Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Swimmers Pain Research
Quote | Reply
I have been working with endurance athletes for over 20 years, helping them locate the source of pain and then designing self-treatments they can do even while racing or training. I am currently doing some research regarding common pain experienced by endurance swimmers. I know that the shoulder is a major problem, but I've also considered that the constant turning of the head toward the side in order to breath will cause spasms to form in a muscle called sternocleidomastoid (SCM for short). This is the muscle that causes tinnitus, dizziness, loss of equilibrium, and pain in the ear.

I need to know if any of the swimmers on this site have experienced this problem. Also, please let me know if there is anything else that is a common pain for swimmers. When I finish my research I'll be happy to share an easy self-treatment for this muscle.

Thanks so much for you input,
Julie Donnelly

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
JulieDonnelly wrote:
I have been working with endurance athletes for over 20 years, helping them locate the source of pain and then designing self-treatments they can do even while racing or training. I am currently doing some research regarding common pain experienced by endurance swimmers. I know that the shoulder is a major problem, but I've also considered that the constant turning of the head toward the side in order to breath will cause spasms to form in a muscle called sternocleidomastoid (SCM for short). This is the muscle that causes tinnitus, dizziness, loss of equilibrium, and pain in the ear.

I need to know if any of the swimmers on this site have experienced this problem. Also, please let me know if there is anything else that is a common pain for swimmers. When I finish my research I'll be happy to share an easy self-treatment for this muscle.

Thanks so much for you input,
Julie Donnelly

I've never had any issue with the SCM or any dizziness, etc, and I've never had any shoulder joint issues per se. My soreness tends to be mainly in my upper body muscles: delts, traps, lats, and pecs, i.e., just the usual muscles that get sore from swimming a lot. Also, my right calf muscle will often cramp when push off hard to jump out of the pool at the end of the workout, espec if i've done a lot of kicking, but it goes away in just a second or two, soon as I can straighten my leg out. The biggest thing i find that alleviates upper body soreness is simply lots of stretching.


"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
No SCM issues fortunately but I often get soreness/pain in my subscapularus (sp?) when I'm doing a lot (for me) of yardage. I should also note that I have terrible chest flexibility.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [ericmulk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Thanks so much for your feedback, it's important and it will be added to the data we're collecting.

As for your deltoids, traps, lats, and pecs, the good news is they are all very easy to treat using a tennis ball or handball. Take a look at the muscle (a good site to do that is http://www.getbodysmart.com) and go to the belly of the muscle. Put the ball there and then lean into a wall to press the ball deeply into the muscle fiber. When you find the tender point, hold the pressure for 30 seconds and then move your arm so the muscle is lengthening. For example, with lats, slowly lift your arm up over your head; with traps, pull your shoulders down and drop your head in the opposite direction; with pecs, bring your arm back horizontally (like you're yawning and stretching your arms to your side); and for the delts, just pressing on the wall and moving your body up and down so the ball slides on the entire muscle will work.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [GreenPlease] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Thanks for your response GreenPlease, it was really helpful and I'm adding it to the data I'm collecting.

To treat your subscapularis muscle it's a bit tricky to explain without detailed pictures, but I'll give it a try. Let's say you are treating your right subscapularis muscle. Raise your right arm so it is horizontal to the floor, and take your left hand across your body. Press your left thumb into the thick muscle that is the back side of your armpit (actually it's your lats), and then wiggle your thumb further in so you are aiming at going to the underside of your shoulder blade. It's a bit of a challenge, especially since I'm sure your muscles are well-developed and dense. As best as you can, relax your right shoulder (maybe try resting your right elbow on something so you aren't really holding your arm up) so you can release the muscles as much as possible. The further up toward the top of your armpit you go, the closer you are to the subscap.

I don't know how I'm going to take a good picture of this treatment, but I think it is a perfect topic for a blog on http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com. I'll start to work on it today and post it asap.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Yes. i have had pain and spasms in my SCM for a few years now. Only on the right side, mainly because thats the side I breath most of the time to.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Never had any noted pain or issues in the SCM (now that I know what/where it is...) but I tend to get dizzy & lose all sense of equilibrium sometimes when I go from back to free. I can manage it usually with breathing & patience, but it makes IM training entertaining sometimes. It's never been painful or caused any major issues except for that first 10sec or so.

If I'm racing & swimming hard I can develop some tightness across the back of my neck/shoulders from looking up to sight, but that's usually just a training issue. Also I tend to get an aggravated hip flexor if I'm kicking a lot, but that's also usually predictable.

AW
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [Kiyakon] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
The muscle involved is the left sternocleidomastoid (SCM) because the muscle turns your head in the opposite direction. So, your left SCM turns your head to the right. I'm going to post a picture of how to treat the SCM, check out the next post as I'll put the picture there.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [AWARE] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'd like to share how to do the Julstro self-treatment for the SCM, but I can't. In order to post a picture of how to self-treat the muscle that causes dizziness, ear pain, etc., I have to have a URL, and the only way I know how to do that is to put it into a blog. However, when I tried to do that to show how to treat for plantar fasciitis, which is the same treatment for sprained ankle, it ended up being deleted (probably it was decided it was advertising), so I don't know how to put in a picture. If you know how to tell me how to do it straight into this post, that would be great.

