I’m hoping to get some feedback on shoulder injuries sustained while swimming.
During my long set yesterday, when swimming 400 repeats with paddles (small paddles), I started to feel something in my shoulder twinge/pinch. It doesn’t hurt, per se; I just felt like something was pinching in my shoulder. I immediately took the paddles off. After debating with myself for a minute, I did a 400 with no paddles. Didn’t feel it as much, but definitely still felt it. Ditched the swim around 3200m (for the record; only about 800 of that was with paddles, and before using the paddles, I had no problem).
Last night, I could feel the same sensation if I made a swimming motion with my arm, and today it seems to be a little bit more pronounced.
Can anyone with medical training / experience tell me if this is a sign of a rotator cuff problem, or perhaps some sort of muscle imbalance? Is there anything specific I should do to address it (time off, ibuprofen, strengthening, just see a doctor, etc.)?
what type and size of paddle where you using? do you have a coach who checks your stroke as well? had the same issue like yours when i trained w/o a coach but afetr my coach refined my stroke, no more issues and he said instead of guiding the paddle during the stroke, its the other way around for most and thats when theres pain or injury
I’m by no means a doctor but over 20yrs of competitive swimming I’ve had my share of should “issues”. What you describe is a common occurence - especially if you’re doing work with paddles. Rest, ibuprofen, maybe an ice massage will help with the swelling. It may take a week or two to go away. I would try that before a doctor depending on how bad it hurts.
However, the larger issue is figuring out what the cause is. Without seeing your stroke, its impossible to guess but next time you’re in the pool pay attention to (or have someone look at) your pull to make sure you aren’t crossing over your midline. Paddles will certainly eggagerate the strain on your shoulder so I’d ditch them for a couple of week until you get the pain and stroke issues nailed down.
On the other hand, sore shoulders are par for the course if your putting in descent yardage.
If this is the first time you have felt anything like that, it may not be an issue. It could be a case of simply doing something different from what you are used to, you definitely do not want it to get worse. A couple of bags of frozen peas on your shoulders can work wonders, and stay away from the paddles for a little while.
I have a rotator cuff problem, which was aggravated by using paddles.
I’ve stopped using paddles, and try not to do anything else that specifically stresses that joint.
I did go to an orthopedic doctor. Apparently unless the injury is severe enough for surgery (mine’s definitely not), the primary treatments are physical therapy, avoiding improper stresses to the area to allow it to heal, and anti-inflamatories (ie, Celebrex or Aleve).
Go see a PT right away. Most offer free screens (or they should) and you should not need an appt, but best to let them know you are coming!
Probably best to ice and ibuprofen for now. Possible issues with your stroke patterns are hyper extension through the elbow/shoulder joint (read HIGH ELBOW) and also external rotation through your hands (palms facing out, not towards each other)…Stay out of the water and sell your paddles to someone who beat you in your AG. I dont use paddles myself and keep my athletes away from them as well.
Hope you heal quickly and it is not serious!
Daved
It’s a small paddle - not much larger than my hand.
About my stroke - I meant to put this in my post. A couple of weeks ago I had someone take a look, and he mentioned that I sometimes crossed my center line when taking my right arm out of the water. I stroke all the way through well, but sometimes I exit against my body as opposed to away from it. This, he said, leads to shoulder injuries.
I’ve tried to very careful about not doing this, but I know that, at times, I still do. So, I think it’s reasonable to say that I could be wearing down something in my shoulder by doing that.
What does this mean:
“he said instead of guiding the paddle during the stroke, its the other way around for most and thats when theres pain or injury”
How would one guide the padde during the stroke? I don’t think the paddle controls my stroke, but I wouldn’t really know.
Well, it’s not a soreness. It doesn’t burn like muscles do when you stress them. It’s a distinctly different feel. It doesn’t really hurt, but it’s noticeable and enough to be of concern.
Anyways, thanks for your response. Glad to hear that it’s a common occurence. And as you said, I tend to think it’s a stroke thing.
Stay away from paddles. Your shoulders should NEVER hurt, if they do, you are ‘trying’ to do too much with your arms. stay away from paddles. Did I mention that already?
That’s what I was thinking after it happened - I’m engaging my arms too much. I don’t have any competitive swimming experience, so the possibility of a problem in my technique is very high.
i think what he meant is if your catch and pull is a bit offset, the paddles tends to glide underneath you and most often than not will cross your center line. after correcting my pull, i felt i wasn`t using a paddle at all and also sore shoudlers do equate to mileage and paddle use…coach is old school, onetime he made us wear a shirt during training but did lower my 1500 from 26 to 24mins still pedestrian compared to most here
Stay out until you get it looked at. The PT (I am not one, but helped to run a company a while ago and spent many hours with PT’s while they handled this all the time) will recommend a program of stretching and strengthening. If they are any good they will do some hands on therapy, if needed, ie massage. This will create more blood flow and allow for more effective stretching and strengthening.
Once you see them, you will have a feel for how serious it is. I would recommend at least 48 hrs out of the pool altogether. Major muscle damage is most evident between 18-36 hrs. So 48 will allow this to pass and you will know if there is real pain underneath. Injuries are hard to call bc only you know. Only you know how bad it hurts, only you know if it is soreness or pain…etc.
Hope this helps.
Rodio,
Paddles are not the problem, stroke errors are. Not having seen your stroke I do not know what those errors might be. Take some time off from swimming and ice your shoulders. Anti inflammatory drugs help as long as you eat beforehand. If your pain persists DO see a doctor.
You can kick your workouts for the duration. This might be a great opportunity to develop your legs.
DougStern
Thanks for your input. I’m thinking it’s a stroke thing as well. Going forward, I’m taking the regular advice that’s here on the forum - ice and anti-inflammatories, take some time off from swimming.
There’s really very little pain to speak of, but there is a noticeably feeling of twinge/pinch that did become more noticeable the more I swam on Sunday.
Has anyone ever come back from a snapped clavicle and started swimming? My follow-up-6-week x-ray is tomorrow so anxiety is high.
Forget tri and racing, I’m just wondering if there are any personal stories about how long it took to be able to swim, how it went, and the potential benefit. Again, no racing or tri in my future, just swimming with Masters for rehab. I’ve had numerous friends say I should get in the pool, but honestly I can’t even put a jar of PB up on a high shelf.
I snapped my clavvie, 5 ribs and gave myself a pneumothorax on Aug. 22 during a local crit. The surgeon repaired the clavvie by anchoring it to the scapula using non-dissolving sutures. Sounded kind of hokey to me at the time but it’s working out okay. I just got back from my third swim since the accident, my first since starting PT. Today’s swim was way, way, better than the first two. The PT is helping more than I thought it would.
I’m a 50 y.o. guy who was a 59:00 - 1:01:00 IM swimmer before the accident and I fully expect to be back to that level in 07.
Be sure to make it clear to the PT what your expectations are.
Mr. Rodio I hope you noticed this post, the one I am replying to. It is the strengthening program a physical therapist will put you o or something very close to it. Open that link and get on those exercises, you’ll be better quickly.
I’m not a medical person just had to deal with this often. A rather typical imbalance would be someon with strong chest muscles, weak shoulder stabilizers (the mid and low traps usually), weak and tight shoulder external rotators. These all team up to get your shoulder working in ways it wasn;t really designed to work.
You’re mostly right Doug. However for many folks with a lack of kinesthetic awareness in the water and a lack of coaching. it is easier to just leave the paddles alone.
I found this article that is a pretty reasonable rundown of the technique errors that can lead to shoulder problems. Puts them all in one place.