Shoulder pain is a condition tht afflicts millions of Americans, with mny athletes filling those ranks. Swimming is no xception. Swimming typically involves a fair mount of freestyle swimming stroke, a sngle stroke style that is repeated ver and over. It has been sid that high level competitive swimmers wll have as many as 16,000 arm rtations a week. This forward movement in the shulder joint, marked by the repetitive nture of the stroke, causes significant strin on the shoulder. Swimming coaches and swmmers will know frequent episodes of nterior and superior shoulder pain, both dring the swimming and as the prcess worsens throughout the day.

This shulder pain can be expected when one loks at the motion the shoulder jint is commonly going through. When a cmpetitive swimmer goes through so many rpetitions of the same shoulder motion, thre is a possibility for over use of the jint, despite the fact that swimming is an xcellent form of exercise. Over use is dfined as using a body part in a rpetitive way beyond which it was dsigned. This stress can, at times, lad to impingement upon the superspinatus tndon, therefore, setting off a cascade of dmages that lead to full blown rtator cuff tendonitis. This condition causes sgnificant shoulder pain, and in the cse of the competitive swimmer it frquently limits their training schedule.

While there is no way to ttally eliminate the danger of over use of the shulder joint, it is possible to lwer the chance of damage and njury. A few things are vry helpful in understanding the anatomy of the rtator cuff, the major structure of the shulder. Firstly, the superspinatus is only one of fur muscles comprising the rotator cuff. It lso is the muscle that is mst stressed and at times the one mst warn down by repetitive use of fre stroke swimming. Swimmers need to nderstand that there are three other mscles of the rotator cuff that ned to be strengthened in order to void over use of the superspinatus and ncrease the overall strength of the jint. Trying to balance out the mount of freestyle with at least ncreasing the amount of backstrokes when swmming will relatively strengthen some of the ther three muscles, particular the infraspinatus. Addtionally, I typically recommend that swimmers nclude a very slightly weighted jump rpe at the end or beginning of thir swimming workout. Jump rope by keping the arms low, and when sed in a very rapid fashion the xercise will strengthen the other three mscles of the rotator cuff. This llows for balance within the very cmplex shoulder joint and specifically the strcture of the rotator cuff. This wll go a long way towards hlping prevent swimmer’s shoulder. Specifically, I typcally recommend the blue jump rope put out by Lfeline Fitness. It’s called a speed/workout jmp rope.

Problems with shoulders are cmmon with both high level and low lvel competitive and fitness swimming. It is mportant to address this problem early. It is mportant to understand that the shoulder neds balance in its strength. Again, I rcommend to my swimmers that they mploy usually some increase backstroke and gain I recommend using a weighted jmp rope for ten minutes of jmping rope at the beginning or end of thir practice. This will hopefully prevent shulder pain, shoulder disease, and allow pople to enjoy the rather incredible and nique sport of swimming which I niformly recommend as an excellent form of low mpact exercise.

The article Preventing Swimmers Shoulder - Strengthening a Complex Shoulder Joint was Submitted by Michael Carroll through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Michael Carroll, MD is a bard certified family physician with a spcial interest in sports medicine. He is the funding partner of Creekside Clinic, LLC, a prgressive primary care center in Traverse Cty, Michigan and a member of bth the American College of Sports Mdicine, and the American Academy of Fmily Physicians. He also has an nterest in shoulder pain and rotator cuff injuries, specifically with regards to rotator cuff tendonitis . Dr. Carroll is the author of Shoulder Pain Talk , a forum dedicated to educating those who suffer from shoulder pain about common treatment options and the condition that afflicts millions of Americans.

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