Swimmers... particularly Masters Swimmers... tend to develop unique injuries. It is really hard to find information and solutions for these problems outside of the aquatic world. I would appreciate it if folks who have overcome shoulder/elbow injuries (or other swimming related problems) could post information on what your injury was, and how you solved it.
My selfish reason for this new thread? I've been dealing with "swimmer's shoulder" for about 6 years (I'm 32). I'm trying to find a non-surgical solution that will allow me to continue to swim (relatively pain-free?). I swim everything from sprints to open-water marathon swims -- and my shoulder pain (which has spread to my neck and elbows) is making it less enjoyable.
Looking forward to hearing some success stories. Thanks!
Duncan
Parents
Former Member
I've had shoulder, knee, hip and elbow problems in my years of swimming. If it hurts, and it is not muscle soreness, stop right away. Pushing it too far can mean a year off to recover. Take the time to find out what motions and situations are causing the joint pain. Are you warmed up enough? Is it a technique issue? Some joint problems are due to bad technique, but probably not all of them. I had good breastroke technique and weak quadriceps, and got knee problems. This problem rarely bothers me anymore, but I am very careful warming up, and my quads are much stronger.
I found for my elbow (medial epicondylitis) that traditional therapeutic exercises irritated the injury rather than helped. Also, the traditional "can of soup" weights are silly since I was doing wrist curls with 35s before I got injured. I did a lot of kicking and "invented" my own exercises to strengthen the forearms. I liked juggling with weights (exerballs) because it was more of a weight bearing exercise than a flexing exercise. This was a masters injury. I also stopped swimming all the strokes that irritated it.
For me, the real issue is body awareness. I've gone over the edge enough to know when I'm overtrained and prone to injury, and I know what bursitis and tendonitis feel like when I get them. Run away to fight another day when you get the warning signs.
My shoulder injury was as an 18 year old, just plain sprinting without enough warmup. I was probably 1000 yards and 8x50s build short of enough warmup for the speed we did and the level I was training at. Now, of course 1000 and 8x50 might be the whole practice. Ha! I learned that bench press/pushups/dips are very dangerous for the kind of injury I had. I also learned my freestyle technique was weak.
Try to see a sportsmedicine doctor that has experience with swimmers. Ask around, college coaches might know someone.
Swim fast,
Greg
I've had shoulder, knee, hip and elbow problems in my years of swimming. If it hurts, and it is not muscle soreness, stop right away. Pushing it too far can mean a year off to recover. Take the time to find out what motions and situations are causing the joint pain. Are you warmed up enough? Is it a technique issue? Some joint problems are due to bad technique, but probably not all of them. I had good breastroke technique and weak quadriceps, and got knee problems. This problem rarely bothers me anymore, but I am very careful warming up, and my quads are much stronger.
I found for my elbow (medial epicondylitis) that traditional therapeutic exercises irritated the injury rather than helped. Also, the traditional "can of soup" weights are silly since I was doing wrist curls with 35s before I got injured. I did a lot of kicking and "invented" my own exercises to strengthen the forearms. I liked juggling with weights (exerballs) because it was more of a weight bearing exercise than a flexing exercise. This was a masters injury. I also stopped swimming all the strokes that irritated it.
For me, the real issue is body awareness. I've gone over the edge enough to know when I'm overtrained and prone to injury, and I know what bursitis and tendonitis feel like when I get them. Run away to fight another day when you get the warning signs.
My shoulder injury was as an 18 year old, just plain sprinting without enough warmup. I was probably 1000 yards and 8x50s build short of enough warmup for the speed we did and the level I was training at. Now, of course 1000 and 8x50 might be the whole practice. Ha! I learned that bench press/pushups/dips are very dangerous for the kind of injury I had. I also learned my freestyle technique was weak.
Try to see a sportsmedicine doctor that has experience with swimmers. Ask around, college coaches might know someone.
Swim fast,
Greg
