What is swimmer's shoulder?
Swimming is an excellent form of low impact exercise. Occasionally injuries to the shoulder can occur while swimming due to the repetitive joint rotation - swimmer's shoulder. Our shoulder is an extremely mobile joint. This means that we need excellent control and strength in the muscles supporting the shoulder girdle and the ligamentous structures around it. If you’re new to swimming, or building up volume/intensity, you can overwork these ligaments/muscles which can lead to pain in the shoulder.
What might be causing my shoulder pain?
Over-training
Hypermobility
Poor technique
Fatigue
Previous shoulder injury
Using paddles that are too large
What should I do for my shoulder?
Initially, following the RICE principles can be useful to help settle any inflammation and pain in the area.
A period of rest may be needed as well, or a reduction in the distance you are swimming. Seeking professional help from your physiotherapist will be beneficial from recovering from swimmers shoulders.
How can a physiotherapist help?
Your physiotherapist will go through a thorough assessment of your shoulder and mid back to determine imbalances in muscle length and strength, particularly in the muscles responsible for internal and external rotation. Assessing joint range of motion and any increased/decreased movement will also be useful to direct your rehabilitation program. Your physiotherapist may stretch and massage tight muscles to improve shoulder range of motion.
A strengthening program may be useful to improve muscular imbalances in your shoulders. Your physio will go through a return to swim program for you to ensure you do not overload the shoulder.
A swimming coach/assessment could be useful to assess your stroke to determine any technique issues that may be putting your shoulder in a compromised position.
Please contact us to find out more, or to make an appointment.
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