{"id":245163,"date":"2017-03-13T16:30:29","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T23:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=245163"},"modified":"2017-03-13T14:21:12","modified_gmt":"2017-03-13T21:21:12","slug":"swimmers-shoulder-off-season-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimmers-shoulder-off-season-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimmer’s Shoulder Off-season Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor.<\/em><\/p>\n

The swimming \u201coff-season\u201d or spring break is around the corner for many in the swimming community. Although, not everyone is having a break (sorry high school swimmers whose swim season has just started), this period is a great opportunity to improve cranky shoulders!<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I know I talk about cranky swimmer\u2019s shoulders a lot, but it is a serious issue and one which is even under reported. Too often swimmer\u2019s assume shoulder pain is normal and repeat \u201cno pain, no gain\u201d. \u00a0This mindset can feed into further problems, injuries, and disinterest in the sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

A study in 2013 found the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Overall, 85 percent of high school-aged club swimmers reported mild shoulder pain in the past year, 61 percent reported moderate shoulder pain, and 21 percent reported severe shoulder pain. Of these, only 14 percent had been to a physician. Seventy-three percent report using pain medication to manage their shoulder pain and 47 percent used it regularly, as in one or more times per week (Hibberd 2013).”<\/span><\/p>\n

Not seeking treatment and masking pain with pain medication isn\u2019t a viable long-term solution. If you are entering your off-season, consider these 6 tips for swimmer\u2019s shoulder during the \u201coff-season\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 “Off-Season” <\/b>Swimmer’s Shoulder<\/b><\/a> Tips<\/b><\/h2>\n

1. Balance the Unbalanced with Strengthening<\/b><\/p>\n

Swimming creates imbalances early in a swimmer’s career. Each time a swimmer creates a catch in the water, they are performing an aggressive internal rotation of the shoulder (and most likely an uncontrolled protraction of the shoulder blade). Creating a simple off-season training program focusing on improving the imbalances is a great place to start! Just make sure you are not just flying through through the exercises and are actually contracting the correct muscles!<\/span><\/p>\n