I started to swim regularly nearly two months ago. I almost exclusively directed my intention to improving my breaststroke - and I have hardly been swimming any other techniques since I started.
I watched some youtube videos for guidance, but as I never had the information with me in the pool, it mostly came down to experimenting and improving the technique on my own, still of course trying to imitate the image I had in my head from my vague memory of the videos. In the beginning my kick was quite straight vertical. Only later did I start to bend my feet outwards and kick in a sideway fashion, trying to imitate what I have seen on the videos. In terms of functionality and uses of muscles it was different from what I was used to.
I rarely do very long sets, as I most of the time do weightlifting as well beforehand. The other day however, I did not do any weightlifting and instead just had a long swim. I guess my body was not very used to the length neither the kicking technique.
All seemed to have gone well, but a few days later I went to the pool again, but this time I could feel a sharp pain in my hips as I was doing my kick - to the degree that I couldn't/didn't want to continue.
Now to some questions I have in mind; Should I be worried that I have done some real damage? Could it be due to overstrain, wrong technique or both? Should I wait it out or seek medical advice? etc.
The main reason why I am asking is that my body has not been the same since a bacterial infection that happened a few months ago, and wonder if it could be related.
I will be grateful for any inputs and I am especially interested if anyone of you have encountered similar issues!
How old are you, Allvis? Just wondering if there's a chance of osteoarthritis/degenerative hip joint that could be contributing to your pain. I had my hip replaced in March of last year. The doc and PT allowed me back in the pool rather quickly, but they cautioned me against swimming *** stroke...or at least using that kick...until the muscle tissue around the hip had a chance to heal and strengthen. That kick puts more stress on the hip joint than the other kicks do.
Dan
Agree that seeing a Dr is a good idea. Breaststroke kick puts a lot of strain on the knees and hips. I am basically a breaststroke specialist and I only do 200 full stroke in warmup and 250 race pace in workouts. If I do more something breaks down, but I have been competing breaststroke for over 55 years so my joints have significant wear and tear. YMMV.
frog kicking can place great loads on the hips.
My ortho said I need surgery on my hips and if I neglect them, in a few years I will be buying artificial ones, but I have a 2nd shoulder issue to fix first (soon). On the occasion I do swim I always tailor down the frog kick force and width and have less pain.
Thanks everyone for your inputs!
ForceDJ: I'm am about 30, so not so old and I haven't experienced any real issues with my body until a few months back when I was treated for a bacterial infection. Whether it was because of the infection or the antibiotics (ciprofloxacin), I have since then experienced unknown minor symtoms similar to what could be arthritis. I haven't noticed anything in my hips until this time though.
I will hit the pool again on Thursday and carefully try to see if the pain is still there. If it is, I should have it looked up. If not, I think I will wait and see. Before the pain I did 1km of breaststroke only, which for me is much, so it wouldn't be a surprise it is simply due to overuse, especially considering I have doubts that my technique is completely correct.
Thanks again all, please feel free to share your thoughts.
All the best,
Could it be bursitis in your hip area? I went through a phase a while back thinking I'd done something to my hip and it turned out to be bursitis that was brought on by a lot more kicking than I was used to (nursing a bad shoulder for a few weeks).
It took about 6 weeks until it was totally gone. Lots of ice and anti inflammatories for about 4weeks. The first time it happened and it was diagnosed, the doc did a steroid shot to kickstart the healing. Now that I know what it feels like, it’s easier to catch it early. Get your hip looked at tho for at least peace of mind
Flystorm: Yes, it could be. How long did it take for yours to recover?
Update: I went swimming yesterday and tried some breaststroke carefully and couldn't feel any pain. I didn't want to use full power yet in case it is still healing. I will wait and see, maybe consider seeing a doctor anyway. I do actually feel some occasional acing from my left hip...
I would wait until you can swim hip pain free. But I broke my hip and was able in time to return to swimming in time. I would not swim and lift lower body weights for a good while, particularly hip flexors and extenders. You can always focus more on upper body swimming using pull-buoys, but I would wait a week or two to heal. 5-6 weeks if you are really hurting. See a sports orthopedist if you are, or a regular orthopedist. Hip injuries are not usually aggravated from swimming if you don't do kicking, besides a light flutter kick. But I would never lift weights and then swim unless you are very young. You should heel in time.
