Just wanted to share some information with my online swimming enthusiasts. After a month of "recovery" from my shoulder injury I was still not where I wanted to be (I am too impatient I know), so I went to see a PT yesterday. He did things to my arm/shoulder that I was certain would have my upper body in traction by the time the sun came up this AM. My premenition was to be incorrect as I feel fine this AM. I feel some muscle soreness from doing my cuff exercises with some threa-band but other than that I feel very good. I have decided to give my shoulder a week off of any pulling and stick to kicking workouts; talk about boring. Has anybody else ever received a trasndermal electrical transfer of anti-inflamatory? I got one yesterday and I am wondering how legit this practice is. I don't suspect that it is dangerous but I do question it's effectiveness. If I am not getting prodded with needles and surgical instruments I tend to think that something is not right. Perhaps I am opening a new door for myself.
Former Member
Originally posted by gull80
My orthopedist and my physical therapist both specialize in sports medicine and work with athletes of all ages. Although your situation may be different, you had a negative MRI (as did I). Neither of them told me to give up competitive swimming--in fact, they worked with me so I could stay in the water. Muscle imbalance/weakness involving the shoulder is common in swimmers but can be addressed with the right exercises. As I've posted before, if you strengthen the rotator cuff and the muscles that stabllize the scapula, there will be less impingement of the tendons (the cause of the tendinitis). Perhaps you should look for someone who specializes in sports medicine. Check out the USA Swimming website for a listing of specialists. Gull, if the joint is not tight what is to keep the tendon from being impinged in the labrum/humerus joint? That is the problem I have with getting back in the water right away. If I lift my arm out to the side I can feel a bit of pain in my supraspinatus tendon that I am reasonably sure is coming from being pinched. My therapist is familiar with sports injuries and that seems to be their primary customer base. His methods seem to be in accordance with what I hear from other swimmers experience but he also prefers that I refrain from overhead activity until my muscles are strengthened up. This is my main question to you, how long does it take for these muscles to take hold and tighten up the joint?
I'm not an orthopedist so my answer is based on my experience and what I've read. Neither my orthopedist nor my therapist thought I needed to stay out of the water during rehab. I did not notice significant improvement for several months, but it has been progressive since then. I did the exercises every day (bands, some weights, ball on the wall, body blade, etc.) and continued swimming carefully. I avoided paddles and did not swim butterfly. I increased yardage very slowly (initially 1500/day) and did not swim every day. I used ice and antiinflammatories (including Vioxx, which worked great!). My goal was to keep swimming, and they worked with me so I could do that.
