Anyone know of a good website for swimmers with sore shoulders?
I'm 50, male, swim 12-15k yds/week, have a touch of arthritis
starting elsewhere, and have never had a problem before.
Started about 2 months ago; doesn't want to go away.
Motrin and ice help a lot. Stopped swimming for two weeks
in December, but that seemed to make things worse. I don't
do weights regularly. Hurts when I lift my elbows over my shoulders, but very little discomfort while swimming free.
Been swimming 3-5x/wk for 13 years.
Any other ideas or recollection of previous discussions here?
Thanks
Parents
Former Member
I had an impingement problem in my left shoulder after trying to increase my fly distance. For three days I could hardly lift my arm, much less think about swimming.
When I got back in the pool, I was expecting a problem with freestyle, but it never happened. I took a few easy practices with just freestyle, then tried fly again. Wham! Sore shoulder. Not as bad as before, but still pretty uncomfortable.
Looking around the web for some answers, I came across an article about hand position on entry for freestyle and its effect on shoulder pain. The author said that the middle finger should enter the water first, and that a thumb/forefinger entry would put the shoulder in an awkward position and contribute to impingement problems.
I realized almost immediately that, when I swim fly, I rotate both hands so that the thumbs enter first. I think I'm trying to grab as much of the water as I can. I was actually taught this way in my youth. I tend to have a similar entry in freestyle, but it isn't as exaggerated and I don't catch quite the same way. I surmised it was the exaggeration in fly that gave me the problem.
I started making a conscious effort to reach forward instead of inward on entry, and the shoulder problem seems to have abated. I have yet to try to increase my fly distance again, but happily my stroke seems a little more powerful this way and less tiring. So I guess I should thank my traitorous shoulder.
That's my story, and I can only speak for me... But maybe it's worth taking a look at your hand entry position?
I had an impingement problem in my left shoulder after trying to increase my fly distance. For three days I could hardly lift my arm, much less think about swimming.
When I got back in the pool, I was expecting a problem with freestyle, but it never happened. I took a few easy practices with just freestyle, then tried fly again. Wham! Sore shoulder. Not as bad as before, but still pretty uncomfortable.
Looking around the web for some answers, I came across an article about hand position on entry for freestyle and its effect on shoulder pain. The author said that the middle finger should enter the water first, and that a thumb/forefinger entry would put the shoulder in an awkward position and contribute to impingement problems.
I realized almost immediately that, when I swim fly, I rotate both hands so that the thumbs enter first. I think I'm trying to grab as much of the water as I can. I was actually taught this way in my youth. I tend to have a similar entry in freestyle, but it isn't as exaggerated and I don't catch quite the same way. I surmised it was the exaggeration in fly that gave me the problem.
I started making a conscious effort to reach forward instead of inward on entry, and the shoulder problem seems to have abated. I have yet to try to increase my fly distance again, but happily my stroke seems a little more powerful this way and less tiring. So I guess I should thank my traitorous shoulder.
That's my story, and I can only speak for me... But maybe it's worth taking a look at your hand entry position?
