I started swimming about three months ago. I swim two to three times a week. I recently developped a shoulder pain on my left shoulder, and it's awful after a swim. It continues for three to four days. This is not anything like what I have experienced before; it's not a muscle pain, but it's sharper and throbbing, almost like a spasm. I mostly swim in front crawl.
What am I doing wrong to cause this? How should I treat it?
Thanks,
tamami
Parents
Former Member
As a temporary measure you might want to stop swimming for a few days (the kickboard is nice if used correctly) and see if it calms down by itself.
Are you using ICE after exercising? A bag of frozen peas fits nicely over the shoulder area and down the biceps tendon. Just don't use if from more than 20 minutes at a time (and perhaps wrap the bag in a light towel so you don't burn yourself). Over the counter anti-inflammatories (Advil, Motrin etc) can also help bring down the inflammation.
Your sleeping position may also be a contributing factor--do you tend to sleep with your arm wrapped around the pillow or with the elbow higher than the shoulder? Learn to sleep with arms down at the sides or with elbow BELOW shoulder.
Take it from someone who has had 6 shoulder surgeries--I kept giving myself real bad tendonitis. Some was bad mechanics and other times were "bad original equipment" (i.e. structural problems)
I do wear a biceps strap from Cho-pat (they are on the web) and it does seem to help the problem. If you catch the problem early (or learn to recognize it) you can do something about it before it gets really bad.
As a temporary measure you might want to stop swimming for a few days (the kickboard is nice if used correctly) and see if it calms down by itself.
Are you using ICE after exercising? A bag of frozen peas fits nicely over the shoulder area and down the biceps tendon. Just don't use if from more than 20 minutes at a time (and perhaps wrap the bag in a light towel so you don't burn yourself). Over the counter anti-inflammatories (Advil, Motrin etc) can also help bring down the inflammation.
Your sleeping position may also be a contributing factor--do you tend to sleep with your arm wrapped around the pillow or with the elbow higher than the shoulder? Learn to sleep with arms down at the sides or with elbow BELOW shoulder.
Take it from someone who has had 6 shoulder surgeries--I kept giving myself real bad tendonitis. Some was bad mechanics and other times were "bad original equipment" (i.e. structural problems)
I do wear a biceps strap from Cho-pat (they are on the web) and it does seem to help the problem. If you catch the problem early (or learn to recognize it) you can do something about it before it gets really bad.
