{"title":"Concept2 SkiErg — upper body and trunk training","seoTitle":"Concept2 SkiErg — upper body and trunk training | PES Luxembourg","metaDescription":"Concept2 SkiErg with PM5 monitor for upper-body and trunk conditioning at the physiotherapy practice in Bascharage. Informations et rendez-vous au Pôle Équ","content":"**The [SkiErg](https://www.concept2.com/ergs/skierg) (Concept2) is a cross-country ski ergometer with an air flywheel and a PM5 monitor. It allows cardiorespiratory work of the upper body and the trunk, without tibial impact. Concept2 describes possible use standing, sitting, kneeling or from a wheelchair. At Pôle Equilibre & Santé, in Bascharage, it is used mainly when the lower limbs still need to be protected.**\n\n## Flywheel, damper and double poling\n\nResistance is not a “difficulty” notch in the sense of a gym bike. The stronger and faster the pull, the more the flywheel accelerates and the more resistance increases. The **damper** (1 to 10) sets the amount of air that enters the housing: Concept2 compares it to a gear. A low damper (often 1 to 4 in general fitness) gives a lighter sensation; a high damper comes closer to heavier conditions. It does not replace control of intensity by cadence and pull force.\n\nThe PM5 monitor displays distance, watts and cadence. The reference movement is **double poling**: both arms descend together, the trunk leans slightly, the trunk muscles and the back muscles close the movement, then the return is done without raising the shoulders. An alternating push (classic style) is possible. A slight leg flexion is added only when weight-bearing and the shoulder allow it.\n\nUnlike the [SkillRow](/bascharage/equipement/skillrow), the SkiErg mainly loads **shoulders, back and trunk** vertically. After knee surgery, a leg fracture, partial weight-bearing, or when the treadmill and the stairs are too early, it maintains breath and upper-body strength.\n\nHegge et al. (*European Journal of Applied Physiology*, 2015) described the mechanics of double poling: the trunk and the upper limbs produce a large share of the power. Holmberg (*Sports Medicine*, 2015) synthesised the physiology of cross-country skiing. In clinic, we retain that a short, well-cadenced effort rapidly raises heart rate **without tibial impact** — not a sports-performance argument.\n\n## Indications and technique\n\nCommon indications: a prosthesis still painful in load, a brace or a boot with standing authorised, a need for cardio without running, instability too great for the treadmill with the possibility of pulling while holding a support. This is not reserved for skiers.\n\nCompensations to avoid: high trapezius, hyperlordosis, a pull beyond the authorised shoulder range. An operated shoulder is worked within the surgeon’s instructions, not in a maximal pull. The physiotherapist sets the handle height and chooses the position (standing with support, sitting, possibly a wheelchair).\n\n## How it goes, pain, contraindications\n\nSoft clothing, closed shoes when standing. Prescription, weight-bearing and shoulder-range instructions. A light meal is enough.\n\nShort efforts at the start: often six to ten minutes, possibly fractionated, within a session of about thirty minutes. A 5000 m is not a rehabilitation goal.\n\nForearm and back-muscle fatigue, shorter breath, are expected. Lightning shoulder pain, radiation into the arm, knee pain if a flexion was added too early, chest pain: we stop. Increasing the pull to mask pain is not an instruction.\n\nIf standing balance is precarious, we start sitting or with a support. The SkiErg does not roll under the feet, but an imbalance at the end of the pull exists. Driving is generally possible after a moderate effort. The SkiErg maintains endurance; it validates neither a return to running, nor a throw, nor lifting.\n\nContraindications: forbidden shoulder pull, forbidden weight-bearing without a sitting alternative, unexplored dizziness when standing, chest pain, infection, an inflammatory shoulder flare.\n\nThe first effects concern effort tolerance, in a few sessions. Useful endurance is built over weeks. This is not a knee treatment: it is a way to preserve cardiorespiratory capacity while the lower limb is rehabilitated.\n\n\n## Frequently asked questions\n\n\nHow should I prepare and what should I wear?
\n\nSoft clothing, closed shoes if you are standing, prescription and weight-bearing or shoulder instructions. A light meal is enough. Mention dizziness, chest pain or an instruction not to pull.\n\n \n\n\nHow long does the effort on the SkiErg last?
\n\nOften six to ten minutes at the start, sometimes fractionated, within a session of about thirty minutes. A 5000 m is not a clinical goal. Quality of the movement and protection of the leg take precedence.\n\n \n\n\nIs it reserved for skiers, and I am afraid of falling?
\n\nNo, the resistance adapts. One can use it very gently, including sitting or with a support. Fear of falling is managed by starting stable, someone beside you, without leg flexion as long as balance is lacking.\n\n \n\n\nWhat if it hurts during the exercise?
\n\nStop the pull and say so. We lower the range, we sit, or we change exercise. Forearm burn is not operated-shoulder pain.\n\n \n\n\nCan I drive, and when can I resume sport or work?
\n\nDriving is generally possible after a moderate effort. Desk work: often early. Knee sport: the SkiErg maintains the breath, it does not decide the return to the field. Shoulder sport: other tests.\n\n \n\n\nWhat contraindications, and what timeline for results?
\n\nForbidden shoulder pull, unexplored standing dizziness, chest pain, infection: we wait. Breath often improves in a few sessions; useful endurance, in weeks. Physiotherapy is provided on medical prescription so that it can be reimbursed by the [CNS](https://cns.public.lu/fr/assure/remboursements/prestations-remboursees/prestations-paramedicales/kinesitherapeutes.html). The practice handles the paperwork. Details: [The Consultation](/bascharage/kinesitherapie/consultation-kine).\n\n \n\n\nHow can I book an appointment?
\n\nVia [Doctena](https://fr.doctena.lu/cabinet/Pole_Equilibre_Sante-281318) or on +352 26 65 28 42. Practice at 20B Rue du Bois, 4912 Bascharage — see [Contact & access](/contact).\n\n \n\n## Find out more\n\n- [The SkillRow](/bascharage/equipement/skillrow)\n- [Orthopaedic rehabilitation](/bascharage/competence/reeducation-orthopedique)\n- [Our technical platform](/bascharage/equipement)\n\n","image":"https://pes-luxembourg.lu/bascharage/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Concept-2-Skierg.png"}