In swimming, the shoulder injury It is one of the most casual. Many times it is given by the high training loads, if you are a competitive athlete; and others for not knowing how to swim correctly, if you are an amateur swimmer.
When we swim we are exercising mostly the joints and muscles of the shoulder, which suffer a stress that can lead to the famous «swimmer's shoulder«. It is common for us to get this type of injury if we practice crawl or freestyle swimming, or butterfly and backstroke.
Causes of shoulder injury
Noticing the shoulder injury is quite obvious: you will feel difficulty raising your arm, weakness and pain when lying down.
It is probable that the tendonitis has appeared to you by a excessive training frequency, since you will be forcing yourself to repeat the same movement thousands of times. The stress on the joint will cause a microtrauma that can radiate the pain throughout the arm. In addition, we assume that the shoulder is an unstable joint and the greatest propulsive force when swimming is given by it.
La muscular fatigue for not resting, the hand paddle workouts and inadequate techniques due to inexperience are other possible causes of your injury.
It can be avoided?
The most fundamental thing in swimming is technique. If we want to train swimming, it is advisable to attend a course that improves our technique to avoid future injuries. Also, injuring your shoulder can lead to a back or arm injury.
It's better than nor do very fast exercises when making series or long runs. Combine your training with a build muscles with weights (biceps, pectorals, trapezius and deltoids).
What is your treatment?
For tendonitis there are several types of treatment or recoveries, but it will depend on the degree of injury we have. If it is a low-grade injury, with apply ice to a bag (to avoid burns) and rest It will be enough. You may go to the physiotherapist to speed up recovery and confirm the injury.
If the pain is acute, even if it is a low-grade injury, you can take some anti-inflammatory to calm. Besides, it will be very good for you stretch, preferably with elastic bands. Their recovery process is slow due to their low blood supply, so do not make movements that involve the shoulder in your day to day.
There are more serious cases that would only be solved with surgical intervention.
Recovery from a shoulder injury must be calm so as not to aggravate the situation. Don't force your body to train and return to your routine gradually. It is impossible to ask your shoulder the same level of demand that it had before the injury. Listen to your muscles and if you continue to have any type of symptom, however minor, go to the doctor and rule out any other type of major injury.