I’m dealing with it and it just won’t seem to go away. Months of PT, the USA Swimming strength program (i.e., external rotation) stretching, proper warmup, ice afterward, etc. And yet, a meager 500-1000 yard total swim will leave me with pain. I’ve tried slowly building up yardage. No good.
I’m a sinker, like many of us, so I have to swim kind of aggressively. By this, I mean that my extended arm is very un-Total Immersion… straight forward. The TI approach – a steep and deep entry – puts me too low in the water. I’m sure that approach is more shoulder-friendly, but it just doesn’t do well for me at all. Starting the pull from the top (when my arm is parallel to the surface) and/or holding the elbow up and getting that cool vertical catch bring the same results… pain a few hours later.
Ideas? Comments? I like swimming enough to consider acromioplasty soon.
Having gone through this, I would say ART, and then proper coaching. Make sure your technique isn’t creating your problem. Surgery should be a last resort. I had a subacromial decompression 7 years ago and only afterwards found ART. ART may have prevented surgery, it may not have, I’ll never know, but if I could go back in time, I’d try ART first.
I’ve visited a chiro who practices what I think is a form of ART. Essentially a very serious and painful massage. But when your x-ray shows clearly that there’s very little space below that AC joint… yikes.
I have had good instruction/coaching from very reputable sources. Trouble is that no one really has good advice for this. They advocate their stroke method, and that’s about all anyone can do.
In Jan I came off my bike, bad road rash and blood poisoning were I thought the only results.
As the pain from that went away I realised I could not switch on pull coard light switches and when ever I went to grab something at shoulder height with my right hand slightly behind me I had chronic pain. It is exactly the same action as a revovery in front crawl as the hand / wrist came level with my shoulder.
Anywho, off to the Doc who sent me to a PT who had a hell of a time trying to mimic the pain, largely due to my flexibility. I can get the result simply from one stroke of crawl but no other action except the light switch would get the same result.
Anyway, the solution was, I stopped swimming for 12 weeks, nothing, nada, no water. the problem with an impingement as she explained it is that it is similar to an inflamation, every time you do the action that hurts it is not healing.
I stopped swimming, stopped carrying anything of significant weight with my right hand, I now carry everything with my left and it has completely gone.
One reccurence on a run and I am not even sure it was related.
As they told me, if you continue to do the things that irritate it it will not go away. So I stopped.
I can now do all the things pain free that I was having problems with such as swimming, switches etc.
Well I do ART and it’s great for impingement but it depends… What did the MRI show?
Didn’t get an MRI – the ortho (who had me get one on my other shoulder that had non-impingment pain, which PT helped) felt there was no need. The impingement was obvious in just an x-ray.
In Jan I came off my bike, bad road rash and blood poisoning were I thought the only results.
As the pain from that went away I realised I could not switch on pull coard light switches and when ever I went to grab something at shoulder height with my right hand slightly behind me I had chronic pain. It is exactly the same action as a revovery in front crawl as the hand / wrist came level with my shoulder.
Anywho, off to the Doc who sent me to a PT who had a hell of a time trying to mimic the pain, largely due to my flexibility. I can get the result simply from one stroke of crawl but no other action except the light switch would get the same result.
Anyway, the solution was, I stopped swimming for 12 weeks, nothing, nada, no water. the problem with an impingement as she explained it is that it is similar to an inflamation, every time you do the action that hurts it is not healing.
I stopped swimming, stopped carrying anything of significant weight with my right hand, I now carry everything with my left and it has completely gone.
One reccurence on a run and I am not even sure it was related.
As they told me, if you continue to do the things that irritate it it will not go away. So I stopped.
I can now do all the things pain free that I was having problems with such as swimming, switches etc.
I took over a month off when it started. That’s when I started PT and had x-rays and an MRI of the other one. I was OK as I made my comeback, getting some post-swim pain that would be helped by ice, ultrasound, and PT. I’d hit the pool lightly 3x per week. But the post-swim pain/bad feeling is worsening to where it isn’t gone by the time of the next swim…
ok sure… but what is impinged? the supraspinatus tendon? How long have you been going thru rehab for? Just wondering if you have a tear, which the x-ray won’t show
I think based on what I was told that three times a week is an awful lot coming back from an injury.
I AM NO DOCTOR
If you took a month off for shin splints or PF and then went out and ran 3 times a week would you expect to be completely fine and recovered and to have no problems moving forwards?
I dont know, its taken three months of nothing that would irritate it for it to go away, mostly in the last 6 weeks since I followed the PT’s instructions.
I’m not a Dr., and very new to this forum. I had a similar problem to this about 6 years ago. Was not a triathlete then, but the doctor’s opinion was that the injury was a result of football and hockey collisions. It was my third shoulder surgery. Symptom very similar to what you describe, a grinding pain when trying to do anything with my arm at shoulder height. Ended up with an AC joint re-section, they took off about 1/2 inch of the bone. I was playing hockey again about 2 weeks later and have not had any pain in that shoulder since.
I had something like this. I tried all sorts of things as you are trying. Nothing worked. I didn’t try ART.
I ultimately went the surgical route. It took a few months of rather painful therapy, but now I am better than new.
If you have too much lousy bone material in places that it shouldn’t be, exercise and therapy will make it worse. Resting it will just make it weak.
Mine was surely made worse by poor swimming technique. I would press down with my extended arm as I took a breath in a poor attempt to get lift. Common mistake. It puts a lot of pressure on the shoulder. That sounds like what you are doing. I am guessing you always breath to one side and the opposite shoulder is the problem.
I had something like this. I tried all sorts of things as you are trying. Nothing worked. I didn’t try ART.
I ultimately went the surgical route. It took a few months of rather painful therapy, but now I am better than new.
If you have too much lousy bone material in places that it shouldn’t be, exercise and therapy will make it worse. Resting it will just make it weak.
Mine was surely made worse by poor swimming technique. I would press down with my extended arm as I took a breath in a poor attempt to get lift. Common mistake. It puts a lot of pressure on the shoulder. That sounds like what you are doing. I am guessing you always breath to one side and the opposite shoulder is the problem.
Good luck with this puppy.
Negative, sir. While I do breathe to one side (working on the other!), THAT’S the one that hurts. I press down a little with the other side (working on getting rid of that, too!).
ok sure… but what is impinged? the supraspinatus tendon? How long have you been going thru rehab for? Just wondering if you have a tear, which the x-ray won’t show
Ooop – forgot to answer this above. Bicep tendon.
PT’d for 2+ months now. My rotators, both internal and external, are pretty darn strong and have good endurance.
Both the ortho (very reputable) and the PTs think it’s plain old impingement, no tears. My flexibility is pretty good, pain-free in all motions, etc. Just tightness across the front of the shoulder when the arm is overhead and stretched back.