| Swimming is a sport enjoyed by athletes of all ages. | | | | strain on the shoulder. It is also critical to vary your |
| Although it is not commonly associated with a high risk | | | | swim stroke during workouts since constantly |
| of injury, swimming does have its own problems. For | | | | swimming freestyle can put a lot of stress on the |
| swimmers, the biggest source of sidelining injuries is the | | | | shoulder joint causing an overuse injury. |
| shoulder. While there may be a number of underlying | | | | Suddenly increasing your distance or your intensity can |
| causes for shoulder pain, the condition is commonly | | | | also cause injury. It is important to gradually increase |
| referred to as "swimmer's shoulder" or rotator cuff | | | | your workouts to allow a safe progression. Training |
| tendonitis. The symptoms associated with this condition | | | | tactics such as using buoys and hand paddles can |
| include pain in the anterior shoulder and pain that | | | | increase the strain on the shoulder and should be |
| increases with shoulder elevation. | | | | avoided. As your training intensity increases, it is |
| The shoulder is a unique joint, similar to a golf ball on a | | | | necessary to appropriately strengthen the shoulder |
| tee, or a ball and socket joint. The ball is the head of | | | | complex to ensure proper mechanics. |
| the arm, medically termed as the humerus bone. The | | | | Proper strengthening of the muscles that surround the |
| socket (or tee) is called the glenoid fossa. The design | | | | scapula and the rotator cuff is an important step to |
| of the shoulder joint allows the least amount of | | | | preventing injury. Seated rows and lat pull downs are |
| restriction to movement, which enables the use of | | | | examples of exercises that target the scapula |
| arms with greater dexterity than legs. However, this | | | | stabilizers. Rotator cuff strengthening should be done |
| makes the shoulder relatively unstable and prone to | | | | with light weights or resistance bands since these |
| injury. A group of four muscles called the rotator cuff, | | | | muscles are small and fatigue easily. Examples of |
| are involved with fine movement of the shoulder. The | | | | these exercises include internal and external rotation of |
| muscles that comprise the rotator cuff help to | | | | the shoulder. Strength training should be done |
| correctly position the humerus in the glenoid fossa. | | | | separately from swim training since the muscles will be |
| Swimmers can have muscle imbalances due to over | | | | too fatigued if performed in conjunction. However, |
| development of their chest and relative weakness of | | | | gentle stretching before swimming can be beneficial. |
| their back muscles. This can cause the humerus to | | | | The most important thing to remember is to always |
| come out of proper alignment causing injuries such as | | | | train properly. It is necessary to perform a warm up |
| impingement (pinching of tendons), overstretching of | | | | and cool down, stretch, and correctly strengthen your |
| ligaments, or tightness in the joint. These problems can | | | | shoulders. Never attempt to work through the pain. Let |
| sideline an athlete and, if not cared for, eventually lead | | | | your coach know if you have an injury and seek |
| to more serious problems such as chronic tendonitis, | | | | proper treatment to avoid further, more serious |
| labrum or tendon tears. | | | | problems. These basic steps will allow optimal |
| Incorrect training techniques can also be the cause of | | | | performance throughout the season. If you have |
| these injuries. Methods such as reaching too far, over | | | | questions or problems, contact an Excel Physical |
| rotating, or crossing over in freestyle are examples | | | | Therapy location closest to you or visit our website at |
| that can lead to shoulder pain. Your elbows should be | | | | excelpt. |
| bent when underwater during the pull to decrease the | | | | |