Swimming Back Pain

In this article, we’ll provide advice, hacks and tips on the causes, prevention and treatment of swimming back pain.

With water supporting the swimmer’s body, together with the lack of physical contact, competitive swimming is a relatively injury-free sport.

However, some competitive swimmers experience some level of back pain whilst swimming.

The causes of swimming back pain

Swimming back pain most commonly occurs in a swimmer’s lower back.

This is often caused by repetitive swimming actions, such as the rotation and the undulation of the swimmer’s body.
This is often exacerbated by a poor stroke technique.
Examples can include swimming freestyle with their head raised when breathing, or continually breathing to one side.
As well as back pain swimmers can also experience neck or shoulder pain.
Poor stroke technique can often result in weaknesses in the affected muscle groups, which can be accompanied by varying degrees of muscle pain.

Swimming back pain prevention

Swimming with the correct technique

To help prevent swimming back pain, a swimmer should always swim with the correct technique.

They should avoid performing any unnatural movements.
Swimmers should seek technical guidance from a qualified coach or a more experienced swimmer.

Adapt the training if necessary

Sometimes adapting their training can help alleviate the causes of a swimmer’s back pain.

For example: When performing breaststroke or butterfly arm pulling with a pull buoy, this can put extra strain on a swimmer’s back as their body undulates during the stroke.
They could substitute a pull buoy with a kickboard, which can provide significantly less resistance than a pull buoy.
Conversely sometimes swimming freestyle or backstroke with a pull buoy can raise a swimmer’s legs and can help to reduce the strain on a swimmer’s back.
The use of a snorkel can remove the need for a swimmer to lift or turn their head to breathe, thus helping them to reduce the strain on their neck and back.

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Pull Buoy

Many of our swimmers use and recommend the FINIS foam pull buoy. They find this ideal for resistance training”. These come in two sizes, one for seniors and the other for juniors.

Immobilizes legs to maximize the upper body
Immobilizes legs and provides lift to help build upper body strength and increase focus on proper hip rotation.
Aligns the body from head to toe and improves symmetry.
EVA Foam provides durability and prevents skin irritation.
Available in Adult and Jr. sizes; the Jr. size is ideal for swimmers with smaller legs or under the age of 12.

Snorkel

Many of our swimmers use and recommend the MP Michael Phelps Unisex Focus Snorkel when performing many freestyle and butterfly drills.

Unique, low-profile, hydrodynamic tube reduces drag and eases breathing
Increases cardiovascular strength and lung capacity
Adjustable light weight head bracket with an integrated cushion ensures a comfortable fit
Silicone Comfo-Bite mouthpiece minimizes jaw fatigue
One-way purge valve positioned to maximize clearing of excess water.

Dryland training

Swimmers should undertake a dryland training programme with the emphasis on strengthening and adding flexibility to their back muscles.

Developing the swimmer’s core

An important part of any dryland training programme, which can help to alleviate swimming back pain is to develop their core.

A swimmer’s major core muscles include the abdomen, obliques (side muscles), glutes (buttocks) and their lower back muscles.
Therefore, swimmers should develop their core.

Review the swimmer’s lifestyle

Sometimes back pain can be caused or made worse by factors out of the water.

These can include things such as,

Sleeping on a soft mattress can result in the swimmer sleeping with a poor posture, which in turn can result in the swimmer experiencing back pain.

Swimmers sitting with a poor posture for any length of time can put extra strain on the back muscles, which could lead to back pain.

Swimming back pain treatment

Inform your coach

As soon as the swimmer experiences any back pain, they should inform their coach.

The coach should be able to re-assess the swimmer’s technique and make suggestions for any technical adjustments.

First aid

If the symptoms are mild, the swimmer may wish to apply ice, then heat to the affected area.
Swimmers should first apply ice for 20-minute periods during the first 48 to 72 hours for between four to eight times a day.
Then they should apply heat for the same time.
Some swimmers find taking a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen can also be effective for relieving the pain.
If the swimmer requires further information regarding the effects of ibuprofen for treating back pain, they should consult their local chemist or healthcare professional.

Ice Pack

Many of our swimmers use and recommend Koolpak reusable hot and cold packs as first aid to treat sore and aching muscles.

They are excellent for both hot and cold first aid treatment and are very reasonably priced.
Soft nylon coating ensures maximum user comfort and provides extra durability
High-quality internal gel can be reheated and frozen repeatedly
To cool down, simply place in your freezer and allow to cool – normally charged in only 2 hours!
To heat up, place the pack in a microwave for 20 seconds and then check – if it requires more heat, follow up with 10-second bursts until hot.
Conforms easily to body contours for effective treatment Packs can remain hot or cold for 2 hours at room temperature.

Professional medical help

If the symptoms are more severe or continue to persist, which may affect the quality of the swimmer’s sleep, then it may be advisable to seek some professional medical help.
A common course of action could be the prescription of some anti-inflammatory medication.
Some swimmers may be referred to a sports physiotherapist for treatment, which can help to reduce the pain, strengthen the surrounding muscles and help speed recovery.

Rest

If these mild symptoms persist, the swimmer may be advised to rest for a day or two, until the symptoms subside.

Gentle exercise

However, most medical professionals tend not to recommend prolonged inactivity or bed rest.
They tend to encourage gentle movement and very gentle stretching, which can help a swimmer’s lower back muscles recover faster.

Avoid strenuous activity

Swimmers should avoid any activity that could put undue strain on their back muscles, such as lifting a heavy object, which could result in increased pain.

Returning from injury

The swimmer should ensure that they plan any return to swimming from illness or injury with their coach.

This will help ensure that there is a planned and gradual return to training, which can help to prevent the injury reoccurring.

Takeaway

In this article, we’ll provide advice, hacks and tips on the causes, prevention and treatment of swimming back pain.

With water supporting the swimmer’s body, together with the lack of physical contact, competitive swimming is a relatively injury-free sport.
However, some competitive swimmers experience back pain whilst swimming.
Swimming back pain most commonly occurs in a swimmer’s lower back.
As well as back pain swimmer can also experience neck or shoulder pain.
It is often caused by repetitive swimming actions, often accompanied by a poor stroke technique.

Related swimmer’s health articles

We have produced a series of swimmer’s health articles on the causes, prevention and treatment of swimmer’s shoulder | breaststroker’s knee | muscle cramps and swimmer’s ear

Swimming Resource Library

We have produced a swimming resource library.

This contains links to all of our blog post.
These are subdivided by swimming category

To access any article simply click on the attached page link: swimming resource library

Swimming Publications

We produce a growing range of publications on a wide range of swimming subjects.

These include competitive swimming drill publications for backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
Which are now available in both Amazon Kindle and paperback formats.
For information regarding our portfolio please follow our link: swimming publications

The Competitive Swimming Exchange – Facebook Group

The Competitive Swimming Exchange is a Facebook group to help exchange ideas and information to collectively improve the sport we love.

It’s an international group for all swimmers, coaches, teachers, masters, triathletes and swimming parents.
It’s for all those who are interested in competitive swimming, either in the pool or in open water.

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