Swimmer’s Shoulder and Watersports Injuries in South Florida
Living in South Florida allows you access to the ocean and pool all year round. The options of water sports are endless, whether it be swimming, paddleboarding, surfing, jet skiing, or hanging out of the beach, you have multiple modes of staying active.
However, repetitive movements, falls, or overuse of muscles can cause shoulder injuries, specifically if you have not prepared your body for an activity.
One common injury we see in water sports athletes is swimmer’s shoulder.
What Is Swimmer’s Shoulder?
This injury is a term used for shoulder pain that is due to pain from repetitive overhead use.
When we swim, our shoulder uses full rotation hundreds or even thousands of times. Doing this on a consistent basis can irritate the muscles and tendons of the shoulder, specifically the rotator cuff.
Some symptoms include pain lifting the arm overhead, deep aches on the side of the shoulder and arm, weakness during swimming, shoulder clicking, and reduced mobility of the shoulder.
Continuing activity and not addressing the symptoms can lead to a worse injury down the road.
Other Common Watersport Injuries
Different watersports can cause potential injuries on other areas of the body, along with the shoulder.
Paddleboarding is an upper body dominant sport, with repetitive paddling. This can cause a lot of stress on both the upper and lower back, as well as the shoulder.
Surfing requires a lot of stress on the lower back and neck while laying on the board, as well as the shoulders when paddling.
Jet skiing involves a lot of sudden movements that can cause your body to be put in sub optimal positions. This can lead to neck pain, lower back pain, or muscle strains.
A relaxed day in the water can sometimes result in activities that your body is not used to or ready for.
Shoulder Mobility
The shoulder is the most movable joint in the body, which also makes it the most unstable. Due to all the mobility the shoulder has, it is great for swimming. This also means the muscles of the shoulder need to have both strength and stability to support it.
Shoulder issues may arise if there is tightness in the pectoralis muscles, weakness in the rotator cuff, limited movement of the shoulder blade, decreased upper back mobility, or bad technique while performing exercises.
The shoulder does not work alone, the upper back, neck, and shoulder blades also work with it to provide smooth movement. If one area is not moving well, there might be compensation elsewhere.
How Chiropractic Can Help
At Carpe Diem Chiropractic, we would perform a detailed exam that can evaluate the muscle and joint functions of the shoulder, shoulder blade, neck, and upper back to see how well everything is moving and to see if there is any perceived weakness or compensation occurring.
Depending on a few factors, such as nature of injury and severity, most treatments can include spinal adjustments, manual therapy, mobility exercises, and assisted stretching.
The goal is to check all structures surrounding the shoulder to identify if the issue is coming from compensation elsewhere, or if there is solely a shoulder concern.
Preventing Shoulder Injury
Some quick changes in habits can keep the shoulder functioning well.
- Shoulder warmups in all planes of motion
- Start with shorter distance and time and slowly build into the movements
- Strengthening all rotator cuff and upper back muscles
- Focus on shoulder mobility
- Takes sufficient breaks when tired
- Stop when there is pain
- Allow for proper recovery time between workout days