I am suffering from tendinitis of my right shoulder and am having to take it easy, but I am fearful because my first meet in 15+ years is in a week and I really want to be 100% well to swim. Any suggestions on how to take care of my sholder while not completely compromising training??? And I do know I need to take a break from the pool to allow it to heal, but ugggggh! Any suggestions would be great!!
Diana
This story is an absolute classic: Comeback swimmer (training for the first meet in 15+ years) overdoes it and discovers that his or her joints and core just aren't what they used to be. Maybe in a perverse way I am lucky, because I had shoulder trouble when I was a teen. When I decided to return to swimming after 10 years away I already knew what I needed to do to protect my shoulders.
What you need to do in the short term is follow your PT's advice, first of all. If you don't have a PT, find one who knows swimmers and swimmer's shoulder, and then follow that person's advice. Icing and kicking are certainly going to figure heavily in your training plan for the next several weeks. Kicking is really good for your swimming anyway, if you take kicking seriously and kick hard.
In the long run, what you need to do is strengthen the small muscles that stabilize your arm bone in your shoulder socket and that control your shoulder blade. You may also need to alter your stroke mechanics. You can find some excellent advice regarding maintenance exercises for healthy shoulders here and here. But since you do not presently have a healthy shoulder, you should be working with a professional rather than just guessing which of these exercises will be best for you.
This story is an absolute classic: Comeback swimmer (training for the first meet in 15+ years) overdoes it and discovers that his or her joints and core just aren't what they used to be. Maybe in a perverse way I am lucky, because I had shoulder trouble when I was a teen. When I decided to return to swimming after 10 years away I already knew what I needed to do to protect my shoulders.
What you need to do in the short term is follow your PT's advice, first of all. If you don't have a PT, find one who knows swimmers and swimmer's shoulder, and then follow that person's advice. Icing and kicking are certainly going to figure heavily in your training plan for the next several weeks. Kicking is really good for your swimming anyway, if you take kicking seriously and kick hard.
In the long run, what you need to do is strengthen the small muscles that stabilize your arm bone in your shoulder socket and that control your shoulder blade. You may also need to alter your stroke mechanics. You can find some excellent advice regarding maintenance exercises for healthy shoulders here and here. But since you do not presently have a healthy shoulder, you should be working with a professional rather than just guessing which of these exercises will be best for you.
