We're open Monday to Friday 08:00 - 20:00 Book now: 0207 583 8288

Our clinic is open with experts providing both online and face-to-face appointments. Book Online Now

Swimming

Swimming is incredible for the body and mind…. if it is done properly. If done incorrectly it can lead to a multitude of injuries, the most common ones being neck pain, shoulder pain and back pain.

The best stroke for all round body fitness and injury prevention is front crawl but again, it is the worst stroke if you get it wrong! Swimming technique is therefore the be all and end all to preventing and treating injury. Not only that but it is also what will transform your experience from feeling like you are fighting the water gasping for breath to experiencing your whole body as a powerful machine as you slice through the water. You can feel your muscles working, your heart beating, your breath connected to your stroke, your body connected to the water. There is a rhythm to it all. Your swimming is strong and smooth, silent and still. Your whole body and being feels alive. It’s an amazing feeling. This description is from Immerse swim coaches who we have worked with for many years. They really know their stuff and whether you are a complete novice or wanting to slice some time off your iron man swim they are the people you need to see. They even give our patients an initial swim check FOR FREE! And in case you were wondering, we don’t work on commission, we just genuinely think they are great!

At Octopus Clinic we have Physiotherapists who are specialists in the treatment of swimming injuries so will give you advice and exercises specific to your level. Our hands on techniques will get you back and enjoying the water in no time. Here are some pointers on the causes of common swimming injuries.

 

Shoulder pain

Swimmers often get shoulder impingement syndrome which is pain at the top and/or outer edge of the shoulder. It normally comes on gradually, often after intensifying your training, attempting to modify your swimming technique or training when tired. To understand this condition it would be useful for you to read the ‘how the shoulder works‘ page on this website before reading the following. It can start with being painful after swimming at first and then gradually increasing with other activities like reaching, lifting, carrying or in bed at night. Shoulder impingement is often painful through the middle of the range of movement as you take your arm out to the side and then up to above your head. Try this test: stop as soon as you feel pain, stand with your arms out in front of you as if you are hugging a large bear, and holding two pints of water in your hands! Now twist your arms so that you pour the imaginary water on the floor. If it hurts this is one of the signs of shoulder impingement. Impingement means that soft tissues like tendons, rotator cuff muscles or bursa are being squashed or irritated in a confined space at the top of the shoulder. Many different things can cause impingement. It can be either something “extra” in the space, such as thickened, torn or inflamed tendons, inflamed bursa, or something closing up the space available, such as arthritis in the joint, cartilage tears or abnormal bone shape, or even altered shoulder posture. Inflammation causing pain prevents the muscles from working correctly and the swelling further reduces the space available causing more restriction and pain. This all may sound rather dramatic but research now backs up our own experience that it responds really well to intensive physiotherapy.

Treatment consists of correcting shoulder position to take strain off the inflamed structures, retraining the stabilising muscles of the shoulder blade, strengthening the rotator cuff muscles and releasing tight muscles like the pecs and lats, In swimming this involves exercises above shoulder height, mimicking and slightly adjusting the way that the shoulder blade and arm are rotating through this range.The thoracic spine (mid back) may also need mobilising, this needs to be moving well to enable full shoulder movement, and is often stiff. If you are not rotating enough in the thoracic spine during front crawl then the shoulder will rotate excessively, causing shoulder impingement. Strengthening your glutes and core muscles may also be included in your treatment. These large muscle groups may seem a fair distance from the shoulders, but they have a huge effect on the ability of the shoulder muscles to function efficiently. Just take a look at a profession swimmers buttock muscles if you don’t believe us! Please click on this link to learn how to train shoulder posture which enables the shoulder to function efficiently without excess strain going through the joint and surrounding tissues. Please click on the links to learn about: training shoulder blade stabilisers,  training the serratus anterior, how to release the lats (latissimus dorsi) muscles, how to mobilise a stiff thoracic spine and of course, how to train the rotator cuff muscles that are often weak.

 

Neck pain 

Neck pain or stiffness in swimmers can be muscular or can be an indicator of something more severe like intervertebral disc damage so it is really important to get it properly assessed by a Physiotherapist or Osteopath. A common cause of neck problems in swimmers is excessive extension in the neck instead of pure rotation. In other words; bending the neck backwards in order to reach the surface and take a breath. Therefore addressing body and neck rotation to enable you to keep your chin tucked in whilst turning the head is key.

