Hi all, I apologize if this question has been asked time and time before - I did some searching and couldn't locate a thread similar to my own.
I've just started swimming the breat stroke for 30-45 minutes 4-5 days a week for exercise. I've been doing this for 4 weeks now. Just yesterday as I was swimming I noted a sharp pain intermittently during kicks, but I ignored it. When I was stretching prior to swimming, I did notice pain in my hip joints when I was stretching my groin.
I wake up today and both of my hip joints feel pretty torn up. There's really no pain while walking normally, but if I pivot my leg to the side there is a clear pain in both of my hip joints. Is this caused by common fatigue/usage of my hip joints? Or could this be due to poor form? I am 25 years old and in pretty good shape.
Any advice, suggestions, or insight would be greatly appreciated.
That's a lot of breaststroke; in my opinion, it is too much stress on the knees, if you swim it correctly. If you are having hip pain, it sounds like you are bending your legs at the hip, rather than bringing your feet up to your butt. Take a look at the video Peter posted and you will see what I mean. Compare the video to what you are doing and I'm guessing there is a big difference.
Are you able to swim freestyle and/or backstroke? If so, I would mix it up a bit to work different muscles- and joints.
Good luck!
After 2 hip replacements, I would go to a sports Doc. to get checked out . Sharp pain is a telling sign that something is not right!!
Former Member
Thank you for the suggestions and information. I'll probably be opting out of swimming for a day or two while my joints heal up.
I will probably begin mixing in the backstroke to mix things up, and I'll be closely studying some breaststroke videos to ensure I get the kick down correctly. Sort of a bummer, I thought I had it. It felt right, but apparently I'm rotating my leg in the socket a bit too much when I thrust perhaps?
Without some good quality video, it would be hard to see if there are any technique issues. Might be easier to look at video of other's doing it (e.g. Kosuke Kitajima 200m Breaststroke Under Water Camera - YouTube) and consider whether you are doing something similar or not. Here's a video from goswim.tv about *** stroker's knee: www.goswim.tv/.../breaststroke---kick-variation.html. Might be something to try out.
Sharp pains are usually bad things. I'd definitely not "ignore it" and seriously consider seeing a doctor about it. Could be a technique problem but it could also be something a lot worse. Or, you might have injured something and need to rest a bit so it can heal. Only a doctor is going to be able to properly diagnose something like that.
Thank you for the suggestions and information. I'll probably be opting out of swimming for a day or two while my joints heal up.
I will probably begin mixing in the backstroke to mix things up, and I'll be closely studying some breaststroke videos to ensure I get the kick down correctly. Sort of a bummer, I thought I had it. It felt right, but apparently I'm rotating my leg in the socket a bit too much when I thrust perhaps?
Usually breaststroke doesn't affect hips as much as it affects knees. Perhaps you are making your kick too wide? See videos which pmccoy posted earlier.
I would advise to see a sports doc and to swim other styles( freestyle, back or fly) for a while.
Another thing before the breaststroke you need a good warm up. For warm up I usually swim easy 600m (200m Free + 200m *** + 200m Back) and then after that I kick 400m with a board starting very easily and building tempo at the end. After that I'm ready to swim any breaststroke sets without worrying about getting injuries.
Former Member
That IS a lot of breastroke, particularly if you've started from a low base.
I wouldn't worry too much about analysing technqiue to find answers just yet. Take time to build it up and do a bit more of your yardage on front crawl / back.
I'd also consider doing dray land work that strengthens and builds flexibility in the hip, such as Yoga, pilates or other core workouts.
