Injuries/Illness - Recent Threads

The Survivor’s Lane: Radiation, Fear, and the Body of a Masters Swimmer

swimfastatlanta — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:37:29 GMT

The Survivor’s Lane: Radiation, Fear, and the Body of a Masters Swimmer

What it means to face radiation at 60 — as an athlete, a survivor, and a woman fighting back through cancer.

By Leann Rossi

I had my first appointment for radiation treatment the other day, and I didn’t expect the wave of emotion that hit me. I’ve always been someone who manages anxiety by talking it out — bouncing it off my spouse, leaning on someone who can share their experience, strength, and hope. But when the radiation tech came to get me from the waiting room, something inside me cracked open. I immediately started to cry.

The fear was overwhelming.

The vulnerability was sharp.

And for a moment, I felt small — smaller than I’ve felt in years.

It’s strange how you can be surrounded by people and still feel alone in a moment like that. The tech did his best to comfort me, but fear has a way of shrinking the world down to a single point. And in that point, I was just a woman facing something I never thought I’d face again.

Because yes — this is my second cancer era.

What Radiation Means for a Masters Swimmer

Radiation is a powerful tool in cancer treatment, but it’s also a stressor on the body — especially a body that has lived, trained, aged, healed, and adapted the way a Masters swimmer’s body has.

While every person’s experience is different, radiation can affect:

- Muscle strength and recovery

- Fatigue levels

- Range of motion

- Energy production

- Soft tissue flexibility

Radiation isn’t designed to harm healthy tissue, but it can still affect the muscles, fascia, and skin around the treatment area. For swimmers — who rely on fluidity, rotation, extension, and power — these changes can feel especially personal.

And for a seasoned athlete, the emotional impact can be just as real as the physical one. We know our bodies intimately. We know how they move, how they respond, how they recover. When something threatens that relationship, it shakes us.

Facing Radiation at 60 Hits Differently

I’ll be 60 in a few months. I never imagined I’d be facing cancer again at this stage of my life. Fifteen years ago, when I had malignant melanoma removed — along with lymph nodes in my groin and under my right arm — I was stronger. More resilient in that almost reckless way you can be in your 40s. I powered through. I didn’t question my body; I trusted it.

Now, things feel different.

Not worse.

Not weaker.

Just… different.

There’s a gravity to facing cancer later in life. A weight. A deeper awareness of what’s at stake. And yet, there’s also a wisdom — a knowing — that I didn’t have the first time around.

The Water Still Holds Me

Through all of this, the water remains my sanctuary.

My USMS Masters team — the camaraderie, the laughter between sets, the shared language of effort — is part of my healing. The water wraps around me like a full‑body hug, a God‑hug, reminding me that I’m held even when everything else feels uncertain.

Swimming is where I remember who I am.

Swimming is where I feel whole.

Swimming is where I feel strong — even when I’m scared.

I can’t imagine what it’s like for those who have been pushed out of our community, or those who have had to navigate life’s hardest challenges alone. The pool has always been my anchor. My compass. My place to breathe.

For the Women Who’ve Walked This Path Silently

As I move through this next phase of treatment, I’m mindful of something important: I’m not alone. I know there are many women in our sport who have gone through breast cancer quietly, without ever sharing their story.

To them, I want to say this:

You don’t have to be silent about your breast cancer journey.

Your story matters.

Your voice matters.

Your presence on the pool deck matters.

There is space for you in this community.

There is space for your fear, your strength, your questions, your healing.

There is space for your hope.

The Lane Ahead

Radiation is just one part of this journey, but it’s a part that has already taught me something: resilience isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s tear‑streaked. Sometimes it’s lying on a treatment table, breathing through fear. Sometimes it’s showing up to the pool even when you don’t feel like yourself.

I don’t know exactly what the next months will look like. I don’t know how my body will respond or how my training will evolve. But I do know this:

I’m still here.

I’m still swimming.

I’m still learning what it means to be resilient in a body that has lived, endured, and adapted more than I ever gave it credit for.

This is my lane.

This is my journey.

And I’m choosing to swim it out loud and courageous.

About the Author

Leann Rossi is an elite United States Masters Swimming (USMS) athlete, coach, and advocate for inclusive, evidence‑based conversations at the intersection of sport, health, and identity.

toe cramps

Marieke — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:02:46 GMT

I had two knee replacements last year and didn't kick hardly at all for four months before that. For years before that, I was a minimalist on kicking because when I put in a hard kicking set my IT band would act up. I also have hammer toe.

The problem is that I get into the workout my toes cramp really hard. Last night they cramped up and I looked at them and there were two toes that were 90 degrees in the second joint. When this has happened, I cannot continue even to the other end of the pool and it will happen again very soon. Coming back from knee replacements, I have done and still do a lot of pulling. Now there seems to be more pressure between the water and the top of the foot than there was before. It almost always happens in the foot with the worse hammer toes on the leg that had an IT band issue before knee replacements. It happens when I get excited and try to make an interval, when I don't pull enough in warm up, and towards the end of workout, but sometimes near the beginning. I want to swim in the ocean again, but what if my toes cramp?

Does anybody have any suggestions? Has anybody else dealt with hammer toes and swimming and severe toe cramps? How does one deal with a swim meet where one cannot use a pull buoy in warm up? Is this something that might get better as I get more used to kicking after knee replacements?

When Hormones, Cancer and Swimming Collide

swimfastatlanta — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:19:54 GMT

I’ve learned more about hormones in the past few weeks than I ever expected to in my lifetime. When my biopsy results came back, the explanation was both simple and devastating: my estrogen was feeding the cancer. Suddenly, something I never thought about — a hormone quietly doing its job in the background — became the center of my treatment plan and the reason everything in my life was about to shift.

Part of that plan is hormone suppression. And like any athlete who trains with intention and purpose, my mind immediately went to the same place it always does: How is this going to affect my swimming? I had goals for 2026. I had meets circled on my calendar. I had been building toward something for over a year. Now I’m staring at this new reality and trying to understand what it means for my body, my training, and the future I thought I was stepping into.

Will I be able to train the way I’m used to? Will fatigue take over? Will I need to pivot entirely? These questions don’t come from fear — they come from the discipline of someone who has always planned, prepared, and pushed.

Then came a question I never imagined would be part of a cancer diagnosis: Will the medications I need to survive put me at risk for a doping violation? Tamoxifen — a standard treatment for estrogen‑driven breast cancer — is prohibited in competitive sport unless an athlete secures a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Testosterone therapy, if it ever becomes part of a treatment plan, requires the same. It’s surreal to think that fighting cancer and following the rules of my sport can collide like this, but here I am, navigating both at the same time.

This whole experience has cracked open a world I didn’t know I was living inside of.

I always thought of hormones as something abstract — background chemistry quietly doing its job while I focused on splits, stroke counts, and training cycles. But now I’m seeing how much of sport, medicine, and identity is built on assumptions about hormones that we rarely question out loud.

Take prostate cancer. When men are treated for certain types of prostate cancer, their testosterone is often suppressed. Their estrogen levels rise. Their bodies change. They lose muscle mass, gain fat, feel fatigue, experience hot flashes, mood shifts, and changes in libido. In other words, they go through a hormonally induced transition too — but we don’t talk about it that way. We call it “treatment,” not “transition.” We frame it as survival, not identity.

And yet, physiologically, there are parallels.

If it weren’t for the recent wave of lawsuits and debates over transgender athletes in United States Masters Swimming, I might never have connected these dots: hormones, cancer treatments, performance, and doping regulations are all part of the same ecosystem. The same hormones that are central to gender debates are also central to cancer care. The same medications that save lives can trigger anti‑doping flags. The same bodies we categorize so confidently on paper are, in reality, far more complex.

My mind keeps spinning out questions.

What about women who’ve had complete mastectomies because of breast cancer — how are they seen on the pool deck? As “less female”? As “inspirational survivors”? As something else entirely?

What about women who naturally have higher testosterone levels? They exist. They’ve always existed. How are they perceived when they step onto the blocks? Are they quietly judged as having an “unfair advantage,” even if they’ve never taken a single banned substance? Are they asked to prove their womanhood in ways others never are?

And now I’m in this strange intersection myself: a woman with breast cancer, on hormone‑suppressing treatment, navigating anti‑doping rules, thinking about testosterone and estrogen not as abstract markers of gender, but as levers in my medical chart and variables in my training.

It’s fascinating and absolutely mind‑boggling.

What I keep coming back to is this: we talk about fairness in sport as if it’s simple, as if bodies can be neatly sorted and regulated. But once you start looking at hormones, cancer, surgeries, natural variation, and medical treatments, the picture gets a lot more complicated.

There are men whose testosterone is medically suppressed.

There are women whose breasts have been removed.

There are people whose hormone levels sit outside the “normal” range their whole lives.

And all of them are still showing up, still swimming, still trying to belong in lanes that were never designed with this complexity in mind.

Maybe the real question isn’t just who fits the rules, but who the rules were written for in the first place — and who gets left out of the conversation when we pretend bodies are simple.

I don’t have all the answers. I’m still learning, still adjusting, still figuring out how to train while my hormones are being rewritten by medicine. But I do know this: I’m not alone. There are countless athletes navigating cancer, surgeries, hormone therapies, and bodies that don’t fit neatly into categories.

And maybe if we talked about it more — openly, honestly, without fear — we’d build a sporting world that reflects the real diversity of human bodies, not the simplified version we’ve been taught to believe in.

This is not the season I planned for. But it’s the one I’m in. And I’m trying to hold space for both truths: that I am a person fighting breast cancer, and I am still an athlete with goals, discipline, and a future worth fighting for. My path may change. My training may look different. But I’m still here, still asking the hard questions, still imagining the lane lines and the water and the possibility that I can come back stronger — not because of what I’ve lost, but because of what I’ve learned.

About the Author:

Leann Rossi is an elite United States Masters Swimming (USMS) athlete, coach, and advocate for inclusive, evidence‑based conversations at the intersection of sport, health, and identity.

Swimming through Breast Cancer

swimfastatlanta — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 19:04:25 GMT

I am just a week into my recent diagnosis and looking for swimmer support. I am hoping to have a scheduled surgery in March followed by treatment. Swimming definitely got me through my first diagnosis back in 2010 but this is different and I am older, so bouncing back mentally and physically is going to be some of my biggest challenges. Hopefully our swimming community will have some experience, strenght and hope to share- I am definitely going to need it.

Swimmers Elbow

swimfastatlanta — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:21:31 GMT

I have been dealing with an elbow issue for the past 5 months. I regularly ice, use a compression sleeve and use ibuprofen and this seems to work tentatively but then a flair up occurs and I am right back to the same regiment. It almost feels like I have fluid buildup in my forearm. Has anyone else had this ongoing issue? If so , what is your regiment for healing?

Inner ear issue

06ZGK — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 20:09:17 GMT

Has anyone experienced inner ear problems impacting the ability to do flip turns? I have dizziness and nausea if try flip turns. I know there are maneuvers to treat, but wondering if others have had this and been successful in successfully resolving. Thank you.

RE: Inner ear issue

620F6 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:50:42 GMT

This is one of issues I am attempting to mitigate at the moment. I have experienced dizziness/nausea/vertigo-like symptoms for years now. Swimming on my back & flip turns have always exasperated the symptoms. At a recent check up with my GP, he found I have a perforated eardrum. Finally meeting my ENT next week. To mitigate the issue, I use a ribbed ear-plug, a swim cap (which I pull over my affected ear) and use a snorkel (placing the bands over the affected ear); these minimize water getting into my inner ear channels. Hoping my ENT will have other solutions. My GP also prescribed a beta-histamine to reduce my dizziness.

Compression Fracture of the L1

02SUY — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 13:53:32 GMT

I sustained a compression fracture of the L1 while doing yoga confirmed by an x-ray and MRI. I didn't go to a doctor for 5 weeks and managed my pain with ibuprofen and rest on my own. On

week 5, I thought it best to get more information on the issue. I already have a diagnosis of osteoporosis and suspected that was likely the cause of the fracture after the tests came back. I

haven't swum in 6 weeks. I'm going to rest for a couple of more weeks before getting back in the pool. I started walking already and the back is fine. I have already started PT. I have a long

history of swimming and find it difficult to be out for so long. I read that compression fractures heal on their own and I can get back in the pool soon. Fortunately, mine was not too serious.

What I don't know is if this means that other vertebrae are compromised and doing a flip turn should be avoided. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether a flip turn is safe or should be

avoided from now on? I appreciate any and all input.

Thanks, Mary

Dry & irritated skin around eyes

0B6TA — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 23:22:56 GMT

Any tips for very dry and irritated skin around the eyes?

RE: Dry & irritated skin around eyes

Elaine Krugman — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:40:45 GMT

Yes! Before I swim, I spread a thin layer of Vaseline around my eyes where my goggles come in contact with my skin. This helps prevent my skin from getting irritated, and it helps my goggles stay on better too.

RE: Retinal Detachment

swimfastatlanta — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:17:47 GMT

Hello- I had a swimmer this year that had a similiar surgery. He was out of the water for 4 weeks, then was given the go ahead to return however just kicking for 4 weeks. Once he hit 8 weeks, he was given the go ahead to gradually build back up, wear goggles and resume practices however was not allowed to fly in a plane nor compete during a 10 week time frame. His surgery was in August and he just recently finished a channel and 5 mile island swim in St. Lucia. Good luck with your recovery and stay positive! Coach Leann Rossi 404-643-6063

Retinal Detachment

01TR3 — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:01:08 GMT

I don't see any recent post about this so hoping someone can provide some insight. I have recently had two surgeries for detachment (first one failed at 7 weeks post op). i have an oil bubble this time so i know i won't be back in the water anytime soon. I do compete and work out really hard. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and were they able to return to competitive racing, pushing themselves in practice and diving off the blocks? I know many people return to "normal" activities, but wanting to get the perspective of the swimming community.

Thanks

Competitive Swimming Post Reverse Shoulder Replacement

022BN — Mon, 27 May 2024 16:08:03 GMT

I have been a competitive masters swimmer for 35 years. Due to numerous dislocations, I have developed osteoarthritis in my right shoulder with misalignment of the humerus head and shoulder blade with a bone on bone condition. Due to the misalignment and wear I am not a candidate for standard shoulder replacement as it’s too risky so my only option is reverse shoulder replacement. I was wondering if anyone in the USMS community has had this type of shoulder replacement and been able to continue to compete at a high level? How long was the recovery period? I am I destined to become a recreational swimmer?

RE: Competitive Swimming Post Reverse Shoulder Replacement

Windrath — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 18:17:47 GMT

Brigit, Did you get the reverse shoulder replacement and how has it gone? I am looking at the same thing for arthritis, completely torn infra and supra-spinatus rotator cuffs, and not happy that backstroke might be out of the question.

Thanks - Paul Windrath

RE: Competitive Swimming Post Reverse Shoulder Replacement

2RAT5 — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 17:10:46 GMT

Hi,

I am a sport physical therapist that works does aquatic and land based PT. I have had patients return to swimming after reverse total shoulder. I would highly suggest finding an aquatic PT in your area or a sports focused clinic who can help return to swim. It will also depend on your surgeon's preference and how the shoulder generally progresses.

