Shoulder pain

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 16:49:16 GMT

Can you recommend some good sites with pictures of strokes and drills? Thanks! Lainey

RE: Shoulder pain

Windrath — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 11:43:06 GMT

Dear RC - Some of the plan sounds good. Please consider the following: a) Run (pardon the pun) to the nearest coach for technique help. 99% of shoulder pain is technique related. b) Most doctors will recommend going no higher than 5 lbs for weight work on rotator cuffs. Those muscles are not meant to be primary lifters - more as stabilizers in swimming. c) Advil is fine for short stints, but if you have to take on a regular basis, there are health issues. RC - Good Luck with the swimming and find a coach. if you do not have access to a masters coach, see an age group or college coach. If you don't have access to those people, check out some sites on line for pictures of strokes and drills. Paul Windrath

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 06:59:41 GMT

Thanks to everyone for your help. I will heed your wise counsel. During my lunch break I went over to the pool and asked a total stranger to look at my attempted crawl stroke. She said that I was "overcrossing" (I was hitting the middle), plus my body rotation wasn't right, reflecting that I am wasting some energy pushing upward (rather than forward). Both of these probably contribute to the shoulder ache. She also said some things about my body position, breathing and kicking, but it was too much for me to absorb. (Man, this is surprisingly technical). Still, I've come a long way since last May, when all I could do was the doggie paddle.

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 06:20:04 GMT

RC - I strongly recommend that you get the book "The Seven Minute Rotator Cuff Solution" (crappy title). By following it's advice I was able to skip surgery after a (good) othopedic surgeon said there was no way I could avoid it. Also, the progression of 5 lb weights to 10 lb weights that quickly is probably asking for trouble. -LBJ

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 06:18:02 GMT

R.C. I agree with Paul that there might be some fine tuning necessary in your technique if there's a consistent sign of pain, particularly if it's in one arm versus both. Sometimes a quick adjustment is all that's necessary. This web site address was passed along by one of our coach members, and has some very helpful information in the event you don't get involved with a local masters swim club. (www.svl.ch/svlimmat_ratind.html Speaking from personal experience, it took about four weeks to rid myself of a similar sholder problem which came about from overuse of paddles. And I agree with Paul that five pound weights should be the limit in simple shoulder exercises. You'ld be suprised at how heavy they seem after a short while.