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Swimming Injuries

Swimming is one of the preferred exercises to keep an individual fit. But when not done in the right manner can lead to injuries.

Some common injuries occurring in swimming are:

Swimmer's Shoulder

Swimming has gained the reputation as being a gentle sport, but it is quite vigorous - which can lead to shoulder overuse injuries that are commonly being referred to as "swimmer's shoulder." Swimmer's shoulder is more properly known as painful arc/ rotator cuff tendinitis, or shoulder impingement. "Swimmer's shoulder," the most common swimming injury, is an overuse injury involving inflammation in the supraspinatus and/or biceps tendons usually caused by glenohumeral instability.

Causes of Swimming Injuries

Classically, 'swimmer's shoulder' refers to the painful arc syndrome caused by impingement of the supraspinatus and biceps tendons against the overlying coraco-acromial arch This condition - a chronic irritation of the shoulder's joints and/or soft tissues - is thought to affect 35 percent of swimmers.

The extremely high yardage workouts that swimmers commonly endure, improper stroke technique and improper stretching, combined with the shoulder's inherently unstable design, can lead to stretched or inflamed ligaments, torn rotator cuffs, pinched tendons and pulled muscles that impede not only swimming, but other daily activities as well.

Prevention of Swimming Injuries

Proper stroke technique greatly improves a swimmer's ability to train intensely without injury.

Knee Injuries

Knee pain ranks second after shoulder pain as a common com-plaint in competitive swimmers. The breast-stroke kick affects the development in the medial collateral ligament (which stabilises the knee on the inside of the leg) and capsule. The optimum initiating position from the breast-stroke kick is with the hip and knee centres aligned.

A few tips to prevent swimming injuries include: