Prevention of Swimming Injuries

	Stevie Stevens Athletic Trainer Wellington Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine
	Macaira Rooney Physical Therapist Wellington Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine

A competitive swimmer can relate to the monotonous task of staring down at the solid black line for multiple hours on end. This is undoubtedly a mundane, tiresome component on an otherwise exciting sport. While swimming, certain shoulder muscles are primarily used; however, there are some which are needed to help stabilize the shoulder and prevent injury. With the nature of the swimming strokes and training, the stabilizing muscles are often weak and become more tired or fatigue during practices. This can lead to poor shoulder mechanics while swimming and eventually “overuse injury” with repetitive motion. 

How does one prevent “overuse injuries”? The best way to prevent an injury is to take care of the problem before it becomes an issue.  Many swimmers and coaches have heard of or know the importance of strengthening the rotator cuff muscles; however, many “dryland” exercises do not primarily focus on the scapular muscles. In order to help all levels of swimmers prevent injuries, this article will focus on exercises to strengthen the scapular and rotator cuff muscles. 

The first group of exercises requires you to lie on your stomach. In order to make the exercise more comfortable, a small rolled up towel is recommended for placement under your forehead. The goal for the set of exercises is to raise your arms up three to five inches into the position and maintain it for 6 seconds. Repeat this ten times for each exercise. When this becomes too easy, you can use cuff weights for an additional challenge. 

Exercise A: Position arms directly out to your side (make a cross with your body). Palms should be facing the floor. 

Exercise B: Same arm position, now point your thumbs up toward the ceiling.  

Exercise C: Increase the angle of your arms to the football signal for a touchdown. You palms should face the floor.  

Exercise D: Same arm position, just turn your thumb up to the ceiling. 

Exercise E: Bring you arms back down to the cross position. However, now your elbows should bend to 90 degrees with your thumbs pointing up. 

Exercise F:  Place your arms at your side with your palms down. When lifting your arms bring them up to the height of your pockets.  

Another exercise to help strengthen the rotator cuff muscles positions the swimmer on his or her side: 

Exercise G: The top arm should be resting on the side with the elbow bent to 90 degrees causing the forearm to be against the swimmers stomach. During this exercise you should raise your hand from your stomach to a parallel level with your hip.  

It is understandable that extra training might not be the first thing on your priority list right before or after a hard practice. However, daily strengthening of these crucial muscles will help prevent injury in the long run.  

If you already have shoulder pain, see your coach or certified athletic trainer to ensure proper treatment.  

Go to www.wellingtonortho.com to find an office close to you.