 

Back pain 

Back pain in swimmers can be caused by poor technique; in particular if the body is flexing and extending with the arms and legs, rotating or side bending excessively is some segments due to stiffness elsewhere. Strengthening the deep stability muscles of the lower back and pelvis is key to resolving this problem. This will enable you to hold your pelvis in a neutral position and maintain the correct spinal curves. However it is important to get back pain fully assessed by your Physiotherapist or Osteopath so that they can establish whether it is muscular or other structures like the facet joints or intervertebral discs.

    Common Injuries

  • Facet Joint Problems

    Facet joint pain is normally localized: centrally over your spine or to one side. It may feel like a "catching pain" during certain movements like bending backwards, or turning. It is associated with poor posture, repetitive strain (e.g. horse riding) or injury (e.g. snowboarding falls)The common factors that contribute to...

    Read More
  • Disc Problems

    Disc injuries cover a whole spectrum of problems including disc degeneration, disc prolapse and a disc bulge, all in varying levels of severity. Minor injuries will feel like a localized ache over the spine; more severe injuries cause intense pain and immobility, with pain, pins and needles, numbness and/or weakness...

    Read More
  • Clicking Knees

    Most people fear that the clicking is caused by bone hitting bone. However, thankfully nowadays this is rare. If you have clicking in the knees, it is likely that for many years you have been suffering severe pain and weight bearing has been very restricted. If this is you, please...

    Read More
  • Golfer’s Elbow

    This is very similar to tennis elbow except that it affects the other side of the elbow. The pathology and treatment are very similar, just directed at these tendons rather than the ones involved in tennis.

    Read More
  • Clicking Shoulder

    Clicking or crunching in the shoulder can be caused by a number of things. Most people fear that the clicking is caused by bone hitting bone. However, thankfully nowadays this is rare. If you have this, it is likely that for many years you have been suffering severe pain and...

    Read More
  • Knee Fat Pad Irritation

    The knee fat pad sits just behind and to the sides of the patella (knee cap) tendon, below the patella. The fat pad can be tender to touch and can be enlarged, puffy or inflamed.It can be irritated by sudden or uncontrolled extension, i.e. straightening of the knee and if...

    Read More
  • How to find pelvic neutral

    Please click here to learn how the back works before reading the following. Do not do the following if you have any back pain- you must see a Physiotherapist or Osteopath for a full assessment, diagnosis and guidance through the exercise. Please click on the link to learn how to...

    Read More
  • Breathing and relaxation training

    Many spinal, hip and shoulder problems can be helped by retraining breathing habits and releasing the structures involved in breathing, such as the diaphragm and thoracic spine.

    Read More
  • Resisted Static Hip Flexion in Sitting

    [sg_popup id="1" event="onload"][/sg_popup]   Hip flexor muscle exercise and tendon loading can be brilliant for hip flexor tendon pain but must only be done under the guidance of your Physiotherapist. Please email reception@octopusclinic.com to book now. https://youtu.be/f9wYTHV2g7s

    Read More
  • Release latissimus dorsi (lats)

    Please click here to read how the shoulder works before reading the following. The lats are often tight and over active relative to the smaller shoulder muscles like the rotator cuff muscles.    

    Read More
  • Elbow exercises

    To treat elbow problems properly the stability of the shoulder and neck often needs to be addressed, because if the shoulder is moving inefficiently more strain is exerted on the elbow. Treatment should therefore never focus purely on the elbow itself. However, the following exercise is a valuable exercise in...

    Read More
  • Stretching

      A note on static stretching v dynamic stretching I bet you can't remember the last time you saw elite athletes doing a static stretches pitch-, track- or court side pre-performance. That is because research now shows that static stretching is not advisable before exercise. This is because it slows...

    Read More

About Your Injury

Hover over the specific body parts and find out more

Use your mouse to hover over the dark grey dots and click through to the specific body parts to get advice about your injury.

For free videos, up to date news or special offers, subscribe now! Subscribe Now

For free videos, up to date news or special offers, subscribe now!

We promise to never share your email address with anyone.