Well, it's back - that darned medial epicondylitis. On both elbows, too. This is about the 3rd or 4th time. Each time it happens I go to kick sets or bike until the pain is gone; I also do every wrist and forearm exercise I can imagine (grips, wrist curls, rotator and stabilizer exercises). I've tried swimming closed-fisted. I've tried using forearms braces. I've cut out *** stroke altogether. The last few weeks leading up to the re-injury I did nothing but very eeeaassy sidestroke (left side over, right side back). Must I conclude that I just don't have the arms to be even a modest fitness swimmer?
Thanks, y'all.
In all my years of swimming I've never once experienced elbow pain so I suspect that either I'm swimming incorrectly or you are. I've not heard that swimming is hard on the elbows but gull80 can correct me on this one.
Clearly shoulder pain is more common. However in college I did have a bout of tendinitis in my elbow which seemed to be related to paddle use (while swimming 15-20k/day over Christmas break). I quit using paddles for a few days and it went away.
I am a Physical Therapist who specializes in swimmers. I have found that the area of pain is only the symptom, not the cause, and that is why the pain keeps returning. I have find core weakness & poor firing of the hip muscles to be part of the problem associated with shoulder pain. I would recommend you visit a therapist that has a swimming background & who has access to a pool; this way he or she can perform a thorough examintion. If you check the USA Swimming website under Sports Medicine you can find experts in your local area.
I had a coach a while back, but after one lesson he never returned.
I have tried to take stroke mechanics out of the equation by doing eeeaassy sidestroke (and I mean reeeaaalllyy eeeeaassy), closed-fisted, and wearing elbow braces. Having said that I'm pretty certain that my technique needs a lot of work. I had been working on front crawl, but put that on hold since last August. I once attempted a single butterfly stroke, at which point the lifeguard tossed in an emergency flotation device and phoned 911.
The injury is very minor, not at all debilitating, and usually goes away after a couple weeks. I fear it will catch up with me as I get older (I'm 43).
If not giving up altogether, I might try going away for a longer period of time, something like 6 months, while continuing to work those forearm exercises and cycling.
I was hoping a coach or veteran might come up with an insight, such as "your baggy suit/bad body position/bad haircut is creating too much drag, and that is putting a strain on your elbows," or "your thumb should be pointing the other way," or "you have the wrong body type for this, and you should try water aerobics and noodling instead."
I appreciate your help.
For the past few years I was treated for tennis elbow--splints, injections, prolotherapy, rest and finally an MRI.
When I went to the doctor LAST week--we finally decided, due to some new symptoms, that it WASN"T tennis elbow BUT Radial Tunnel syndrome (not carpal tunnel) which sometimes presents as tennis elbow. We injected it---tennis elbow magically gone!!
Also had a coach look at my freestyle--that may have caused the radial tunnel syndrome--I'm straight arming the stroke and not rotating my hand. Now trying to learn how to correct this!
If in addition to everything else--you're getting pain down into the last fingers of your hand and sometimes the pain extends into just the FIRST joint of the middle finger--you may have radial tunnel syndrome and NOT tennis elbow.
I'd suggest a physical therapist with a background in sports medicine. You probably have a muscle weakness/imbalance that is contributing to the problem. And your technique needs to be evaluated (maybe you're beginning your catch too soon). Have you considered a swimming clinic/camp?
Unfortunately rest won't fix the problem.
Exrunner: Also consider other activities in your life that may affect your elbow joint. I use a computer mouse a lot in my job and the work station is too high for me (nothing to be done to adjust it, I know!) and this puts stress on my elbow causing pain. I am fine if I only work my 40 hours but right now I am in the middle of two consecutive 50 hour weeks and owweee, I can feel my elbows. The pain goes away during my days off, usually, but it can be quite sore to swim sometimes.
I've had to deal with elbow pain for pretty much my whole swimming career because of an accident I had when I was a kid. There are usually 2 things that cause my "tendonitis" to act up: 1) trying to be macho in the weight room and lifting more weight than I should be, and 2) a breakdown in my technique similar to the one msgrupp has experienced.
#1 doesn't happen very much anymore as I like to think I'm getting wise as I get older. #2 happens quite often, mostly when I get fatigued during a distance set. I make it a point to do some kind of freestlye drill in every workout I do. There has to be something in the pull phase of your stroke that is causing your pain. It might be worth it to hire a private coach for a couple of sessions to analyze your stroke.
In the meantime lay off of the pull buoys and paddles (if you use them), make sure to fully warmup in each workout, and try experimenting with fins. The fins will allow you to swim at your normal speed while putting less pressure on the joints in your arms.
