Recovering from shoulder surgery; feeling crummy...
Former Member
and actually considering giving up swimming. I am so discouraged these days....
I fell and hurt my shoulder about 9 years ago. I didn't have surgery at the time (was told I didn't need it) and thought I healed correctly. Fast forward to today...after swimming 6 years I start to feel an ache in my "bad" shoulder when I swim longer than a mile. So off to the sports med doc I go....I get an MRI which looks like I might have torn cartilage, which is causing the pain. Surgery is scheduled....they find nothing. Nothing is torn; nothing to fix. So now I will have to swim with the pain....
I know that some of the tension is a result of an imbalance in my freestyle...I always breath to my left, which means I pull harder with my strong (right) side. When I try to breath to the right it all falls apart. I don't feel balanced in the water; I am sure there are a million things wrong with my stroke...I should kick more...blah blah blah.
I just started swimming again...been in the water for the last few days and I am very discouraged. I'd love to hear from folks out there who have taught themselves to breath to their uncomfortable side.... and how you did it, how long it took, etc.
Anyone else out there going through a discouraging time...or if you have in the past, how'd you get over it?
Ande - what are your thoughts?
I used to box...maybe I should just go back to the ring and stay out of the water....:(
I taught myself bilateral breathing a few years back. As I recall, I just started trying to do it by swimming a slow, steady pace and alternating sides. At first, I thought my lungs would explode -- Who can go 3 strokes without a breath?!!, but that went away as my mind adjusted to not having that gulp of sweet air with every stroke. It felt awkward as can be at first (I recall craning my neck like some movie creature emerging from a primordial swamp), then gradually less awkward, then finally became second nature. I swallowed a whole bunch of pool along the way.
Honestly, it's not that tough. I am about as far from kinesthetically gifted as a person can get (the word "dork" comes to mind), and if I can work it out, anyone should be able to. And I think it really helped my stroke mechanics, too. Good luck.
I taught myself bilateral breathing a few years back. As I recall, I just started trying to do it by swimming a slow, steady pace and alternating sides. At first, I thought my lungs would explode -- Who can go 3 strokes without a breath?!!, but that went away as my mind adjusted to not having that gulp of sweet air with every stroke. It felt awkward as can be at first (I recall craning my neck like some movie creature emerging from a primordial swamp), then gradually less awkward, then finally became second nature. I swallowed a whole bunch of pool along the way.
Honestly, it's not that tough. I am about as far from kinesthetically gifted as a person can get (the word "dork" comes to mind), and if I can work it out, anyone should be able to. And I think it really helped my stroke mechanics, too. Good luck.
