[Jimbo]

With the new swimmers challenge, it seems like a good time to mention the topic. (Also RobLL warned me in my logs to be sure and incorporate proper exercises to avoid swimmer's shoulder. Thanks Rob)

With that, I open the floor for discussion. I know we have some experienced swimmers in here. I really want to hear how I can avoid the problem if possible. I'll start by just pasting in some things I found on the web. Not sure about accuracy so don't take this sht for the gosple.

I find Number 5 below interesting and am concerned since I am guilty of always breathing on one side..

The article I found suggested several main causes for swimmer's shoulder:

• Improper Technique
• • reaching too far and over-rotating
  • crossing over in freestyle when pulling
• Sudden increase in training distance or intensity
• The use of pull buoys and hand paddles
• Swimming only freestyle at every workout
• Unbalanced strength development

Preventative Measures

1. One of the most important things in stroke technique when it comes to freestyle and avoiding shoulder injuries is to bend your elbows underwater during the pull. This is proper form and will keep you from putting your shoulder in an awkward position that leads to a rotator cuff problem.
2. When you've had some time away from swimming and are resuming training, always ease back into it. If, for example, you train with weights and had a 3-month layoff, you wouldn't try to max out on your bench press the first day back. The same applies to swimming. Instead of jumping back in and resuming the 5,000 meters you were doing before your break, start with something very light, like 1000 the first day, 1200 the next, etc.
3. Avoid the use of pull buoys and paddles. Although it is tempting, buoys merely give you a false sense of floatation and put unnecessary tension on your joints, especially your shoulders. Although there are paddles designed not to cause shoulder problems, most of the paddles out there are not needed in training, and will cause shoulder problems if you give it enough time.
4. Swimming only freestyle at all of your workouts may seem like a good idea if you are training for a triathlon, but I would not recommend it. First of all, you will gain more from cross training with other strokes. And most importantly, excess in any one stroke leads to a higher probability of an "overuse" injury.
5. If you breath to only one side, you will develop the muscles more on one side than the other, and this could cause a breakdown and a shoulder problem. Incorporate bilateral breathing into your workouts to avoid this. If it is extremely awkward at first, start with just breathing bilaterally in warm-up and warm-down, and slowly add it into the rest of your workouts as it becomes more comfortable.