Dealing with Shoulder Injuries

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This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from Dr. Scott Riewald, Ph.D., former biomechanics director at USA Swimming. Riewald offers some advice for dealing with a shoulder injury.

Riewald’s Tip:
The first thing to do is determine if what you feel is pain or muscle soreness. Pain is sharp and often occurs when you move you arm into a certain position. Soreness is more of a dull muscular type ache that is normal after heavy exercise. If you think what you feel is pain, you should go to an orthopedist who is familiar with swimming injuries.

There are a few things that would cause your shoulder pain, but only an orthopedist can accurately determine what is going on in your specific case. One thing that causes shoulder problems is having shoulders that are too loose, believe it or not. It is natural to think that stretching will help reduce the pain, but in some instances stretching can actually make the problem worse.

As for rehabilitation, again, talk to your doctor to find out what you should do. Most likely, she will give you some exercises to perform under the supervision of a physical therapist and tell you to rest the shoulder for a period of time.

Also, look at what you are doing in the water. Too much yardage or increasing the amount yardage too fast can lead to excessive stress on the shoulder.