ago this is the same reason i started using aerobars.
Couple of things I’ve done-for kayak and canoe-padded the base of the thumb joint so the contact area is better distributed through the palm. See what you have in cycling gloves. Added about a quarter inch to the diameter of the grip area kayak paddle. it seemed to help distribute the pressure also. worked on the feathering rotation so i was using the upper part of my palm and moving pressure away from the lwr thumb joint. pain is a real motivator in practicing this. and i’ve started using old cycling glove when i’m working with hand tools around the house.
jay

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thanks…the problem is that we have a huge deductible so PT will cost me all out of pocket and after all of the bills in the last two years i’m just tired of spending money on PT, hence going back to rowing and not running this season. so, we’ll see…

gotchya on the 1/4 feather or square blade. that’s good advice. personally i’ve never sculled before and prefer sweep…there are 2 other women here and if i found another perhaps we could get a 4, we’ll see. ultimately though, it’s legs and back, so maybe it won’t be that big of a deal, especially if I square the blade.

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I did a quick Google for you and there are some good links online with exercises/stretches/etc. for dequervains. Maybe try those first.

You might also try rowing with tulips instead of hatchets. They’re easier to exract at the finish.

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i rowed for uc too…tim was my coach, and this was in the kelly salchow years. i’m short, but still fast (or at least was then) relatively speaking (about a 7:30 2000, which was good for our boat back then). we were a club then, and after i graduated the sport went varsity–awesome, but i was sad to miss what comes with varsity status.

anyway, if you want to get into it, pm me your email address and i can send you the information just sent to me by the president of the CRC. we’ll row out of the licking–which is a hell of alot better than what we had to do before the boathouse…i’m talking down on Kellog avenue, literally walking the boat in the water thigh high and freezing our asses off. these were the days pre boathouse, etc.

there are two other women here that were in my boat–one was in the national champion 4, and the other is very fast–we’re ages 30 to 31. if you are recovered enough from your back rehab, my guess is we’d make a hell of a 4. we’d just have to find a cox… anyway, it’s fun to think of stuff like this, regardless if it can even happen.

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Don’t need a cox, just a toe… Row a straight four…

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i think the boats they have are coxed from the bow…depends on what’s available i guess.

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Getting back in the boat, sweet. Every so often I consider doing the same thing, but haven’t pulled the trigger. In the meantime, I content myself with regular trips to Row2k.com to monitor the progress of the alma mater toward a third straight IRA title.

So, because it gives me a chance to think and talk about rowing, I am going to chime in with my $.02 on your question.

I looked up some info on deQuervain’s and I have some questions. Do you get pain from movement of the wrist or from gripping? From what I read, and from what you said about the garden tools, it seems like the pain is from gripping. Can you erg without pain? While your concerns seems to be primarily with feathering, I would want to know if yor arm/hand can withstand the drive phase comfortably and allow you to hang from the handle.

If you can erg, I would say you should be able to sweep, at least. However, I think sculling may be overly ambitious. If you were an experienced sculler who only went out in flat water, you would be able to get away with a minimum of stress on your hands and forearms. But as a novice, I would anticipate alot of blade slapping, occasional crabs, and enough general tension and instability that your forearms, wrists, and hands will be under considerable duress while you learn the new skill. This sounds like a recipe for disaster in someone with DT.

But sweep rowing should be fine. Any gripping should only minimally implicate the thumb, if at all. If the up/down movement of the wrist is pain free than you are good to go on port-side, otherwise row starboard.

Whatever you do, I would follow a pretty commonsense pre-, during, and post-row regimen. That is, warm-up the wrist in warm water and on the erg before going out, wear a poggie (or an adapted sock) over the right hand during the row, ice the wrist post-row, and probably splint it at night. That was standard protocol for guys with tendonitis in their wrists when I was rowing.

Finally, Have you exhausted all of your free resources? What I mean is, have you contacted USRowing and MRA to see if they have any advice for you? I would find out who the current docs are for the national team and give them call on the off chance they will give some free advice. And , if teh injections have not solved teh problem, what ahven’t you had the surgical treatment? I hear that is very effective.

Good luck.

Garth

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The precise cause of deQuervain’s tenosynovitis is unknown. It is thought that excessive friction from overuse of the thumb and wrist (excessive and repetitive gripping and grasping actions) may be a factor …

Okay, I think we’ve learned a little more about our girl …

Sorry.

If it was me, I’d say F the feathering and just fake it. But, I don’t know so much about rowing, other than seeing “Oxford Blues” a couple times.