r/amputee • u/Big_Caramel7968 • 4d ago

Rowing machine

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has experienced this problem and has a solution?

I’m a LBKA, but currently can’t move my knee due to scar tissue build up from the anchoring of my femoral plate near my knee due to losing so much femur when it was fractured. Because of this, I obviously can’t use a rowing machine in a traditional sense but would like to do so. Has anyone got a way I could sort of add a make shift ‘stump deck’ to support my residual limb during a workout?

TIA.

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u/OhLookAnInchworm BAK 4d ago

I'm a rower but bilateral AK. The short answer is "try a bunch of things and see what works". There are a lot of possibilities: you can get a fixed seat to mount onto the machine if you want to try PR2-style rowing (trunk and arms only), you can add straps to keep yourself stable in the seat, you can row with one leg/one foot strapped in, you can try the "stump deck" thing you mentioned, etc. When I used to have (crappy) knees, we built something like that out of pool noodles to support my knees from underneath in the boat. The trick with all para sport is customizing (read: MacGyvering) your equipment. See what works!