Staying in the boat: how rowing injuries happen
Most rowing injuries build up gradually rather than happening in a single moment — what to watch for, and why speaking up early makes the biggest difference.
Rowing doesn't usually cause injuries the way a fall or a collision does. Almost all of them build up gradually — a joint or a muscle being asked to do a bit more than it's ready for, week after week, until it starts to complain. That's actually good news: it means most rowing injuries give a warning before they become serious, if you know what to listen for.
The areas rowing tends to load
A few areas come up more often than others in rowing, because of how the stroke and the training work:
- Ribs, chest wall and side — can flare up during a big jump in erg volume, especially the side under the most load
- Low back — sensitive to a heavy lifting block, or a technique change under fatigue
- Knees — can feel it on the drive, or going up and down stairs, after a change in rate or volume
- Wrists and forearms — often linked to rough water, cold conditions, or a change in how you're feathering the blade
None of these are inevitable. They're patterns worth knowing, not a list of injuries you're bound to get.
The signs worth noticing early
The earliest signs are often small: soreness that doesn't quite go away, something that eases with a warm-up but comes back partway through a session, a niggle in the same spot more than once. On its own, any one of these could be nothing. A pattern — the same area, more than once, getting a little worse rather than better — is exactly the thing worth flagging, and flagging it early rather than waiting.
A rib or chest-wall niggle that gets worse with a deep breath or a cough is worth mentioning sooner rather than later. A back that eases off with a warm-up is different from one that gets worse as a session goes on, or that's sore the morning after lifting — the second pattern is the one to speak up about.
Why speaking up early actually works
The whole point of catching things early is that a niggle caught in week one is a much smaller problem than the same niggle ignored for six weeks. Coaches would always rather hear about something small and be wrong than find out about something serious too late. Saying something isn't making a fuss — it's exactly what the check-ins on Today and in the evening summary are there for.
What helps day to day
Warming up properly, rather than treating it as optional, matters more than it might seem. So does building volume up gradually rather than in big jumps — a sudden increase in erg minutes or water time is one of the more common triggers behind a niggle turning into something worse. Your coach plans training with this in mind, but the day-to-day noticing is something only you can do, because you're the one who can feel it.
Who to talk to
Your coach is the first port of call for anything training-related — they can adjust a session, add recovery, or simply keep an eye on something for a few days. If something feels like more than a normal niggle, or isn't easing the way you'd expect, see a physio or your GP rather than waiting it out. You can always report an injury yourself, at any time, and your club cannot switch that off.
Last updated 2026-09-13