On Wrist and Forearm Pain Experienced by Rowers: Can Mechanical Metamaterials Make Rowing and Coastal Rowing Safer?

On-water rowing is a sport where participants make extensive, powerful, and complex repetitive movements with their wrists to pull and feather (twist) the oar. Herein, the aim is to assess the frequency and perceived causes of wrist and forearm pain in rowers and, in particular, assess whether there are any possible mechanical issues that could be addressed through the use of auxetic technology. Through an online survey of 145 on-water rowers, it is found that 33.8% of the rowers reported wrist or forearm pain arising from rowing. The majority (67.3%) consider over-gripping to be the cause while one out of five associated it with periods of tension and anxiety, which also led them to over-grip. This indicates that rowing handles could benefit from the use of mechanical metamaterials, auxetics in particular, owing to their anomalous manner in how they deform when subjected to mechanical deformations. Moreover, given the rise in popularity of coastal rowing, which will become an Olympic discipline alongside classic rowing as from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the potential use of auxetics in the manufacture of protective gear for use in coastal rowing is also discussed.