rowing injury recovery

Question
I broke my right knee cap 2 months ago in a freak crew accident. I have been erging again but i still feel a lot of pain in my knee. I am a hs freshmen girl. My coach said it is nothing, and i should just ignore it. But after a practice I can barely walk. I need to keep training and i dont want to let my coach down. what should i do?

Answer
Hi Zyna: This is a tough one.  It is obvious that your knee either has some additional damage (like a ligament) or it has not healed yet.  The rowing motion puts a lot of strain on your knees, so it is no surprise that it would be hurting.

Neither myself, nor your coach are doctors and it would be totally wrong for me to recommend something to you that could cause permanent injury.  You are too young for that. You need to either see a doctor or a physical therapist immediately so that they can assess the condition of your knee and give you a recommended plan for rehabilitating your knee.

They may even say that you might need to rest up this season.  That's a setback, but you are young and can always do other training and be ready for rowing when you fully recover.

Good Luck/AP