8/12/2019 Heel Positioning in Rowing

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Stability equals power: ankle flexibility and heel lift factors

It would be be frustrating to learn that something as simple

as the ankle flexibility you were born with or acquired

through an injury would curse you with a disadvantage in

rowing. This is especially so since our bodies’ ‘function’ is

rarely able to be altered in a significant way.

 These was an early finding for our team who have sincebeen considering why it happens and what we can do

about it. This R&D Note describes what happens at the

lower limb during the stroke and begins to consider what

we can change to alleviate some the problems identified.

We began analysing this problem by critically reviewing the

equipment athletes are forced to use: a flat footboard fixed

at around 40-42 degrees.

 This set-up provides a reasonable, whole-foot platform

towards the finish of the stroke, but not at the catch or (for

most athletes) up to the first 60% of the drive phase.

Instead, when pushing off a standard footstretcher at thecatch, the athlete’s foot is in a flexed position, with weight

being braced against a small area under the ball of the

foot. The picture above demonstrates a typical position

immediately prior to the catch. As it shows, the heel has

lifted between 30-40 degrees from the position it will be

in at the finish (or between 4-8 centimetres depending on

shoe size and ankle flexibility).

What was interesting however was that the degree of heel

lift (and thus the foot area an athlete has to push against

at the catch) is determined by ankle flexibility. Further, it

is rarely the flexibility of the athletes achilles tendon which

is the limiting factor in ankle flexibility, rather the point atwhich the bones of the shin and ankle ‘lock up’ and lift the

heel during the recovery.

So, the ankle flexibility you were born with will determine

what degree of heel lift you have, and the foot surface

area you will be pushing off at the catch. We see the

importance of this only when we then consider what

happens during the rowing stroke when the foot is placed

in this weak position.

 The immediate effect is that the arch of the foot collapses

as pressure mounts on the foot. Further, postural (non-

dynamic) muscle contractions are required as the bodystrives to hold the foot and lower limb in a position to

maintain the power on the blade. As the force increases

on the blade, further unnecessary stress is placed on the

knees, lower back and shoulders in order to maintain a

degree of stability.

 At best this means wasted energy and muscles that

are not recruited to apply power. At worst, we see a

mechanism for injury inbuilt into our standard rowing

equipment.

We like to compare it to trying to do squats on your toes -

you just won’t be lifting the amount of weight your muscles

are capable of if your feet aren’t in a strong, supportedposition. It makes sense when our data demonstrates

that peak leg force is applied only when the foot has full

contact with the foot stretcher.

BAT LOGICR&D NOTE ROWING

Number 3

BAT Logic is proud to be the sports engineering partner of Hudson Boat Works. By integrating the principles behind this R&D Note into

their shells, Hudson Boat Works join us at the forefront of research to improve boat speed by taking biomechanics back to where it started.

 Visit www.batlogic.com.au or www.hudsonboatworks.comfor more information.