Increased risk of stress fractures of the ribs in elite rowers.

In rowing, stress fractures are rare. However, the intensity of training has increased in terms of more specific rowing movements throughout the year. Simultaneously, new equipment has been developed resulting in faster rowing over the racing distance with increased risk of injuries on bones, muscles and ligaments. We report five cases of chest pain and one case of pain in the shoulder in national elite rowers, diagnosed as stress fractures of the ribs employing 99m Technetium-MDP bone scan. In all cases, an increase or alteration in physical activity in the weeks prior to the injury and an increase in specific rowing movements with special emphasis on the new equipment, combined with increased biomechanical stress applied to the thoratic skeleton in the catch and the early part of the drive phase of the stroke, most probably caused the injuries.