While I was swimming 5 miles on Monday (first time doing this distance), my right elbow started hurting and it did again today when doing an easy 2 miles before work. With my arm outstretched, palm facing up, the pain is on the right, outside side of my elbow, which I think might be lateral epicondylitis, as opposed to medial epicondylitis. I will see the NP in the orthopedic/sports medicine office tomorrow. He's the same guy who misdiagnosed my foot injury for months, which eventually required major surgery that put an end to my long-distance running so I will also follow up with a sports medicine specialist, but may not be able to see him until June 23rd.
In the meantime, any tips on the best type of catch and pull that will not put further stress on this part of my elbow?
It is difficult to say exactly what the cause could be without seeing your stroke - and whether or not it is even from swimming or from something else. In terms of swimming, there are a few questions to ask. Did you start practicing the early vertical forearm technique recently, and how often have you been implementing it into your workouts? This type of pull can be stressful on the elbows if you are compensating for weaker muscles by placing more pressure on the elbow joint. Also, do you use flipturns or open turns? Open turns, if practiced forcefully and repetitively, can also place strain on the elbow.
These are just a few possibilities. I would recommend getting your stroke analyzed above and under water by a specialized technique coach to see if swimming is causing the trouble - and if so, what you might be doing incorrectly. Thanks, swimspire. I've only recently started trying to focus on EVF, but I also jumped my continuous distance from 3 to 5 miles so I'm pretty sure swimming is the cause. I only do flip-turns. I haven't given up on EVF yet. I should probably be increasing distance more gradually and I will probably lay off of EVF at least for a while and try to become a more patient person.
It is difficult to say exactly what the cause could be without seeing your stroke - and whether or not it is even from swimming or from something else. In terms of swimming, there are a few questions to ask. Did you start practicing the early vertical forearm technique recently, and how often have you been implementing it into your workouts? This type of pull can be stressful on the elbows if you are compensating for weaker muscles by placing more pressure on the elbow joint. Also, do you use flipturns or open turns? Open turns, if practiced forcefully and repetitively, can also place strain on the elbow.
These are just a few possibilities. I would recommend getting your stroke analyzed above and under water by a specialized technique coach to see if swimming is causing the trouble - and if so, what you might be doing incorrectly. Thanks, swimspire. I've only recently started trying to focus on EVF, but I also jumped my continuous distance from 3 to 5 miles so I'm pretty sure swimming is the cause. I only do flip-turns. I haven't given up on EVF yet. I should probably be increasing distance more gradually and I will probably lay off of EVF at least for a while and try to become a more patient person.
