A Tale Of Two Olympic Rowers
Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert
Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney
This blog post came about because I’ve been working with two incredible athletes who were in Sarasota to train, and then compete, to represent the USA in rowing at the lightweight division. Their quads were like rocks that were on fire. They really needed chronic thigh muscle pain relief. It really made a difference when I treated their quads, and it showed during their qualifying competition. I’m happy to say, they WON! They are going to Rio.
However, you don’t need to be an Olympic class athlete or a rower to suffer from chronic thigh pain. This treatment will work for anyone with thigh pain.
Chronic Thigh Muscle Pain Hampers Rowers
Thigh muscle pain can hamper a rower’s 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 rower’s 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.
Chronic 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, knots are formed in the muscle fibers.
It is vital to force the knots 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.
Chronic Thigh Muscle Pain – Treatment That Works
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 chronic thigh muscle pain is 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 knots 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 knots 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 after getting chronic thigh muscle pain relief or other muscle pain relief.
Wishing you well,
Julie Donnelly
About The Author
Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.
She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.