This is an article for the fish, those bipeds that travel faster in the water than on and. If you log a lot of yards in the pool on a weekly basis, this article was written specifically with you in mind. The information given to you in this article is based on research and personal experience from the staff at Athletico.
As a swimmer, your chances of attaining an acute injury are very slim – swimming is a non-contact sport. However, the repetitiveness of swimming increases your chances of experiencing an overtraining injury. Given that the primary mean of propulsion in the water comes from the arms, the incidence of injury most often occurs at the shoulder joint. When a swimmer experiences pain at the shoulder while swimming and/or outside of swimming, the injury is often referred to as “Swimmer’s Shoulder,” which is a way of describing rotator cuff tendonitis created by the repetitive overhead action of the arms in swimming.
The shoulder is a multidirectional joint, meaning it has a large range of motion which allows the hand to be used at many angles (positions). In order to maintain stability at the joint, there is muscle balance between the deltoid and the rotator cuff muscles. When this balance is lost, laxity in the joint occurs, which then leads to impingement at the rotator cuff; impingement will then develop into tendonitis, creating pain in the shoulder joint.
Muscle imbalance will often occur in swimming because the muscles responsible for lifting your arm above your head become stronger than the external rotators and the rear deltoid. Therefore, in order to help prevent this imbalance from occurring, it is imperative that you strengthen the external rotators and the rear deltoid. There are many ways to do this. It is highly recommended to go to your local bookstore or library and check out any Human Kinetics books on strength training, particularly the ones that will describe which muscle groups are being worked by the different exercises.
Even if you do not experience any shoulder pain at this time, strengthening the external rotators and the rear deltoid muscles for swimming will help to prevent your chances of attaining “swimmer’s shoulder,” and increase your overall strength, aiding you in all your strokes. For more information or to talk with a physical therapist, visit www.athletico.com
Source: Athletico
