What is swimmer’s shoulder?
Swimmer’s shoulder is a common problem in people who have incorrect swimming technique especially in freestyle.
The tendons of the shoulder muscles lead into the front of the shoulder holding it together quite closely as shown in the picture on the right. Because you use your arms in a repetitive motion this causes the tendons to rub together if a stroke is done incorrectly.
When tendons rub together it causes inflammation and pain at the front of your shoulder. This is usually felt towards the end or after the session in the pool.
How can I prevent it from happening?
Because of the repetitive movement of swimming, overtraining is one of the major factors for swimmer’s shoulders. This can be easily prevented by starting off slowly by increasing distances and number of times you are at the pool at a steady rate.
Other ways to prevent shoulder problems is correcting stroke technique. The most common problems in freestyle that cause swimmer’s shoulders are:
· Breathing to one side only
Swimmers who consistently turn their heads to the same side to breathe are risking shoulder pain in the opposite shoulder as it has to work harder to support forward movement with the head turned to the side. This may be hard to correct at first as the body has to adjust to breathing on both sides but by counting out your breathing every 3,5,7 etc arm strokes will ensure you breathe to both sides and will eventually be automatic after some practice!
Thumb entry into the water is easily corrected by trying to reach out longer with your arms so you middle finger is as far out to the front as possible to reach before pulling it under the water.
While you are swimming, look at how your arm pulls under the water. If it crosses the midline of your body then this is incorrect. You should try to keep your arms out to the sides like this picture. Don’t worry if it feels a little weird or unbalanced at first – practice makes perfect!
These last two points involve having the tendons coming into closer contact with each other because the shoulder is turned inwards and therefore causes more friction to the tendons.
If your shoulder/s start to ache then the best thing to do is to stretch and then apply ice to decrease the inflammation. Some good stretches for your shoulders include:
Tricep stretch: Begin by raising your arm directly over your head with your palm facing front. Bend your elbow and try to reach the shoulder blade on the opposite side of your body. Use your opposite arm to push your elbow back. Hold this for 30 seconds.
Pec Stretch: With your arms raised at 900, lean onto a door frame. Alternatively you can do one at a time against the wall. Hold for 30 seconds.
The team at Reservoir Osteopathic Clinic can help alleviate and prevent these problems from occurring. This is achieved by directing you to correct techniques for swimming and a program for strengthening, stretching or easing the associated muscles with techniques and treatment tailored for you.