RE: Swimming with Parkinson's Disease

HR2ES — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 09:28:30 GMT

My husband has Parkinson’s disease, adding PD-5 herbal formula to his nighttime Parkinson’s meds has completely changed his sleep issues. He slept all day and up all night, we had to hire care nurses. Now using this PD-5 medicine for the last four months and a normal routine he sleeps almost completely through the night and may get up once to use the restroom. It’s improved so much we were able to let go of the night nurses. This medicine also helps a ton with memory. we got the treatment from www.Limitlesshealthcenter.com I am absolutely confident that this program offers a viable solution. I hope someone find this helpful, We feel very fortunate to have learned about pd-5.

Swimming with Parkinson's Disease

jim thornton — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 02:03:55 GMT

I did a search of the forums and couldn't find this topic being discussed anywhere. But I am curious if any of our members who have been diagnosed with PD and continue to swim might share any tips or advice with regards to training. Two friends of mine here in the Pittsburgh area have recently been diagnosed, and both are determined to continue swimming despite slowing down. It seems to me that aquatic exercise could be a great way to exercise and perhaps even slow down the progression of the disease. Surely, there must be within the greater USMS ranks more than a handful of swimmers who are currently contending with this disease. I told my one friend, who isn't a USMS member, that I would post an inquiry on his behalf here on the forums and share any results it might turn up. Thanks in advance!

RE: Swimming with Parkinson's Disease

HR2ES — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 09:28:03 GMT

My husband has Parkinson’s disease, adding PD-5 herbal formula to his nighttime Parkinson’s meds has completely changed his sleep issues. He slept all day and up all night, we had to hire care nurses. Now using this PD-5 medicine for the last four months and a normal routine he sleeps almost completely through the night and may get up once to use the restroom. It’s improved so much we were able to let go of the night nurses. This medicine also helps a ton with memory. we got the treatment from Limitlesshealthcenter. com I am absolutely confident that this program offers a viable solution. I hope someone find this helpful, We feel very fortunate to have learned about pd-5.

RE: Training Programs with Parkinson's Disease

U2842 — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 03:44:44 GMT

Hi Pamela,

Please feel free to contact me, happy to share notes etc.

Zaq

Kewmon@aol.com

Training Programs with Parkinson's Disease

XSTPD — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 14:03:42 GMT

Hello! I was diagnosed 7 years ago with Early Onset Parkinson's Disease, I am now 55. I was wondering if there is anyone in this community who has been training successfully with a program catered to our specific challenges. For me, I have a constant train/ crash cycle that is not helping me progress with my goals. My goals are to improve my overall health, improve and manage my pesky symptoms. train consistently each week because I enjoy it, and maybe swim in the occasional regional meet. However, I find I have a tendency to push my own sessions too hard, then put myself into a 'crash' mode which can take 2-3 days to recover. And the crashes also keep me from doing my other day to day activities , so that puts me into an even worse cycle mentally, personally, etc. I am super frustrated, but know that swimming is a great exercise option for those of us with PD, my question is: Has anyone figured out the ideal training program that helps you be consistent and improve (health, goals) and not put you in the spin cycle the other direction? Thanks everyone for any help or ideas you can send my way. Pamela

RE: Training Programs with Parkinson's Disease

90N61 — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 02:03:07 GMT

Just an anecdotal testimonial to encourage you: 2020-2021, for ten months, I swam 3x/week with an 84 yo friend, with macular degeneration. She previously had compted and swam regularly. After some grief, she stopped for about 4 years. When she tried, she felt off balance. Then diagnosed w PD which explains some things. After 3 weeks of Sinemet, she asked to try again. Though it looked awkward at first, she persisted, slow and steady 3x per week. She was my heroine, inspiring me to keep going, tho out of shape. My heart skipping beats, fatigued most days after workout, but I told myself, “If she (20 yrs older than me), can do it, them so can I” 10 month later, we were regiatered for open water Tahoe 1/2 mile, since we had developed habit of swim one mile in 50 minutes. As long as she swam, her gait was better, more confident, bolder, she went to blind school and walked taller. She lived alone with confodence. We gave each other so much during that time. Slow and steady did it for her, and modeled resiliency, persistence and patience for me.

