Are you a swimmer?

Written By Guest User

Loving being in the pool?

Got a big swim event coming up?

Shoulders feeling a bit niggly??

Check out the Blog below from our Physio Shannon…

SWIMMERS SHOULDER

Swimmer’s shoulder is a common term you may have heard around the pool, and can be used to describe irritation in a range of structures in the shoulder – tendons, bursa and the shoulder capsule itself can be involved.

This can lead to pain, reduced range and weakness in the affected shoulder. 

Risks for developing this include: 

  1. Training load error: Tendons and tissues need time to adapt to new stressors. Doing too much too quick is common in the lead up to events with last minute panic training! Having a coach helps, otherwise a good rule of thumb is to increase by no more than 10% each week… start your training early!!

  2. Rotator cuff strength ratio: your rotator cuff muscles sit at the front and back of your shoulder blade and work hard to stabilise your joint and produce force. In swimming, the cuff muscles at the front of the shoulder blade act as a strong helper to your chest and back muscles as you pull through to propel yourself forward. The cuff muscles at the back or your shoulder blade act like the reins on a horse to control all that force at the front, so these need to be strong enough to do their job. 

  3. Reduced range of motion: In swimming we use a large amount of our available shoulder range of motion in each stroke, and are applying force in positions that can naturally be a bit pinchy.

    Having mobile shoulders and upper (thoracic) spine can help reduce any discomfort with this. The ability to extend your thoracic spine (leaning backwards) and rotate while swimming can give the shoulder room to move. With less movement in those directions in your thoracic spine your shoulder will likely end up doing more, which can lead to issues when increasing your training load. 

  4. Shoulder joint laxity: having range can be beneficial for swimmers, but we must be strong with all that extra range to keep the shoulder healthy.

  5. Technical errors: inefficient kick or poor trunk strength can both lead to a more upright body position in the water (causing more drag) which means the shoulder must work harder to pull you through the water. Other issues include arms crossing too far towards the opposite side as you reach in front, or hand entry errors. A good coach can help you work through these!

What to do about it:

  1. Physio assessment is a great first step. An assessment will look at your history, training loads, recovery strategies, mobility, strength testing, and functional tests to determine what plan will be best for you as an individual. 

  2. Warm ups for risk reduction (ask a trainer or Physio if unsure): 

    • Shoulder mobility

    • Spine mobility = upper back extension and rotation work using a foam roller

    • Rotator cuff prep

  3. Strengthen: 

    Depending on when your event is, a general guide is to aim for 2-3 strength sessions a week if you’re training 3-4 swim sessions/week. Having a trainer is a great support to have here.

    • Shoulders: need strength in all planes (push and pull both horizontally and vertically)

    • Trunk: focussing on arm to leg connection in stretched out positions for a more powerful stroke and stronger body position

    • Legs: for efficient kick to offload the shoulders

  4. Load management: 

    Temporary modifications to try so you can stay in the pool while you rehab are:

    • Reduce mileage/intensity for a week, then gradually rebuild back

    • Use fins to deload the shoulder

    • Reduce use of paddles 

    • Try doing kick with arms by your side instead of out front on a kickboard

    • Use a swim training specific snorkel

    All of these are temporary ways to reduce the load on your shoulder while it is irritable, your plan should always be to gradually add these things back in!

  5. Recovery:

Life stress can have a big impact on tendon health. We love this recovery pyramid, which is based on good evidence. The things on the bottom are non-negotiable to recover and train well, the things on top are just sprinkles for a little extra based on your preferences. 

Make it stand out

If you would like support with your swimming, including pain management or performance, book in for a sessions with Shannon on our website https://www.aokkeepmoving.com/

Guest User
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