Out of curiosity, how much weight were you rowing?
I actually don't remember precisely, but I never went very heavy on that exercise- probably the heaviest I ever went was 225. I used to do them significantly bent over- nearly parallel to the floor, but one day I tried them much more upright like Dorian and seriously hurt my back. That was 8 years ago and it has never been the same. I never went to the doctor to determine the extent of the injury. Oh well, live and learn. I hardly ever do them any more- I just do one arm dumbbell rows in their place