I am working with a triathlete with a herniated disk (L5-S1) who experiences a lot of back pain when doing the rotational movements of freestyle. So far I have gotten him to lower his head position and am having him do his main set with a pull buoy (which gets him rotating his whole body more and doesn't hurt him).
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you :)
I went through this several years ago.
My advice:
Freestyle and backstroke are ok. Avoid ***/fly.
Limit kicking, absolutely no fins. Pull buoy is great.
Physical therapy, exercises to strengthen back and core muscles.
I haven't tried a swim snorkel, but have heard this may help as well.
Thanks for the suggestions. The pullbuoy worked very well with him, Craig. I also suggested training in a full suit for some compression. He didn't have a snorkel with him, but I suggested he get one because that would reduce rotation as well.