Meanwhile, the reason the SCM causes ear pain, tinnitus, dizziness is because the muscle originates on the middle of your collarbone (actually has two heads) and inserts into the bone at the back of your ear. When the muscle is in spasm, usually from repetitively turning your head in one direction, or even sitting at a computer (TV, etc.) with your head turned even a bit to one side, it puts pressure on your mastoid bone. This causes a stress on the tiny bones in the inside of your ear, and you end up with these symptoms. The treatment is to squeeze the muscle between your thumb and first finger, as close to your jaw as possible. Important: if you feel a pulse, move your fingers as you are on your carotid artery.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I am a neurologist and what you are claiming here is total BS.

Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I had tinnitus before I started swimming regularly. However, my SCM has always been tight. My suboccipital muscles are also tight. After 30-40 continuous minutes of swimming my subscapulari clamp down on the subscapular nerves causing hand numbness. Hell, just about every muscle in my body is tight: massage, stretching, and now some yoga, help.


DrTriKat wrote:
I am a neurologist and what you are claiming here is total BS.

Perhaps, but it's as good an explanation as any for the cause of tinnitus. I'm quite convinced that, for me, there's a drainage issue but ENT's don't find anything visibly or auditorily wrong and therefore won't look into it further. I've yet to find a D.O. who actually practices osteopathic medicine rather than being another family care M.D.

/Howie Nordström
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [DrTriKat] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Hi DrTriKat, I realize I need to clarify my response. I acknowledge that there are many neurological reasons for tinnitus, dizziness, pain, etc., and I am not talking about neurological sources of pain. I am talking about muscular causes for these situations. This has been more than amply proven by Janet Travell MD and David Simons MD in their two volume research book Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual. Drs. Travell and Simons, demonstrated that muscle spasms are a frequent cause of conditions throughout the entire body, and how the muscle spasms (trigger points) are commonly overlooked. This is the case with ringing in the ears, dizziness, and ear pain. I have worked alongside several physicians, including neurologists, to work with their patients who were suffering from a long list of conditions that weren't responding to conventional treatments. In the vast majority of the cases we found that muscle spasms were indeed the cause of that particular patient's problem.
I am not discounting the far more serious causes of neurological conditions throughout the body. If muscles are the cause, nothing else will work and since muscle spasms can be eliminated quickly from the mix, it is beneficial to add muscle release into the treatment program. To clarify, I am not talking about massage, I am talking about trigger point therapy based on the work of Drs. Travell and Simons. After 25 years of working in this field I have seen the positive results thousands of times, including with many people who had exhausted every medical test possible to locate the source of their pain or symptoms.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [lllusion] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
The standard method of treating the trigger points (TP) that were mapped by Drs. Travell and Simons is to find the TP and then hold the pressure steady for 30 seconds. Keep your fingers on the point, but let up from the pressure for about 5 seconds, and then press down again. You'll find that each time you press down it will hurt less, until eventually it won't hurt at all. After that it's safe and beneficial to stretch the muscle fibers. To stretch while you still have a trigger point is usually a lot less effective and could even cause micro-tears in the muscle fibers.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [JulieDonnelly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Thanks, yes, I'm familiar with Travell's work. I've had a lot of TP work done to my body, esp. when my wife (now ex. but best friend), was going through massage school. I was also thinking about my comment re. stretching and thinking that it needed clarification. As a B.Ph.Ed Kinesiology student from the 80's I was big on stretching--until a few years ago when I discovered that it actually hindered my well-being and performance, and that the research confirmed this. Presently, there are only a few muscles I stretch, and I usually try to combine it with some TP. Although, admittedly, I'm not carrying out the TP exactly as outlined by Travell due to laziness on my part. It's rare to find a good massage therapist who knows how to do TP properly, but when I do I let her (yep, haven't found a male therapist who really knows what he's doing with TP) do the work on me because I can concentrate on relaxing, vs. an instinctual habit to guard when I do it on myself.

/Howie Nordström
Quote Reply
Re: Swimmers Pain Research [lllusion] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I totally agree with you that it's difficult to find someone who really knows how to do TPs properly. It's the primary reason I developed the self-treatments I teach. I had a very serious case of frozen shoulder and had only a 2" range of motion in any direction. I knew what I'd do if someone came to me, but I couldn't find anyone who could/would do it for me like I wanted it done. It took me months to work it out by using a ball, but I eventually did. I then ended up helping an Ironman triathlete and he had me helping athletes on the Mile 141 site, and then on IM Utah (2002 +/-), and that ultimately became my first book "The Pain-Free Triathlete."
You can do the TP treatments for yourself, which is a major benefit if you end up with pain during a race or long training day.

Don't let pain cause a DNF! YOU are your own Best Therapist! Visit http://www.FlexibleAthlete.com and http://www.Julstro.com to learn logical solutions to repetitive strain injuries and how to stretch safely.
Quote Reply