Hi there,
I am a 24 year old Masters / recreational - level swimmer. I have been swimming for seven years now with no injuries. About two months ago, I suffered a repetitive stress injury at work (I am a research scientist) on my left arm. I have been diagnosed with medial elbow tedinitis and wrist tendinitis. My problem now is that on almost every stroke I take in the pool (free, ***, fly, back are all effected), I have pain in my medial left elbow. Can I modify my technique in any way to relieve the pressure on the elbow? Has anyone else had this problem before? Swimming is my passion, and I am very scared by the level of this pain.
By the way, I have modified my activities at work, it is with swimming that I have most of my pain now.
Thank you for your help!
Parents
Former Member
In my case the physical therapist said my problem originated due to some problems I was having in my hips and legs. As a result of problems, my elbow took the hit.
They used an analogy to explain this. Two men (hips/legs and elbow) were carrying a very heavy load. No problem, both men were sharing the load quite comfortably. Over time one of the men starts having a problem (hips/legs) and drops his share of the load. The other man (elbow) is left holding the load two people used to carry. He carries this load for a while without complaining. But then he gets tired, sore, and eventually injured, so he starts to scream real loud. Is it the second man's fault? No. He was just asked to carry more than his fair share for too long and is now paying the price. Why isn’t the first man screaming and hollering? Why should he? He dropped his load and is not under any stress.
The therapist taught me the proper stretches and strengthening exercises for my hips and legs. After a couple of months, my tendonitis was a non-factor and has not bothered me since. I continue to do these stretches and strengthening exercises even though this occurred two years ago.
Keep in mind tendons have limited blood flow, they take time to heal.
In my case the physical therapist said my problem originated due to some problems I was having in my hips and legs. As a result of problems, my elbow took the hit.
They used an analogy to explain this. Two men (hips/legs and elbow) were carrying a very heavy load. No problem, both men were sharing the load quite comfortably. Over time one of the men starts having a problem (hips/legs) and drops his share of the load. The other man (elbow) is left holding the load two people used to carry. He carries this load for a while without complaining. But then he gets tired, sore, and eventually injured, so he starts to scream real loud. Is it the second man's fault? No. He was just asked to carry more than his fair share for too long and is now paying the price. Why isn’t the first man screaming and hollering? Why should he? He dropped his load and is not under any stress.
The therapist taught me the proper stretches and strengthening exercises for my hips and legs. After a couple of months, my tendonitis was a non-factor and has not bothered me since. I continue to do these stretches and strengthening exercises even though this occurred two years ago.
Keep in mind tendons have limited blood flow, they take time to heal.
