2.4 mile swim = extremely sore wrist

duffeymt_24

 I imagine this is probably a result of having my fingers pressed together on my pull, but was wondering if anyone has experienced this.  It was very sore on the last leg  of the swim, the rest of the day yesterday and still today.  

I'll try to make sure to keep my fingers spread apart and use my forearm more.

Anyone have any advice/experience with this?

Jeff Unruh

A few questions...

1. How many 2.4 mile swims have you done recently?

2. Was this OW or in the pool?

3. Been working on anything new/different with your stroke?

How do your shoulders, lats, lower back feel?

Paul Hough

Matt, I don't get a sore wrist, but I do have sore fingers after an IM swim. And I'm not talking about the RR swim, only the actual race swim. The day after the race my fingers/hands are sore. My guess is that I'm working a lot harder in the race than I do in training, and my wimpy little fingers aren't used to straining so hard.

duffeymt_24

 @Jeff - 

1. This was my first 2.4 mile OWS, longest distance by double.

2. OWS

3. No. 

I rode 90 miles of the IMWI course after, so my lower back is a little sore, other than that, no soreness anywhere.  

Today it is more clear that it is not my wrist but a few inches from my wrist on my arm.  Its also swollen.  Icing it and taking anti-inflammatories.  

Al Truscott

Overuse tendonitis. The muscles which control hand postition are in the forearm, and are more important than we imagine for a successful swim. Your tendonitis is the same as one might experience when ramping up run distance too drastically in a short period of time.

Personally, my forearms are my current weak link/speed limiter in my swimming, so I can understand how you might have done this. 

duffeymt_24

Thanks for the reply. Should I avoid swimming, swim short, continue swimming but ice and take anti-inflammatorys?

Al Truscott

My thoughts: Rest your forearms on your thighs, palms up, and try some wrist curls. If that hurts, or if you have numbness in your fingers or hands,  you for sure need some rest. Ice for the first 24-48 hours, with Naproxen is also a good idea. If it were me, I'd not swim for 48 hours afterwards, and then, if things feel like they are improving, get back at it, but at a lower volume and intensity. If things don't improve, see a PT or physician.

Jeff Unruh

@Matt

My $.02

1. Doubling up your previous longest swim would make sense you are sore. If you were to double your longest run or bike you would find new aches and pains (granted, swimming is different but you get my drift).

2. When OWS we don't get the break, however short, of the wall. Long OWS is much harder for me than equivalent distance in the pool.

Al offers good advice - listen to him...

duffeymt_24

Thanks guys. Popping Naproxen twice a day and icing. Feels a little better 48 hours later.

Coach Patrick

@Matt consider digging up the swim ebook and finding the cord exercises so you can work on a proper catch with lat/shoulder and not the wrist. You might also be able to cut off the last part of your stroke (the push from your ribs all the way down to your upper thigh) by tapering the hand out a bit. Regardless, rest is best right now!

duffeymt_24

Still swollen as of today - I have an appt tomorrow with my orthopedic anyway, so I'll have him take an X-Ray and hopefully confirm its just some inflammation.

On a side note, I watched the cord drill video and went to the pool to try our the technique. I started to do 1 arm pool lengths and it was SO easy to have a totally perfect catch - probably because I am pretty much sideways when doing a 1 arm stroke all the way down the pool. It was a huge blast of power I have never felt before.

I would be faster if I just swam 2-3 strokes with the same side, then switched. I tried to mimic it with my regular stroke, but I clearly need work on rolling to get that catch - but now I know what it feels like.

Hmmm, I might just have to swim 1 arm per 3 strokes and then switch sides!