HPRowing - 4 - How To Fix Upper Back Pain While Rowing

A couple years ago, when I started putting on mileage to my training routine, I ran into a problem that prevented me from doing a high volume of rowing. I noticed that whenever I tried to row for more than 40 or so minutes, my upper back would tighten up, causing pain during full compression at the catch. This caused a lot of frustration, because I couldn't row more than 60 or 70 kilometers in a week due to the tightness.

At first, I looked into different stretches specifically for the upper back. I also started using a foam roller to roll my back before and after sessions, as well as every 15 minutes during a high volume low intensity pieces. The upper back stretches helped alleviate some of the pain, however, the change was not significant. Although foam rolling helped during pieces, it was not a long term fix, as I would have to frequently roll out my back due to the constant tightness.

Not satisfied with this, I looked on various rowing forums and found that upper back tightness was a common problem for rowers who were just starting to increase their mileage. This was especially common in males, who lack the natural flexibility of the fairer sex. While, I was having this problem, I was also dealing with increasing my hamstring flexibility in order to increase my length per stroke. Looking into this, I found a stretch that remains a favorite to this day. Not only did performing this stretch increase my hamstring flexibility, but I also noticed that I was able to row for longer periods of time without having to stop to deal with my upper back pain. Eventually, I became able to row as long as I wanted without being restricted by the tightness that used to be commonplace.

The stretch is simple and can be done using a towel or any kind of band. Personally, I like to use a resistance band which can be found at either Amazon or any fitness store.

The band is used to stretch your hamstrings. This is done by either straightening one leg and pulling it up using the band or by raising one leg and then gradually straightening it. You will feel this in the hamstrings. The goal as you are doing this is to increase the angle between the raised leg and the other leg that should be lying flat on the ground. I find that holding the stretch for 40 to 60 seconds is fine for me. Feel free to play with the angle. You can also try bringing the femur close to your chest into a catch position and then extending it as if you are driving the legs in the boat. The trick behind this, is that the stretch is telling your hamstring to relax.

Although hamstring tightness and upper back tightness seem to be unrelated, there does exist a relationship between the two. This is because the muscles between the back and hamstrings are connected. Hamstrings that are too weak compared to the upper back cause the muscle to shorten. Since the muscles in the hamstrings and back are connected, this shortness in the hamstrings causes tightness in the upper back. Although the symptom was the upper back, the underlying problem was in my hamstrings.

I hope that this simple stretch provides a solution to any upper back problems that you may be experiencing, as it has proved invaluable to me.