Swimmer’s Shoulder: An Introduction

In this article, we’ll provide advice, exercises, hacks and tips as part of a basic introduction to understanding swimmer’s shoulder.

What is swimmer’s shoulder?

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

However, swimmer’s shoulder is the most common competitive swimming injury.
Swimmer’s shoulder is a ‘generic’ term which refers to any type of shoulder joint or muscle problem caused by swimming.
These problems can range in severity from a little bit of stiffness to major joint wear.

What are the symptoms of swimmer’s shoulder?

The most common symptom of swimmer’s shoulder is a deep pain in the back of the shoulder.

There may also be pain along the front of the shoulder.
Swimming can increase this pain.
The longer they swim the worse the pain may become.
There may also be pain close to the shoulder, in the neck or in the upper arms
There may be a reduced range of movement and strength in the injured shoulder.

What are the causes of swimmer’s shoulder?

The shoulder is a very mobile, shallow ball and socket joint surrounded by supporting muscles and tendons.

Swimmer’s shoulder occurs when these muscles and tendons become damaged.

The main causes of shoulder muscle and ligament damage are the overworking of the shoulder joint. This can be caused by,

Swimming for too long and too often.
Training at a too high intensity for prolonged periods.
Poor stroke technique.
Fatigue
A previous shoulder injury
Tightness or stiffness in the shoulder muscles

How to prevent swimmer’s shoulder

There are a number of ways swimmers can help prevent swimmer’s shoulder. These include,

Warm-up properly

A proper warm-up routine which includes some shoulder flexibility exercises will help increase shoulder flexibility, warm the shoulder muscles and reduce tightness or stiffness.

We have produced a related article on the benefits of an effective warm-up. Which you can view by clicking this link: swimming warm-ups

Focus on technique

A common cause of swimmer’s shoulder is an unbalanced stroke, especially freestyle.

Swimmers should balance their freestyle stroke by performing bilateral breathing.
They should also focus on performing longer strokes with a lower stroke count.

We have produced a related article on freestyle breathing drills: an introduction. Which you can view by clicking this link: freestyle breathing drills: an introduction

We have produced related articles, on both how to use stroke count and stroke rate and stroke count and stroke rate drills. Which you can view by clicking these links: how to use stroke count and stroke rate | stroke count and stroke rate drills.

Concentrate on posture

Another common cause of swimmer’s shoulder is a poor body position and posture in and out of the water.

A correct body position in the water helps to balance the stroke and enables a full range of movement in the shoulders.

When out of the pool, swimmers should concentrate on adopting a better posture.

This will help their body position in the water.

When walking they should adopt a more upright posture.
When sitting they should not slouch, and they should adopt a straight back.

Many top swimmers lay on their backs while sleeping

This helps to take the pressure off their shoulders and helps align their neck and shoulders.

Rest and recovery

Fatigue is a common cause of swimmer’s shoulder.

Swimmers and coaches should ensure that the swimmer has enough rest and recovery during training, to ensure they do not get overly fatigued.

We have produced a related article on recovery swims an introduction. Which you can view by clicking this link: recovery swims: an introduction

Cooldown properly

A proper cooldown routine which includes some slow easy swimming and some gentle stretching exercises can help to reduce the tightness or stiffness in the shoulder muscles.

Develop strength in the shoulders

Swimmers with undeveloped strength in their shoulders, run an increased risk of developing swimmer’s shoulder.

Swimmers should incorporate exercises that develop shoulder strength into their dryland/land training programme. (see also swimmer’s shoulder exercises below)
Press-ups/push-ups are an example of a simple, but effective shoulder strengthening exercise.

We have produced a related article on dryland shoulder exercises for swimmers. Which you can view by clicking this link: dryland shoulder exercises for swimmers

Swimmer’s Shoulder Treatment

Analyse the severity of the problem

As soon as the swimmer experiences any shoulder pain, they should stop swimming and analyse the severity of the problem.

This may be difficult when the problem first occurs, but experience has taught us to proceed on the side of caution.

Seek advice

Swimmers should in the first instance, seek advice from their coach.

A coach should be able to advise on the correct course of action, based on the swimmer’s analysis.
It may also require the advice of a qualified medical professional.

First aid

If the shoulder pain is very mild it might respond to some first aid treatment, such as,

The application of an ice pack.
This should be applied as soon as possible after training, for approximately 20 minutes.
The use of some anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen.

Take a break from swimming

If the mild shoulder pain continues, it might be advisable to rest and not to swim for a day or two.

If after that, the pain is still there, it might be time to visit a qualified medical professional.

Active rest

Although the swimmer may be in pain, they should continue to gently move their shoulder to help promote recovery.

As the pain recedes, the swimmer should be able to conduct an increasing range of shoulder mobility.

Modify training

Once the pain has subsided, the swimmer may be able to return to swimming.

However, it may be advisable to modify their training.
Swimmers should seek advice from their coach.
It may be advisable to reduce the distance of the session.
It will almost certainly be advisable to reduce the intensity of the session.
Training with a kickboard or hand paddles can aggravate the condition.
Kicking with their arms by their sides may help to alleviant the condition.
It may be advisable to avoid swimming butterfly for a period.
The swimmer may find that using swim fins can help alleviate the pressure on their shoulders.

We have produced a related article on training with swim fins. Which you can view by clicking this link: training with swim fins

Returning to training

For competitive swimmers, being unable to swim for any length of time can be extremely tough both physically and psychologically.

This often continues when the swimmer gets back into the pool, as many assume, they can pick up where they left off, before their absence.
As a result, some swimmers push themselves too hard on their return.
This can increase the risk of the injury reoccurring
To successfully resume swimming, especially after a long-term injury, takes a planned and methodical approach.

We have produced a related article on returning to swimming training after an illness or injury. Which you can view by clicking this link: returning to swimming training.

We have produced a related article on rehabilitation from swimming injuries or ailments. Which you can view by clicking this link: rehabilitation from swimming injuries or ailments

Swimmer’s shoulder exercises

Many top swimmers include specific shoulder mobility and strengthening exercises in their warm-up and cool-down procedures to help prevent swimmer’s shoulder.

These include the use of TheraBand exercises, such as lateral flaps and internal and external rotational pulls.

We have produced a related article on TheraBand exercises for swimmers. Which you can view by clicking this link: TheraBand exercises for swimmers.

We have produced a related article on swimming neck pain. Which you can view by clicking this link: swimming neck pain

Takeaways

Swimmer’s shoulder is the most common competitive swimming injury.

Swimmer’s shoulder is a ‘generic’ term referring to any type of shoulder joint problem.
This occurs when these muscles and tendons become damaged.
The main causes of shoulder muscle and ligament damage are the overworking of the shoulder joint.
There are a number of ways swimmers can help prevent swimmer’s shoulder, including warming-up correctly and focusing on their stroke technique.
As soon as the swimmer experiences any shoulder pain, they should stop swimming and analyse the severity of the problem.
Swimmers should in the first instance, seek advice from their coach.
A coach should be able to advise the correct course of action, based on the swimmer’s analysis of the severity of the problem.
It may also require the advice of a qualified medical professional.
Once the pain has subsided, the swimmer may be able to return to swimming.
However, it may be advisable to modify their training.

Related swimmer’s health articles

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

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