I ended up with a nasty case of shoulder tendonitis from swimming (and probably weight lifting too). Per Physical Therapist directions, I took a month off of swimming. Then he said to add back 10 minutes per workout of swimming every week or 2 and if it hurts back off. Has anyone had to do something like this before? When you did get back to an hour long workout what did you do to help prevent re-injury? The PT thinks I just added on too much at once. I had been doing 40 minutes three times per week for a long time then went to 1 hour 3 times per week and that's when the problem started.
I have searched on injuries but the posts are more about medical help which I've already gotten, not about how to workout afterwards.
Parents
Former Member
Hi Venus,
While swimming and playing water polo in college I developed a pretty severe case of tendonitis in my right shoulder (throwing arm for polo, but I breath to my left primarily when swimming free). The college athletic trainer did not have me stop swimming - instead had me doing a somehwhat rigorous program of rehab work including heat, ice, weights and stretching - this combined with some stroke technique work has kept me swimming tendonitis free for 15 years.
The weights program was soup can weights (very lite weights about the weight of a soup can - 1 to 3 lbs, working the smaller muscle groups in the shoulder - can do most of the same exercises with a stretch cord). Modifying and improving my technique also helped alot. As posted above, the tendonitis is a symptom, if you want to get back in the water and continue swimming you are going to have to look at the cause and correct that (stroke technique, muscle imbalance or whatever) otherwise in a month or two of swimming you will probably be back to being told to stay out of the water again.
Good luck
Hi Venus,
While swimming and playing water polo in college I developed a pretty severe case of tendonitis in my right shoulder (throwing arm for polo, but I breath to my left primarily when swimming free). The college athletic trainer did not have me stop swimming - instead had me doing a somehwhat rigorous program of rehab work including heat, ice, weights and stretching - this combined with some stroke technique work has kept me swimming tendonitis free for 15 years.
The weights program was soup can weights (very lite weights about the weight of a soup can - 1 to 3 lbs, working the smaller muscle groups in the shoulder - can do most of the same exercises with a stretch cord). Modifying and improving my technique also helped alot. As posted above, the tendonitis is a symptom, if you want to get back in the water and continue swimming you are going to have to look at the cause and correct that (stroke technique, muscle imbalance or whatever) otherwise in a month or two of swimming you will probably be back to being told to stay out of the water again.
Good luck
