Right Shoulder Pain with Swimming
Did my first swim in a "long time" yesterday and had to pull the plug after only 400 yards. My right shoulder hurts during the initiation of my stroke. It is tough for me to raise it out of the water following the recovery. Funny thing is I didn't even know I had a shoulder problem as I haven't had a hint of pain during the entire outseason although I wasn't swimming either. Any advice on how to proceed here. Out of the water it hurts a bit doing some arm circles but I haven't noticed anything that would lead me to suspect a cuff tear. I am thinking more on the lines of maybe impingement. I have an OD race in 10 weeks and a 1/2 IM in 12 weeks. I am stressing just a little bit here.
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I have been doing some shoulder exercises from USA Swimming's website that will hopefully help: http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewMiscArticle.aspx?TabId=1645&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&mid=702&ItemId=700
not sure what can be done to alleviate the pain you're experiencing other than rest, but I do know of 2 things you should pay close attention to when swimming
-breathing every 3rd stroke, not every stroke...... if you get into the habit of breathing every 3rd stroke, you'll develop a more balanced stroke and your stroke won't be so lopsided which forces most of your pulling to come from the arm of your non-breathing side which can then lead to swimmers shoulder
-elbows.......concentrate on keeping your elbows high during the catch/pull phase. Doing so will also alleviate some of the pressure you're putting on your shoulder.
Bob McC.....check out Fleet for their masters program. They have practices in the morning 6-7am and 7-8pm. Obviously you need to get your shoulder healed first but they're a good resource
David,
I have been concentrating on those exact things. I read up on swimmer's shoulder about 3-4 weeks ago and saw that the main issue more or less stemmed from flawed technique - mainly crossing mid-line, thumb first entry, unilateral breathing and dropping elbow. I know that I was guilty of 2, 3 and 4. For training purposes I have now been doing bilateral breathing for most of the swim (race day will still be unilateral) and I'm making sure not to cross mid-line and enter with the hands even. Oddly enough, when I breath unilaterally I breathe to my right side... which should make my left shoulder hurt... but it's my right shoulder that's tweaked. Any thoughts on that?
I have also been working on the high elbow catch. It's a little foreign and will take some getting used to but I get the theory. I also probably jumped into the swim with too much distance. Probably shouldn't have been doing 2000m workouts with a tweaked shoulder if I haven't swam in three months.
Do you still have your membership to LA Fitness (I know your wife does)? I'd love to have you take a look at my mechanics and offer some advice. Gotta be honest, I'm probably not going to wake up at 5:00-something to go to Fleet or go there at 7-8pm (son goes to bad at 8:00-ish). Plus, I know you're cheaper and willl work for beer.
I'd probably take private lessons as opposed to Fleet Master's when it comes to seriously taking lessons.
hello:
robert, sounds like your issue is technique related, since you do not recall any injury in recent weeks. not sure if the same history applies to you, bob.
so the rotator cuff muscles are designed to execute specific ranges and planes of movement under a particular range of loads. swimming can result in lots of shoulder pain due to rotator cuff strain. more violent motions, like pitching in baseball have even more potential for harm.
robert, the pain you describe during that particular part of the stroke, is likely due to not enough body rotation on that side. that side is likely not the side you breath on, right?
if your torso does not rotate enough, then you are forced to use only the muscle at the back of the rotator cuff to get your elbow out of the water. depending on your flexibility, this is extending beyond the range of movement and by default, applying force to this region at it's most vulnerable position.
if you rotate enough, then it becomes really easy to execute that part of your stroke because now you are within the proper range of motion. if you are so stiff currently, that the only way to rotate enough to not strain the shoulder is to almost flip on your back, then you need to limber up that shoulder first. breathing on both sides can help force you to rotate evenly on both sides.
hope this helps.
drgh
Bob, my only thought on your right shoulder hurting even though you breath on that same side........have you been throwing the football around with your son? I know that sometimes really messes with my shoulder.
Other than that, I'd really have to check out your stroke and see if there's something else going on. Maybe we can do that this weekend..... I was going to see if you were up for a ride on Sunday anyway. And yes, I still have my membership.
"robert, the pain you describe during that particular part of the stroke, is likely due to not enough body rotation on that side. that side is likely not the side you breath on, right? "
you are absolutely correct. had a college swimmer watching me yesterday and he sees no problem with my left arm but identified I am not getting my right arm up and out of the water. As a result, my right hand enters the water way too early. I was going to try and correct this mechanic flaw but we both think it's related to the pain inhibiting me from getting my arm up and elbow high out of the water. And yes, I breathe on the left side (shoulder pain on the right).
@ David
No, it's not throwing related. Haven't been doing any throwing. I thought I may have tweaked it lifting weights in the OS but I'm not sure now what the heck I did to it now. I know swimming isn't helping the cause.
I'm riding both days this weekend -- so I'd be up for a Sunday stroll. Let me know when you want to check out my stroke. That sounds dirty, doesn't it?
You've got to go after this on a few fronts- loosen up the shoulder joint first. You can either pay someone (sports massage, ART, PT, etc) to dig out the back and the front to help that shoulder settle back into it's normal place or you can do it at home with a foam roller. Check out the A-T-A site and watch the massage video's for the front and back of the shoulder. Then follow it up with stretching. In the EN wiki there are maintenance/core video's for the arm/shoulder. download the stretching video for the upper body and you'll have 5 stretches to use on the shoulder. Follow it up with some ice for 10' and you have a do it yourself PT session.
@ JT - Good to hear about the pain-free swim. You're doing the right things to get to CDA start line.