HELP!!!
I am starting to have left knee pain, and now some sharp right hip pain when swimming breaststroke. I know enough that I have to take some time off from swimming breaststroke, but what should I look at after the pains go away so that I do not repeat this injury.
Sort of upsetting because this is my favorite stroke. Perhaps, it's just me getting old and the warranty has run out, but in 32 years of swimming I have never had this amount of pain from the kick.
Thoughts, suggestions?
Thanks!
-Chris
Sorry to hear about your knee pain and hip pain! In the breaststroke, this type of discomfort is usually due to overuse or practicing with too wide of a kick. My first advice would be to see an orthopedic specialist for advice or treatment.
Beyond this, if you post a video of your stroke here, it will be easier to see if there are any issues with your kicking technique that might be causing your pain. In the meantime, you can try practicing drills that combine breaststroke pull with, for example, dolphin kick or breaststroke pull with freestyle kick. This way, you are able to still work on breaststroke without putting as much of a burden on your knees/hips.
In the link to this article, you'll find an example of breaststroke pull dolphin kick and breaststroke pull freestyle kick demonstrated by Olympian Ruta Meilutyte:
www.swimspire.com/.../
You can also try varying your stroke in workouts and ease up on the breaststroke a bit to see if the pain subsides. Keeping a balance between different strokes will help to strengthen different muscle groups, as well as to avoid injuries.
Good luck!
Sorry to hear about your knee pain and hip pain! In the breaststroke, this type of discomfort is usually due to overuse or practicing with too wide of a kick. My first advice would be to see an orthopedic specialist for advice or treatment.
Beyond this, if you post a video of your stroke here, it will be easier to see if there are any issues with your kicking technique that might be causing your pain. In the meantime, you can try practicing drills that combine breaststroke pull with, for example, dolphin kick or breaststroke pull with freestyle kick. This way, you are able to still work on breaststroke without putting as much of a burden on your knees/hips.
In the link to this article, you'll find an example of breaststroke pull dolphin kick and breaststroke pull freestyle kick demonstrated by Olympian Ruta Meilutyte:
www.swimspire.com/.../
You can also try varying your stroke in workouts and ease up on the breaststroke a bit to see if the pain subsides. Keeping a balance between different strokes will help to strengthen different muscle groups, as well as to avoid injuries.
Good luck!
