Also had severe shoulder injury. I felt the pain in the front upper part of the shoulder (arm) at exactly the same part of the stroke. The problem though actually originated from the shoulder blade (scapula) which can lead to impingement in the shoulder.

So for me treatment looked like this:
* My PT prescribed me some mobility and strengthening exercises for the scapula (which is very important for long-term recovery and prevention)
* Icing didn't help at all (maybe it does for you though, especially in the beginning to fight inflammation, which is not the root problem though. Definitely doesn't hurt). Rolling on a ball around the scapula did work and I had quite some tender spots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QiUzWE9Z7M)

Those are important I think and are a MUST but what really helped short-term (not short-term as in trying this once and going for a 5k swim afterwards):
* Just hanging from a bar. Not actively pulling yourself up, just hanging passively from a bar. If you can hold it for 30 sec in the beginning, go for 5x30 sec 2 times a day. I got a pull-up bar at home which makes it easy to do in the morning and evening. You can google it, there's quite some research on it. Coincidentally I even heard Joe Rogan and Dan Bilzerian talking about it in a podcast (which doesn't mean anything, I know)

This might very well be the only "body hack" I have ever found to be working for me.

Stay clear of swimming for 2 weeks or so at least before you even try swimming again and if you notice any pain, stop immediately and give it at least 2 weeks again.
Trust me, it's not worth pushing through because shoulder injuries can get quite persistent (as it did in my case by pushing through some training sessions)

As other poster said, hanging from a bar can help. Do you have a crossover in your swim stroke? I’m a slow swimmer but had shoulder issues when I increased my volume but once I corrected my crossover they went away.

Yep, technique-wise there might be something off. Getting rid of a crossover is a must as well for treating shoulder injuries (was the same for me)

I had similar shoulder impingement. High quality physio resolved the symptoms but it took swimming technique change to eliminate the problem. I was internally rotating my arms - thumb down entry for example - but when this was corrected to a relaxed, slightly downward tilted but essentially flat palm entry, there has been no recurrence.

I will try the dead hangs. From the few articles I read online in the last 5 mins, there seems to be something there. I will try and add it into my PT routine in the evening time. (may be hard as I do not have a pull up bar)

Any techniques or tips to reduce crossover? I have been swimming pretty consistently over the past year and a half with no issues. This just popped up out of no where it seems. I did not think I had a crossover problem, but maybe I do. As far as hand placement in the water, the thumb is not supposed to enter first? Should the hand enter more flat?

Thumb entry is not good. Your hand should enter neutral with fingers pointed down.

A couple of ideas for width of hand entry:

1. Catch up drill with a stick.
2. Single arm drill with a kick board out front.

Both drills promote an entry that’s in line with your shoulders.

I could have written your very post -- except mine is left shoulder only. Same issue here. Coach at Master's swim discovered I am entering the water with my pinkie then ring finger, and so forth. I have been working on entering with my index finger first. that changes the stress on my shoulder.

The other thing I discovered is sometimes the pain would arise when I was doing the above. We discovered I am pushing up when trying to breath facing right. Not gliding with the left arm. When I do that, I I don't get the pain.

Putting the two together is proving to be a real challenge. Mainly as I am breaking bad habits. FWIW, I am exaggerating the entry mentioned on the top to learn the feel and train myself the new way.

My pull strength has been reduced as I work on this technique change. I am not good enough to focus on the changes AND pull hard AND do everything else in the water. One step at a time.

One last thing: I have to be very careful to not rest of my arm/shoulder when doing other things like sitting at the desk at work, sleeping, etc. Message me if you want to compare notes. Seriously, you wrote exactly what I have been dealing with.

I had dealt with severe shoulder pain for years, started when I was age group swimmer 45 years ago. Last 10 years or so it got to the point where the severe pain was constant 24/7, along with fingers going numb, in spite years of chiro and physical therapy (both helped some) and seriously considered shoulder replacement. Finally had acupuncture done where the acupuncturist attached the needles to an electrical stim machine, used a focused heat lamp during treatment and then massaged my back and neck after treatment. After the first treatment it felt about 80% better and was able to lift my arm higher than shoulder heigth and also reach my hand across my back and then lift it up without screaming pain. Three subsequent treatments and I was about 99% pain free. Pretty much pain free these days and maintain that by rolling all my back muscles using a tennis ball and get regular massage.

