Ask The Experts
How can I stop kidney pains after rowing?
Philip Dyer: "Having caught the indoor rowing bug three years ago I have been showing steady improvement from my original time of 7:40 for 2,000 metres down to 6:37. This time was achieved during the North of England championships. Having prepared by doing interval training, when I eventually entered the competition I suffered. After the race I could not stand, it took me at least ten minutes to stop panting and then I started to get pains in my kidneys, which resulted in me passing water every hour throughout the night. Is this normal?
"I am preparing for the British IRC, and feel capable of a 6:28. What can I do to ensure that I don't suffer the same outcome as the last time?"
Terry O'Neill: No, this is not normal, certainly in the sense that it does not happen to the majority of people. On the other hand, however, it can happen to people who generate a lot of power anaerobically. When you row 2,000 metres flat out, what makes it such a physical challenge is not the total amount of work you do, but the rate at which you are burning up the calories. Other sports that consume energy at this rate, like the 400 metres high hurdles, only last for around one minute, but in your case you are going on for 6:30. This causes a massive oxygen debt and a build up of CO2 and Lactic acid in the blood stream; the higher the anaerobic contribution, the higher these levels will be. The heavy panting is primarily to get rid of the CO2. As for the kidney pain, the high levels of lactate carried in the blood would have changed its pH from alkaline to acidic, and this would cause the discomfort and burning sensation. The repeated passing of water is the body's way of flushing out the kidneys and restoring the body to normal. During this process you need to keep drinking water to avoid dehydration, which will only aggravate the condition. If it were to persist you would need to refer the problem to a doctor. One way you could try to reduce the ill effects is to make sure you are fully hydrated before the race and rehydrate as soon as possible afterwards by constantly sipping water.
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