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 have been doing competitive swimming since I was 9 (I am now 37). About 5 yrs ago I suffered a major shoulder injury during workout. After about a 1 1/2 yrs of trying different things, I ended up having surgery. I am finally able to swim without pain, but it's been a major learning experience. The key here is maintaining strong rotator cuff muscles so that your shoulder joints remain in their correct position to a fraction of a mm. So here's what I would do:
1. You should, under no circumstances, swim through the pain. This will only excacerbate your injury, causing chronic and perhaps permanent damage. You should lay off for at least 6-8 weeks. This will allow a possible tear to heal. You should not get back in until you can swim without pain! You may have to be out of the water for as long as 3-6 months, or even a year.
2. At the same time, you should try to strengthen your shoulder rotator cuff. For me it really works to do external rotation and straight arm exercises (standing up) with surgical tubing. Start out easy, maybe 3 sets of 10 with little resistance. Do the excercises slowly. Eventually you should build up to 3 sets of 18. Stop if it hurts. Not strengthening your shoulder will cause your shoulder problems to continue. You should go to a physical therapist to get more excercises. You can also look at the USA swimming web site (www.usa-swimming.org), which at least until recently had really good articles on shoulder strengthening excercises.
3. Take ibuprofin for your pain when you are out of the water. The swelling causes further damage with shoulder movement and should be treated.
4. If you can not get rid of the shoulder pain through rest, physical therapy, and ibuprofin, you should definitely see a doctor! You may at first get a steriod shot in your shoulder, which may succeed in reducing swelling and pain, and allow you to heal. In my case this did not work (the pain did not subside for more than a day!) and I had to have orthroscopic shoulder surgery. It is not the end of the world. Eventually I was able to get back in the water and now I can do regular workouts. I still do my shoulder excercises every day before I swim, and this keeps my shoulder feeling great. I also don't use paddles (and you shouldn't either).
Hope this helps.
I have been doing competitive swimming since I was 9 (I am now 37). About 5 yrs ago I suffered a major shoulder injury during workout. After about a 1 1/2 yrs of trying different things, I ended up having surgery. I am finally able to swim without pain, but it's been a major learning experience. The key here is maintaining strong rotator cuff muscles so that your shoulder joints remain in their correct position to a fraction of a mm. So here's what I would do:
1. You should, under no circumstances, swim through the pain. This will only excacerbate your injury, causing chronic and perhaps permanent damage. You should lay off for at least 6-8 weeks. This will allow a possible tear to heal. You should not get back in until you can swim without pain! You may have to be out of the water for as long as 3-6 months, or even a year.
2. At the same time, you should try to strengthen your shoulder rotator cuff. For me it really works to do external rotation and straight arm exercises (standing up) with surgical tubing. Start out easy, maybe 3 sets of 10 with little resistance. Do the excercises slowly. Eventually you should build up to 3 sets of 18. Stop if it hurts. Not strengthening your shoulder will cause your shoulder problems to continue. You should go to a physical therapist to get more excercises. You can also look at the USA swimming web site (www.usa-swimming.org), which at least until recently had really good articles on shoulder strengthening excercises.
3. Take ibuprofin for your pain when you are out of the water. The swelling causes further damage with shoulder movement and should be treated.
4. If you can not get rid of the shoulder pain through rest, physical therapy, and ibuprofin, you should definitely see a doctor! You may at first get a steriod shot in your shoulder, which may succeed in reducing swelling and pain, and allow you to heal. In my case this did not work (the pain did not subside for more than a day!) and I had to have orthroscopic shoulder surgery. It is not the end of the world. Eventually I was able to get back in the water and now I can do regular workouts. I still do my shoulder excercises every day before I swim, and this keeps my shoulder feeling great. I also don't use paddles (and you shouldn't either).
Hope this helps.
