Shoulder pain

RE: Shoulder pain

MAC swimmer — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:51:13 GMT

Fortress, What is RC? Never mind. ROtator Cuff. GOD, I'm smart!!!!!

RE: Shoulder pain

The Fortress — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:40:01 GMT

Go to PT right away even though you're still in pain and start RC work! Don't wait!! The inflammation speeds the healing and the muscles will be stronger sooner. Glad you're already a bit better.

RE: Shoulder pain

MAC swimmer — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:22:12 GMT

OK. Shoulder pain is better. I took a week off and then kicked 1000 for two days. I swam a tentative 100 free easy yesterday. Some soreness but no massive pain. GOOD! Today 200 easy plus 1000 kick. Tomorrow, we'll see. Chronology of injuries. 1. Pain. 2. Rest and heal. 3. Start PT. All muscles get weak unless you start PT while pain exists somewhat, right. I mean I am more likely to reinjure the shoulder by letting it weaken than to work through some discomfort.

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:58:32 GMT

I use this kickboard to ease shoulder strain: www.zura.com/sprintboard.html It's particularly good for dolphin kicking.

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 07:01:25 GMT

Can you hold the board on your chest and practice inverted Fly kick or just kick on your side with no board and one arm extended?

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:47:02 GMT

kicking!!! nice idea. My shoulders have be down though. No streamline kicking on my back. I love this group. Great advice. Doctor says rotator cuff STRAIN--rest, ice, motrin (800 Mg every 6 hours) and Vicatin (at night) I have;t tried this yet...I hate meds. Last night had me up for an hour gritting my teeth so I may get it tonight. Nice work people! you can kick, and hold the board with one arm,

RE: Shoulder pain

MAC swimmer — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:43:24 GMT

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:14:28 GMT

After I had my shoulder surgeries I kicked 5000yards 5-6days a week and let me tell you--when I came back to swimming full stroke I was booking.

RE: Shoulder pain

Aquawolf — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:26:14 GMT

3-4 weeks without swimming?! This could get ugly.... You could always just do kicking drills....for 3-4 weeks... :rofl: I do feel your pain though. I am an avid canoer and understand the impact on your muscles. And having strained my shoulder a year ago, I was restricted from just 1 week of virtually any sort of working out. I very nearly went out of my mind. But the common theme of responses...REST...is your best medicine. Ice, in 10 min intervals, always helps too. And one thing I like are the Icy Hot Patches. They have shoulder sizes. Good Luck!

RE: Shoulder pain

Allen Stark — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:37:32 GMT

Not 3-4 weeks without swimming,3-4 weeks without pulling,or even without pulling with that arm.Can you raise your arm over your head without pain? If so you can work on SDKs.If not you are stuck with swimming with that arm down. Many drills can be modified to do with one arm. Don't over do the good side(if you have a good side) as I know from personal experience it is easy to go from one pain to 2.:doh:Once your shoulder stops hurting ease back into using it. Breaststroke and fist swimming with fins are a good way to start.Also,as soon as your shoulder is ready,do your rotator cuff exercises religiously. :dedhorse:

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:11:01 GMT

Where is the pain located? Is it in the front? You may have developed acute tendinitis--inflammation of one or more of the rotator cuff tendons. Personally I prefer Aleve. I would also recommend using ice, particularly at bed time. Finally, I would suggest PT. I have posted previously that I believe all Masters swimmers should do rotator cuff exercises--we are predisposed to problems because of the nature of swimming (an overhead type activity) and muscle imbalances which develop or worsen with age. It's very possible that you would have encountered this eventually even without the canoe trip. I would not be swimming today had I not been referred to my physical therapist three years ago.

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:38:30 GMT

In addition to being a swimmer I am also a marathon (flat water) canoe racer. Your statement that you had been canoeing for a week could be the crux of your problem. I'm guessing that you did very little canoeing up until the time of your "canoe week" and now you're having terrible pain because you didn't build up to it properly. You have my sympathy - your pain sounds awful! These two sports can put a tremendous amount of strain on your shoulders, neck and arms. In the warm weather months I am very careful with the workout/race balance between the two sports. In the spring I often wait until after SCY nationals before getting in the boat. Right before my two open water races this summer I didn't canoe at all. For the day after a hard canoe practice, I modify my swimming workout to include much more breaststroke and kicking. If I'm training both sports, it often means that both the canoe workouts and the swimming workouts are shorter in duration than they would be if I was only doing one sport. If I am training for a freestyle event I am extra careful - I get much more pain from freestyle. I see a massage therapist approximately every 6-8 weeks year round. Her services do not come cheap, but they enable me to continue particpating in two sports I really enjoy. I'm not a medical professional and can not diagnose your situation but I do hope you aren't seriously injured and that you'll feel better soon.

RE: Shoulder pain

Former Member — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:21:15 GMT

I plan on resting the shoulder for one week, and then commence a return to swimming. What the heck else am I supposed to do? Take two or three weeks off. No need to rush it. The pool isn't going anywhere. But, you have to go everywhere with your shoulder. Rest it. Do somethingelse. A shoulder is pretty important to your quality of life. The pool will be there when you return. A week of canoeing. How fun! "Get your beeflegs over the top!" - Coach

RE: Shoulder pain

MAC swimmer — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:36:04 GMT

Thanks folks, No question, the 100 miles of canoeing with NO preparatory work caused an injury. The pain is striaght through to the middle of the shoulder--it feels like tendonitis. It hurts like crazy at night when I am tired and it feels much better in the AM. I can feel that the pain is still there all day though. Fair warning--canoeing puts massive strain on your lats and rotator cuff. Even taking Advil prophylactically would not have prevented this injury. 3-4 weeks without swimming?! This could get ugly....