Your shoulder complex was made to accomplish the greatest range of motion while maintaining the most degrees of freedom of all the body’s joint systems. Approximately, 90 percent of all swimmer’s complaints they bring to their physiotherapist or doctor are related to problems with their shoulders, and one of the most notable is a condition known as swimmer’s shoulder.

At PRI, we are committed to helping you return to your active lifestyle if you’ve developed swimmer’s shoulder (or any other injury.) We are your go-to orthopedic specialists, and will work to get you back in the water as soon as possible.

What is Swimmer’s Shoulder?

Swimmer’s shoulder, also called shoulder impingement, is a condition where swimmers often aggravate their shoulders while they swim due to the constant joint rotation. If you’re an enthusiastic swimmer, it’s likely you’ve had or will have swimmer’s shoulder. You might even suffer from shoulder pain by swimming frequently during the summertime.

Your shoulder is an extremely mobile joint and because of this, it needs to be controlled well by the ligaments and muscles surrounding the joint. You can overwork your ligaments and muscles with things like:

 

Poor technique	Tightness	Over-training
Fatigue	Hypermobility	Previous shoulder injury
Use of too large hand paddles	Rotator cuff tears	If you continuing doing this, certain injuries can occur like:
Ligament and capsule damage	Bursitis	Tendonitis and rotator cuff impingement

 

You can rotate your shoulder many times (thousands) in just an hour by simply swimming freestyle. This repetitive movement tires out your rotator cuff muscles and being positioned improperly will cause your surrounding tissues and muscles to rub against one another.

The irritation and inflammation that occurs afterward can begin causing pain if you keep on swimming. And, your shoulder will keep on feeling this way unless you reduce the inflammation properly as well as retrain and stretch the rotator cuff muscles.

Swimmer’s Shoulder’s Treatment

Identifying the involved tendons or muscles, the severity or stage of the problem and receiving proper diagnosis will result in the most efficient treatment. A proper plan of treatment includes:

1. Applying ice. Apply directly to the shoulder after training for around 20 minutes.
2. Use anti-inflammatory medications. Use for a few days after the injury to reduce inflammation.
3. Rest. This might mean total rest with no swimming for about 24 to 48 hours depending on the severity. Or, you may be able to swim, but decrease yardage while you avoid butterfly, backstroke or kicking only with your arms at your side. Wait a few days until you’re free of pain before you resume swim training.

4.. Get professional passive care. This might include things like:

 

Interferential current	Cross friction tendon massage
Ultrasound	Adjustments to your neck or shoulder
Trigger point work	Post-isometric relaxation of the muscles involved

 

5. Do rehabilitation exercises. These will strengthen your weak muscles (particularly your external shoulder rotators). You perform these exercises with minimal weights (three to five pounds) and perform them in an extremely controlled, specific manner. Perform these exercises a few time a week if you’ve ever had problems with your shoulders. Typically, it’s said that for each day you swim on a bad shoulder, you’ll require one day of rehab.

 

6. Modify your swimming training. It’s often said hand paddles aren’t good for your shoulders. Certain types of fins keep your body elevated in the water; therefore, they might help if you begin experiencing small problems with your shoulders during your workout. Ask the coach or a friend to check your body and arm position. They may even want to videotape you so you can take a look and the coach can discuss the stroke mechanics with you.

Physiotherapy Treatment

To complement one or more of the above treatments, a physiotherapy program is often a beneficial and necessary treatment for recovering from swimmer’s shoulder.  The physical therapist or orthopedist can stretch and massage your rotator cuff muscles manually since they can be hard to reach. This releases tension and helps prevent further irritation.

 

The orthopedist likely have you perform custom exercises if you’ve healed enough, to target your rotator cuff muscles. By strengthening up these muscles, it can help provide shoulder joint support during activity, helping make it more resistant to injury in the future. Your shoulder orthopedist may additionally help you recondition your shoulder to prevent it from becoming a weak spot down the road.

Sports rehabilitation often benefits athletes and this can help you continue swimming while rehabilitating and implement different techniques to keep pressure off the joints of your shoulders. It’s also important to warm up and cool down your muscles before and after swimming.

What treatments does PRI offer for shoulder pain?

At PRI, we specialize in a variety of techniques aimed at alleviating nagging pains and increasing mobility to aching shoulders. After correctly identifying the source of the pain, they employ extensive mobility stretches and exercises aimed to release tension to the area and increase blood flow. If the issue stems from subluxations (spinal misalignment), a full spine and body approach will be taken over an isolation treatment. It is important to remember to practice proper technique with and without doctor supervision. Physical health is after all a full time endeavor. Taking home these exercises and executing them regularly will lead to a stronger and more resilient shoulder.

To find out how we can help you, please contact us at:

Tel:      (416) 477-1101

E-mail: reception@priclinic.com

Web:   www.priclinic.com