I swam Wednesday night, and didn't notice anything wrong. Yesterday I woke up and don't remember noticing anything, then after I was at work awhile I noticed that I had difficulty putting on my jacket. It hurts my left shoulder. In the past, all my shoulder pain was a bursitis (spelling?) issue, and this is very different. Basically it is stiff/tender to lift from my side or to reach behind or forware. The pain seems to be at the top of my shoulder and straight down the arm. I know there are lots of folks with shoulder issues, so I'm wondering how I figure out what I've done. Thanks.
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Former Member
Well, bursitis is pretty darn bad. Are you doing RC exercises?
If it's at the top of the shoulder going down the arm it could be bicep tendonitis or RC tendonitis. I agree with Matt, rest doesn't always help, you can stiffen up more. So swim easy, if you can. If the pain persists, see your ortho ASAP.
If it's bad, NSAIDs won't help that much. They could also upset your stomach. Anti-inflammatories can also interfere with the healing process. Ice is good.
I had a combo of RC tendonitis and biceps tendonitis when I started swimming and ramped up the yardage too quickly. A shot of cortisone in the bursa sac cleared the bicep tendonitis immediately and it never came back. Now, the shoulder crap is another issue ... Tough to reverse dessication ... Excessive freestyle really, really doesn't agree with me.
If it's an "impingement," which is just a code word for tendonitis, then I recommend ART. ART is great for relieving impingements, breaking up scar tissue, and reducing swelling. As a runner, you already may be familiar with ART. I also do my rotator cuff exercises pretty regularly. It's all about containment.
This reminds me of an article I posted here a few years ago. NSAID's block the production of prostoglandins which are responsible for healing damaged tissue. By this argument the NSAID's don't help and might actually hinder the healing of tissue...but by the reduction in swelling they might aid healing by reducing an impingement. This is all from memory but I would imagine the article is still hyperlinked in a shoulder thread somewhere around here. The source was related to physicians sports medicine guide or something along those lines.
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Former Member
Well, bursitis is pretty darn bad. Are you doing RC exercises?
If it's at the top of the shoulder going down the arm it could be bicep tendonitis or RC tendonitis. I agree with Matt, rest doesn't always help, you can stiffen up more. So swim easy, if you can. If the pain persists, see your ortho ASAP.
If it's bad, NSAIDs won't help that much. They could also upset your stomach. Anti-inflammatories can also interfere with the healing process. Ice is good.
I had a combo of RC tendonitis and biceps tendonitis when I started swimming and ramped up the yardage too quickly. A shot of cortisone in the bursa sac cleared the bicep tendonitis immediately and it never came back. Now, the shoulder crap is another issue ... Tough to reverse dessication ... Excessive freestyle really, really doesn't agree with me.
If it's an "impingement," which is just a code word for tendonitis, then I recommend ART. ART is great for relieving impingements, breaking up scar tissue, and reducing swelling. As a runner, you already may be familiar with ART. I also do my rotator cuff exercises pretty regularly. It's all about containment.
This reminds me of an article I posted here a few years ago. NSAID's block the production of prostoglandins which are responsible for healing damaged tissue. By this argument the NSAID's don't help and might actually hinder the healing of tissue...but by the reduction in swelling they might aid healing by reducing an impingement. This is all from memory but I would imagine the article is still hyperlinked in a shoulder thread somewhere around here. The source was related to physicians sports medicine guide or something along those lines.