Can you get some video swim analysis ? To help identify any flaws (whether thumb first, cross over, over-lifting head when breathing, pulling down at the 'catch' rather than getting an early vertical forearm, or whatever.

It works out a whole lot cheaper than physio or chiro sessions in the long term ! (Speaking from experience !)

Ive had intermittent right shoulder problems (not really bad but can be sore after a 3k or higher swim).
And it comes down to (for me) a combo of
- sleeping in thar shoulder with arm tucked under

- carrying a rucksack or other bag on that shoulder (I've stopped that now !)

- technique. When breathing to my non-natural left side, i was pulling a bit sideways and down with my right arm - in order to lever my head out more. The telltale was that when breathing to the left BOTH eyes/goggles were out of thw water. Whereas really the water level should split your face in half - one eye in, one eye out.

Solved that (mostly) by consciously making sure the lower eye was in the water and lots of practice doing that withthe Finis 'agility' paddle to encourage early vertical forearm and not pushing my arm sideways. To a point at least now where 5k isnt a prob.
BUT I do have to 'keep on top of it' with drills otherwise the 40+ years of bad habits comes back.

But the video analysis was pivotal to identifying the flaws.

I'd add sculling drills to the catch up as well.

Crossover and catch issues are the #1 and 2 causes of shoulder pain in swimming IMO.

Maybe get underwater video of your stroke and post it.

[quote mlevans1

I took some time off from swimming (about a week or so) and the pain semi went away but I believe side sleeping with my hand under the pillow aggravated the injury.
...
Has anyone ever experienced this issue??? How do you go about healing yourself and getting back in the pool? These past 2-3 weeks have been very frustrating.[/quote]
I injured my left shoulder sleeping on my side with my hand under my pillow. Woke up in the middle of the night thinking I was being stabbed. I was awful.

It was three weeks before IM CDA. One short swim the week before just to see how much pain I was in for, and lots of bike trainer rides with my arm dangling by my side. That was not a fun race.

It took about four months of rest before it felt good enough to swim again. I didn’t do any pt for it, just stopped sleeping on that side.

Didn’t have to change my swim stroke once I felt better.

---

Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Yeah, while technique errors COULD account for it, there's a good chance it's just overuse that needs some rest.

My shoulders get inflamed if I go crazy and overdo it during a week by a fair margin, sometimes they get bad enough that I literally can't swim even at all the pain is so bad. But then I rest it, and with a more careful buildup, have no problems swimming that same distance/intensity once I've recovered and built back up to a new level.

A few years ago I had, for a prolonged period, terrific pain in one shoulder, when I tried to swim, freestyle. Enough to stop me swimming and even when bearable, enough to make me turn (open turns) on the left instead of right and breathe to the left. I thought it was an overuse problem. I've been using this body for a long while.:0)

Turns out it was a nerve impingement problem caused by calcification at the spine.

My solution, may not be everyone's solution to this problem, so take it with a grain of salt. But I no longer sleep with a pillow (unless I'm hugging it) and some weight exercises, with very light weights for a full range of motion. Back to being the swimmer I was (which is not a boast).

My swimming life balances on 'not injured/injured' shoulders.

Don't mess around- hunt down a medical professional that specializes (or knows a bucket load) about shoulders, go see them, and do everything they say. Good luck in the rehab.

Us masters swimming has a lot of shoulder strength info online which is actually really good.

Work on your form. Hang. Both great advice. The hang is maybe my favorite stretch.

And then probably without seeing your form or your injury or knowing you at all ... I am going to guess that your back could benefit from some strength work. If you can strengthen those bigger muscles in your back that takes pressure off your shoulders and helps prevent those injuries from coming back.

Good luck!

Are you doing the stretches these articles say not to do?

http://www.usmsswimmer.com/...immer_stretching.pdf
https://www.usaswimming.org/...e-edelman-slides.pdf

I have been doing some of those stretches... now I know better.

Shoulder is getting better. I have taken off swimming, tried to keep a better posture, and done dead hangs every day since the recommendation. I almost have complete mobility back without pain. I hope to get back in the pool next weekend maybe 500-1000m swim to test things out. I will be easing back into the work load.

I will also work on the form corrections, working out the back, limiting crossbody / centerline breaching.