I'm putting together an article on shoulder problems for USMS Swimmer with a different slant. With your help, I hope to identify different types of typical shoulder problems swimmers encounter, symptoms, treatment, and your experience with the outcomes for these problems - a resource for swimmers who experience shoulder problems and how other swimmers have dealt with them and managed them.
If you'd like to be a part of this article, please respond to me with answers to the following questions.
1. Diagnosed name of injury and date it occurred (or how long ago it happened).
2. Initial symptoms.
3. Initial diagnosis - by self, PT, MD, other?
4. Initial treatment - as prescribed by self, PT, MD, other?
5. Additional treatment (including surgery).
6. Length of time out of the water. Please include type of training when resumed.
7. Length of time until back to previous level of training.
8. After treatment do you feel you're at the same level of training and performance as before your injury? A higher level? Have not reached previous level of training and performance.
9. Any other useful comments.
Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate your taking the time to help!
Nancy
One more for you, Nancy.
1. Left shoulder impingement, happened in July, 2004. At the time I had only been swimming about 4 years, having taken up swimming in 2000 as a 48 year old. I had no prior swimming background and my technique was not very good at the time.
2. It happened suddenly, one day I was fine and did a normal workout. The next day, I couldn’t lift my arm and swimming any stroke hurt. At that time I was breathing only to my right side. I found that as I turned to breathe I was using my left arm to “help” and it hurt like **** when I would breathe.
3. At first I just thought it was a minor strain or pull and a friend who was a high school coach (not swimming) suggested that I see a chiropractor. I did this for 2 weeks and when there was no improvement the chiro recommended I see an orthopedist. I was finally able to get an appointment to see the ortho in late August.
4. Initial treatment as prescribed by MD was anti-inflammatory medication and 6 weeks PT in September and October 2004.
5. I Have continued with a routine of RC exercises sporadically ever since finishing PT. If it feels good I tend to neglect it but if it gets sore or aches, I resume the daily regimen. I had also begun doing yoga in the year prior to the injury (I don’t know for certain if the injury was the result of swimming or yoga). I have continued to do yoga since, although in the year following the injury was limited in the poses I was able to do until the strength began to return. Within a year I was back to about 90%, and it has gradually improved to where I am now.
6. I stayed out of the water for about 2 weeks then resumed by primarily kicking with limited freestyle swimming. Absolutely could not do fly, and backstroke really hurt. I also forced myself to learn to breathe to the other side and learned to rotate to breathe to both sides without using my arms to help. By the time I began PT (about 2 months after initial injury) I had resumed regular workouts, primarily freestyle. The other strokes still hurt so I did only a limited amount of these.
7. By the end of September, about 3 months after injury, I had resumed full workouts, though I did still favor it a bit and it ached after most workouts. It still aches after a hard workout especially when I’ve done a lot of stroke work.
8. A year following the injury I swam PB’s in the free, fly and backstroke sprints. Since then, I have continued to improve and set PB’s in events from 50 to 500 free and in 50 & 100 fly and back. But this is mainly due to improvements in technique and, in my opinion, not directly related to the recovery from shoulder injury.
One more for you, Nancy.
1. Left shoulder impingement, happened in July, 2004. At the time I had only been swimming about 4 years, having taken up swimming in 2000 as a 48 year old. I had no prior swimming background and my technique was not very good at the time.
2. It happened suddenly, one day I was fine and did a normal workout. The next day, I couldn’t lift my arm and swimming any stroke hurt. At that time I was breathing only to my right side. I found that as I turned to breathe I was using my left arm to “help” and it hurt like **** when I would breathe.
3. At first I just thought it was a minor strain or pull and a friend who was a high school coach (not swimming) suggested that I see a chiropractor. I did this for 2 weeks and when there was no improvement the chiro recommended I see an orthopedist. I was finally able to get an appointment to see the ortho in late August.
4. Initial treatment as prescribed by MD was anti-inflammatory medication and 6 weeks PT in September and October 2004.
5. I Have continued with a routine of RC exercises sporadically ever since finishing PT. If it feels good I tend to neglect it but if it gets sore or aches, I resume the daily regimen. I had also begun doing yoga in the year prior to the injury (I don’t know for certain if the injury was the result of swimming or yoga). I have continued to do yoga since, although in the year following the injury was limited in the poses I was able to do until the strength began to return. Within a year I was back to about 90%, and it has gradually improved to where I am now.
6. I stayed out of the water for about 2 weeks then resumed by primarily kicking with limited freestyle swimming. Absolutely could not do fly, and backstroke really hurt. I also forced myself to learn to breathe to the other side and learned to rotate to breathe to both sides without using my arms to help. By the time I began PT (about 2 months after initial injury) I had resumed regular workouts, primarily freestyle. The other strokes still hurt so I did only a limited amount of these.
7. By the end of September, about 3 months after injury, I had resumed full workouts, though I did still favor it a bit and it ached after most workouts. It still aches after a hard workout especially when I’ve done a lot of stroke work.
8. A year following the injury I swam PB’s in the free, fly and backstroke sprints. Since then, I have continued to improve and set PB’s in events from 50 to 500 free and in 50 & 100 fly and back. But this is mainly due to improvements in technique and, in my opinion, not directly related to the recovery from shoulder injury.
