Hi,
I'm a 60 year old male who is mostly a runner/biker but who also swims. Typically I swim once a week for 2000 yds. Well, recently I hurt my back and so swimming was my only option. Apparently I ramped up too quickly, and after 3 weeks was swimming every other day, for about 1800 yds per swim. Last Sunday, I noticed a slight pull feeling in my inner left elbow area. I paid little heed to it. It happened again on my swim Tuesday but like Sunday, it didn't bother me and it didn't last. Then on Friday, I noticed a pinchy feeling in the same area. It didn't get worse during the swim but I certainly took notice.
Afterwards, I noticed some discomfort in the area. It's by the knobby bone of the inner elbow. If I run my finger along the tendon into the upper arm, it feels like a little pinchy. The area just below, into the forearm doesn't hurt but feels a little tight. The pain is not bad, but I'm certainly not going to try to swim.
Does this sound like golfer's elbow? Has anyone experienced this kind of pain/sensation?
The funny thing is that usually if I ramp up too quickly, I get pain in my left shoulder. I was pretty careful to monitor that, and even did some left shoulder icing after my swims. So my left shoulder never acted up.
Thanks in advance for any feedback or advice you can give me.
Bob P
Hi Dan,
What you say makes a lot of sense. I'm more a "casual" swimmer than a beginner in that I've been swimming for many years but typically just once a week. I've never had any lessons so I'm sure I have lots of bad habits, but at 2000 yards, once a week, I had never really aggravated anything badly enough that a week's rest wouldn't take care of. But the recent quick ramp up over 3 weeks to 3x1800 yards per week was apparently too much. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea even if my form was good.
When I heal up, I'll look into getting my form analyzed. By the way, I'm also in the Twin Cities area. Do you have any recommendations about how/where I could go about it? My goal would still to be a casual swimmer, but with improved form.
Thanks,
Bob P
Hi Dan,
What you say makes a lot of sense. I'm more a "casual" swimmer than a beginner in that I've been swimming for many years but typically just once a week. I've never had any lessons so I'm sure I have lots of bad habits, but at 2000 yards, once a week, I had never really aggravated anything badly enough that a week's rest wouldn't take care of. But the recent quick ramp up over 3 weeks to 3x1800 yards per week was apparently too much. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea even if my form was good.
When I heal up, I'll look into getting my form analyzed. By the way, I'm also in the Twin Cities area. Do you have any recommendations about how/where I could go about it? My goal would still to be a casual swimmer, but with improved form.
Thanks,
Bob P
