I propose a thread honoring old age in which each person lists their current physical ailments and general excuses that prevent them from beating people like Paul Smith and Rich Saeger.
I will lead with a growing list of my own.
1. Shoulder pain
2. Heart palpatations
3. High cholesterol
4. Left hip stress fracture
5. Lower back pain (from shoveling snow!)
6. Wife and 3 kids.
Perhaps we can give an award to the winner and the biggest whiner at the end of this thread.
John Smith
Hi Bill! I'm going to hopefully help you! The only thing that worries me is what I tell you is based on what my doctor and PT told me. What works for me may not be appropriate for you but heah....its worth a try. As long as you don't have any pain while doing these. I would feel terrible if I knew I made your shoulder worse. Try to talk your doctor into prescribing a PT evaluation and treatment. Its the only true way to get a personalized plan of care. Be careful with these. If they hurt...STOP immediately.
Most swimmers have very strong pec muscles and very weak upper back and scapular muscles. Most of the time "swimmers shoulder" is caused by a muscle imbalance. My doc said it causes our shoulders to be pulled forward and out of line. This in turn causes impingement of nerves that run through our shoulder. This leads to the pain.
My favorite stretch and the one that relieves my tightness/pain for me better than any is kind of hard to explain! I wish I could draw a diagram.....
1)Hop out of the pool after swimming easy. (Also great after a hot shower) Stand with your side perpendicular to the wall. place your forearm (just the elbow to your hand) on the wall with your arm bent 90 degrees.(Move closer or further away from the wall to make your arm bend 90 degrees) Take a step forward with the leg closest to the wall. Take a small step at first. You can alter how deep the stretch goes by altering how far you step. You can also raise or lower your forearm to stretch different parts of your chest. Hold it for about 15-20 seconds. Step back. Repeat two or three times. Do on both sides.
2) Corner stretch. Literally stand in a corner! ;) Stand far enough away so that you can take a step forward towards the corner. Place both forearms on the right and left sides with your arms at 90 degrees. (like #1 above) Step forward with one of your legs. Hold for about 15-20 seconds. This is very simillar to the stretch above.
3) Good ole' swimmers stretches. Place your hand behind your head like you are trying to scratch your back. Grab the elbow of that arm with the opposite hand. Pull your elbow toward the other side. Also try to slide your hand down the middle of your back. Repeat on the other side.
4) Another good ole' swimmer stretch...Put your arm out in front of youir body. Relax your shoulder and neck. Grab your elbow with the opposite arm and pull it accross your chest.
5) This one is great but dangerous. Be careful. I stretched too hard on this one once and it hurt! It's also very hard to explain...bear with me! Lay on your side with your arms bent at 90 degrees. We'll say your right side to help with the explanation. Take your left forearm and place it under your right forearm.Grab your right wrist with your left hand. (you'll feel like a pretzel! :D ) Using your left arm/forearm, pull your right wrist/forearm down towards the floor. If this doesn't stretch enough or if you can handle a deeper stretch, use your right arm to push your left forearm up higher (on the floor, not towards the air). Hold for about 15 seconds. Release and repeat. I would not do this stretch until you are pain free and recovered though. It is pretty intense when you do it right.
I hope this helps you. Unfortunately this is only based on my experiences. Please consider going to a PT! Gotta go swim! Feel better!
Hi Bill! I'm going to hopefully help you! The only thing that worries me is what I tell you is based on what my doctor and PT told me. What works for me may not be appropriate for you but heah....its worth a try. As long as you don't have any pain while doing these. I would feel terrible if I knew I made your shoulder worse. Try to talk your doctor into prescribing a PT evaluation and treatment. Its the only true way to get a personalized plan of care. Be careful with these. If they hurt...STOP immediately.
Most swimmers have very strong pec muscles and very weak upper back and scapular muscles. Most of the time "swimmers shoulder" is caused by a muscle imbalance. My doc said it causes our shoulders to be pulled forward and out of line. This in turn causes impingement of nerves that run through our shoulder. This leads to the pain.
My favorite stretch and the one that relieves my tightness/pain for me better than any is kind of hard to explain! I wish I could draw a diagram.....
1)Hop out of the pool after swimming easy. (Also great after a hot shower) Stand with your side perpendicular to the wall. place your forearm (just the elbow to your hand) on the wall with your arm bent 90 degrees.(Move closer or further away from the wall to make your arm bend 90 degrees) Take a step forward with the leg closest to the wall. Take a small step at first. You can alter how deep the stretch goes by altering how far you step. You can also raise or lower your forearm to stretch different parts of your chest. Hold it for about 15-20 seconds. Step back. Repeat two or three times. Do on both sides.
2) Corner stretch. Literally stand in a corner! ;) Stand far enough away so that you can take a step forward towards the corner. Place both forearms on the right and left sides with your arms at 90 degrees. (like #1 above) Step forward with one of your legs. Hold for about 15-20 seconds. This is very simillar to the stretch above.
3) Good ole' swimmers stretches. Place your hand behind your head like you are trying to scratch your back. Grab the elbow of that arm with the opposite hand. Pull your elbow toward the other side. Also try to slide your hand down the middle of your back. Repeat on the other side.
4) Another good ole' swimmer stretch...Put your arm out in front of youir body. Relax your shoulder and neck. Grab your elbow with the opposite arm and pull it accross your chest.
5) This one is great but dangerous. Be careful. I stretched too hard on this one once and it hurt! It's also very hard to explain...bear with me! Lay on your side with your arms bent at 90 degrees. We'll say your right side to help with the explanation. Take your left forearm and place it under your right forearm.Grab your right wrist with your left hand. (you'll feel like a pretzel! :D ) Using your left arm/forearm, pull your right wrist/forearm down towards the floor. If this doesn't stretch enough or if you can handle a deeper stretch, use your right arm to push your left forearm up higher (on the floor, not towards the air). Hold for about 15 seconds. Release and repeat. I would not do this stretch until you are pain free and recovered though. It is pretty intense when you do it right.
I hope this helps you. Unfortunately this is only based on my experiences. Please consider going to a PT! Gotta go swim! Feel better!
