Shoulder Poll

I have shoulder pain that initially started from too much hucking a Chuck-it for my Border Collie and was compounded by learning to swim. It put me out of the water for a while, but then even not swimming didn't help. Everything hurt. Putting on clothes hurt, reaching for things hurt, it was getting ridiculous. I carefully assessed my posture, habitual movements, sleeping pattern, swim stroke, etc. and came up with a program to deal with the pain. I felt it was a muscle imbalance (pec overdevelopment/ scapular stabilizers underdevelopment) rather than an actual injury. I noticed my shoulder had grown very rounded and slumped. I lift weights 3 x a week with very careful form with special focus ont he muscles that stabilize the scapula and act onthe back of the shoulder. I do not sleep on my side anymore. I swim freestyle (the stroke that hurts most)with slightly wider arms and if it hurts at all, I switch to *** or Back, which feel fine. I NEVER use a board or buoy. I try to keep my shoulders "set" whenever I am out of the water, held back and down to avoid the rolling forward that seems to result in the horrible twanging impingement. Since I started this my shoulder has just felt better and better! It almost never hurts anymore, and when it does, it is because I am not being mindful of posture. I think the most significant thing I did was weight training.

I have shoulder pain that initially started from too much hucking a Chuck-it for my Border Collie and was compounded by learning to swim. It put me out of the water for a while, but then even not swimming didn't help. Everything hurt. Putting on clothes hurt, reaching for things hurt, it was getting ridiculous. I carefully assessed my posture, habitual movements, sleeping pattern, swim stroke, etc. and came up with a program to deal with the pain. I felt it was a muscle imbalance (pec overdevelopment/ scapular stabilizers underdevelopment) rather than an actual injury. I noticed my shoulder had grown very rounded and slumped. I lift weights 3 x a week with very careful form with special focus ont he muscles that stabilize the scapula and act onthe back of the shoulder. I do not sleep on my side anymore. I swim freestyle (the stroke that hurts most)with slightly wider arms and if it hurts at all, I switch to *** or Back, which feel fine. I NEVER use a board or buoy. I try to keep my shoulders "set" whenever I am out of the water, held back and down to avoid the rolling forward that seems to result in the horrible twanging impingement. Since I started this my shoulder has just felt better and better! It almost never hurts anymore, and when it does, it is because I am not being mindful of posture. I think the most significant thing I did was weight training.