Some would say that you're shooting in the dark without a specific diagnosis. Perhaps an examination by a qualified individual would give this specificity from which a plan specific to you would be developed to get you "back in the swim."

John

---

John H. Post, III, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Charlottesville, VA

You're on a triathlon forum, the answer is obvious...

Swim less.

It's a prescription most of us would dream of...

-Jot

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but could you be swimming with a bit of a thumb entry and forcing too much inwards rotation at the shoulder? Perhaps a flatter hand entry might help you with that? Is your rotation good?

Could be nothing at all to do with that, though. I do think it is as important to consider the cause as it is to figure out the treatment, as you'll be wanting to swim again.

May be useful..
http://www.swimsmooth.com/injury.php

I know your pain. I'm not a doctor here so please take this with a grain of salt, I have a "loose" shoulder from 20+ years of competitive swimming and I have to spend a lot of time with therabands doing various abductor and adductor workouts with my shoulders. Basically if I keep the inner muscles strong then the shoulder doesn't hurt, if I let them weaken, then I'm in for a bit of hurt. I'd go talk with a doc that knows swimmers and have it looked at. The last thing you want to do is tear a labrum or some other craziness an there goes your swim.

---

Todd

Buy "Shoulder Pain? The Solution and Prevention" by John Kirsch MD. Be prepared to start getting back in the pool in a few weeks!
I had similar issues and even posted about it on ST a few months ago. I tried every thing-pt chiro, art, then I stumbled across this short read (~90 pages) and was swimming again in a few weeks. I think the book cost $13 on amazon.

Are you supplementing your swims with strength and flexibility exercises? I would definitely recommend shoulder back and core strengthening to help relieve the tension of the repetitive nature of swimming.

This is common overuse injury, primarily caused by extending recovery arm flat on surface in front of head or "cross-over" placing moment and all pressure on rotator. Spear recovery arm wide on shoulder width tracks, slicing recovery hand below lungs, don't lay flat on surface. This will take pressure off fatigue and injury prone shoulders engaging large core muscle group of lattimus dorsi ("the lats") .

Good luck!

Stuart

Thanks, I am downloading it now.