RE: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Upper shoulder i.e. Clavicle region of the top of the shoulder.

F0HYA — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 19:16:07 GMT

Hi Thanks for the reply. It was certainly painful. Fortunetly with time and lots of PT and stretching, no surgery, all is good now, no more pain or paralysis in the shoulder or arm, have not done kettle ball presses, (lifts) since. Had been swimming for 2 years before it happened several hundreds miles, that year was greatly reduced, but back up to my lap swimming again, no racing just laps, and work on a few strokes, do not tough Butterfly I find no socially redeeming values in the BF, ha. Indoor rowing now too to supplement the swimming and more workouts. Keep swimming. Thanks

Arnold

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Upper shoulder i.e. Clavicle region of the top of the shoulder.

F0HYA — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 22:45:08 GMT

Hi, first time on this site for an injury. Had an injury two years ago, April 2022, after a swim with our masters club in Wichita. Did a normal swim with some drills with Kick board and afterwards some dry land workouts including working with a Kettle ball, and stretching too. Was doing seated overhead press with a 10lb kettle ball, and had been doing that drill for about a year but not every day and not every workout.

The next day I woke up with a severe pain in the upper shoulder, left side, not rotator cuff, but below and around the clavicle area. Sever pain in that shoulder lifting the arm, swimming was out of the question, doing any pushing down with that shoulder i.e. using arms to stand up or roll out of bed.

Pain continued for like 9 months, went to my Dr, and a specialist and and PT no one seemed to know what it was. Just did lots of stretching with the arms and shoulder, and limited swimming.

Was watching Chicago Med a Month ago and some patient came in with the same issues. Diagnosed as a Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, nailed it same thing that I had or very close to it.

Googled it and it is a repetitive injury causes Swimming, Weights etc...

Anyone else ever had an issue similar to this.

RE: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Upper shoulder i.e. Clavicle region of the top of the shoulder.

Elaine Krugman — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 18:44:51 GMT

I watched that episode, too, and my husband and I just turned to each other with that knowing look. Been there, done that. Mine was a repetitive work injury, and I had surgery (first rib resection) in 2003. Unfortunately, the (brilliant!) surgeon who operated on me (in San Diego) is probably no longer alive. He was 71 at the time and retired ten years later.

TOS is quite difficult to correctly diagnose, because other conditions can mimic it. In my case, my veins and nerves were affected, so I had a loss of circulation and nerve activity. I couldn't even lift up my arm to brush my teeth. If I hadn't been operated on, I would have ended up with paralysis of my left arm. Although I had TOS bilaterally, it wasn't as bad in my right arm, and I was able to rehabilitate it with PT.

Following my surgery, I asked my surgeon if I could return to my high school sport of swimming. I hadn't swum regularly since 1979, but I thought it would be great to pick up again. He said, "Sure!" Little did he know how far I would go with it. When I returned to San Diego to visit, I brought him a medal I had won in the 200 butterfly at the Georgia Golden Olympics. Later, I sent him these videos with my expression of gratitude:

https://youtu.be/4PJouksr3wI?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/BfKKZa3uUYM?feature=shared

I hope you won't have to go through what I did. Hopefully, PT will work for you. If not, and you have to have surgery, don't let just anybody operate on you. Do your research, and make sure your surgeon has done MANY of these operations. There are a few MLB baseball pitchers over the years who have had operations for this, so perhaps you can find out who their surgeons were.

Good luck!

RE: Competitive Swimming Post Reverse Shoulder Replacement

brigid bunch — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 01:56:01 GMT

I’m getting the reverse-shoulder replacement in a few weeks. I’m curious, as well. I was told I’ll never swim backstroke again and I’m devastated.