I think my left deltoid got sprained. Not severe, since this happened late last week and I've been swimming almost everyday. But it does bother me while I'm doing other things.
Is this a fairly common injury? How long would it take for it to go away? Thank you in advance.
From what I have learned about anatomy and injuries, very rarely does one sprain a deltoid. A sprain occurs when you overstretch a ligament. A strain occurs when you overstretch a muscle.
Chances are, it is actually pain from your rotator cuff (the tendons insert under the deltoid). I would get it checked out.
I second ourswimmer's admonition. Go see a pro.
I am just coming off a roughly 8-month hiatus caused by what turned out to be rotator cuff tendonitis (fortunately no tear, so no surgery). The initial symptom for me was pain where my deltoid inserts on the humerus. For about a month I figured I could swim through it. When I finally went to see an orthopedic surgeon I learned a new term, referred pain. Don't discount the pain you feel strictly based on its location.
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The pain from rotator cuff appearantly occurs more towards the shoulder blades from what I've read so far.
No. The classic "swimmer's shoulder" hurts right in the shoulder, on top and toward the front, which is to say, "inside the deltoids when I raise my arm." Whatever is wrong with your shoulder, it is not going to get better if you just swim through it. Go see a PT who knows about shoulder injuries now if you like to swim.
The pain from rotator cuff appearantly occurs more towards the shoulder blades from what I've read so far. My pain is in the deltoids.
Sprain or strain, I'm not sure either. It hurts inside the deltoids when I raise my arm.
Thanks for the quick replies.
Supscapularis tendonopathy causes referred pain in the deltoid region. I've had it several times, especially when I started swimming as an adult 6 - 7 years ago. Two years ago, when I converted from a conventional straight elbow beginner pull to EVF technique, I also developed referred pain in both deltoid regions.
EVF requires much more strength in the subscapularis muscles to drive the initial bent elbow catch. When I developed my EVF technique, I didn't develop tendonopathy. Instead, with my new catch, I regularly strained my subscapularis muscles. For a couple of months, every time I swam I had impressive next day muscle soreness. The muscles were tender and I had aching pain referred to the deltoid region. It resolved as my subscapularis muscles strengthened -- now nearly 3 times thicker than before I started EVF.
I worked with an excellent physical therapist -- his skill and advice have helped me avoid a major rotator cuff injury.
See a professional -- put yourself on the road to recovery.
