Hurt Shoulder

back off but stay in pool throw away paddles ice stretch cord rotator cuff exercises use zoomers for a while to "de-weight" the pull remember the 10 percent rule: increase by no more than 10 percent per week in one of the following--frequency of workouts, intensity, duration--and keep this in mind for each of the strokes (if you are used to doing 3000 yard freestyle workouts, this doesn't mean you're used to doing 3000 yard breaststroke workouts). masters swimming is lifelong, no need to rush in--just build gradually--8k to 11k is a pretty big leap live and learn and realize shoulder pain is very common in our sport, usually highly anxiety-provoking, but usually gets better if you take care good luck!

Yes, throw away the paddles! I read an article from an old USMS Swim Mag from '01 that talked about shoulder problems. Basically it seemed to say that shoulder problems are caused by improper technique and not by overuse which is what I have thought it was after 30 years of masters swimming. This was from a physical therapist and silver medalist in the 800 at the '76 Olympics.

If cutting back on swimming doesn't work, stop swimming. But this doesn't mean stop kicking. Unless you absolutely have to, keep going to practice, otherwise psychological aspects exacerbate physical ones.

Here's some good information. Good luck! www.usaswimming.org/.../DesktopDefault.aspx

I don't know. Dropping the paddles seems like the most obvious solution, especially if you are already having shoulder problems. Even assuming your stroke is perfect, a siginificant increase in yardage leads to fatigue of muscles intended to KEEP your stroke perfect. Once these are cooked in a practice your stroke may get sloppy (as mine did this week doing a pyramid set) and your shoulder becomes vulnerable to injury. Adding paddles after that point, even if for a short set, may cause big problems. As a sprinter I may not have the endurance to keep a proper stroke through the whole workout, so maybe you have another issue, but I'd suggest dropping the paddles, at least temporarily, and strengthening your shoulders with surgical/stretch cord tubing as discussed previously until you get used to the new yardage. Greg, I agree with everything Speedo says above. Lay off the paddles until your shoulder gets better. If cutting back on swimming doesn't work, stop swimming. Once your shoulder is back to normal, introduce stretch cords and build your yardage back up. All good suggestions from previous posts. But if you enjoy using paddles, and you know how to use them intelligently, no need to give them up permanently. If your stroke becomes sloppy, and you continue to swim, you can cause yourself problems with or without paddles. Paddles don't kill shoulders, people kill shoulders.

After we change the way they exit their hand... Tom, If you could post on how to exit the pull, it would be much appreciated. If you have pictures showing the right and wrong way to do this, that would be even better. Thanks.

If cutting back on swimming doesn't work, stop swimming. But this doesn't mean stop kicking. Unless you absolutely have to, keep going to practice, otherwise psychological aspects exacerbate physical ones. And for once I don't think Jim is joking and I agree, Greg should stop doing things that hurt his shoulder until his shoulder feels better. Everything else is fair game.

Amen brother, amen. Long live the paddles. Have you tried Fly with Zoomers? Next best thing to hurtling along with paddles in Free. Mookie, I don't think it is possible to make fly fun. But I will take your suggestion and see if it makes fly suck less :)

In my opinion (and in others' as well) you should not use the paddles. People who don't use paddles get shoulder problems like yours, and paddles only increase the stress on the shoulder. I used them in college but I won't even try them now for fear of shoulder problems. :2cents: Jim and Tom had some great suggestions as well.

i have not used paddles in 2 yrs. loved them but after an injury, the doctor banned them. however i use fins and i fear they will one day permanently attach to my feet. :)