First post but it's actually something I know about! Over a year ago I had reached a point in swimming that I could barely pull myself out of the pool due to lower back pain. Finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with moderate to severe arthritis in the L5. I'm 54. After some PT and deciding to join Masters to help with my swimming technique I have been basically pain free the last several months. What works for me is when I start to feel the pain I switch to sculling 25 yds bringing my knees up to my chest and then alternate with an easy 25 swim doing this until the pain subsides. (The knee to chest exercise while sculling imitates one of the floor exercises I learned from PT.) Even if I don't experience pain during a workout I often end my workout with a 200 alternating scull/swim which for me now replaces any PT exercises. Also, using fins more often seemed to help too!
First post but it's actually something I know about! Over a year ago I had reached a point in swimming that I could barely pull myself out of the pool due to lower back pain. Finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with moderate to severe arthritis in the L5. I'm 54. After some PT and deciding to join Masters to help with my swimming technique I have been basically pain free the last several months. What works for me is when I start to feel the pain I switch to sculling 25 yds bringing my knees up to my chest and then alternate with an easy 25 swim doing this until the pain subsides. (The knee to chest exercise while sculling imitates one of the floor exercises I learned from PT.) Even if I don't experience pain during a workout I often end my workout with a 200 alternating scull/swim which for me now replaces any PT exercises. Also, using fins more often seemed to help too!
