Swimming is one of the most popular and enjoyable sports around. Swimming is a fun and engaging activity for people of all ages who want to maintain good health and well-being.
However, swimming can sometimes cause injuries like many other sports. Whether a recreational or competitive swimmer, you will have more than your fair share of injuries, most of which are caused by overtraining and repetitive strain.
As a result, some swimmers struggle to recover from injuries and resume swimming when these issues arise. However, this does not need to be an issue as there are many ways that swimmers can deal with their injuries. Physiotherapy.
Physiotherapy is just one of the many treatment options that could help deal with swimming injuries. This treatment option involves treating structural issues of the body by improving resilience as well as mechanical issues which impact the body’s movement. This process helps restore strength, capacity, mobility, confidence and body function. Not just that, it can reduce further risk of re-injury or future injury of a different body site.
If you, a family member, or a friend has a swimming injury or just had one, then you came to the right place. If you feel like you have difficulty dealing with your swimming injuries, it is never too late to recover and start again.
What Are The Common Swimming Injuries One Can Experience, And How Can Physiotherapy Treat Them?
Swimming injuries can affect any part of the body however most common areas are the shoulders, knees, hips, back, and neck. These injuries vary in severity however most of these injuries are overuse injuries and today we will discuss two common overuse injuries in swimming. However, physiotherapy can help treat these injuries by identifying any structural or mechanical issues at the site of concern or kinetic chain.
Based on studies, 90% of swimming injuries are to the shoulder.
Swimmer’s shoulder is the most common swimming injury and as the name suggests, this type of injury affects the shoulder and causes connective tissue irritation which occurs due to repetitive strain of tendons, muscle and joint tissues surrounding the shoulder.
Some common symptoms of a swimmer’s shoulder are pain, weakness and decreased range of motion which can persist for a long duration if left untreated. For this condition, physiotherapy might focus on restoring shoulder mobility and strength, swimming mechanics and reducing compensations. Treatment may consist of bespoke exercise programmes focusing on strength, flexibility, endurance, manual therapy and biomechanics. Your physiotherapist might also recommend new strategies to improve recovery and implement injury prevention strategies.
Swimmer’s knee is the second condition which we will speak about. Like above, the area of concern is in the name, and it affects the surrounding connective tissue and joints of the knee. If not managed correctly, it can trigger pain, loss of function and be a chronic issue. For this kind of injury, your physiotherapist might also help you work with your mobility and movement to help you recover from this swimming injury. This type of injury is often experienced by breaststroke swimmers due to the powerful kicks when navigating through the water.
Other common swimming injuries are muscle cramps, neck pain, and back pain. These injuries can cause mild to severe discomfort and pain in the affected areas. Injuries are almost impossible to avoid, from swimmers just starting through swimming lessons to experienced and competitive swimmers. Consistent physiotherapy can reduce these symptoms and can speed up recovery.
Depending on the severity and type of injury that you have, your physiotherapy will design special exercises for you to correct your posture, maintain balance, increase your range of motion, restore function, and relieve pain.
Alongside treatment, physiotherapists will also guide you and help suggest other alternative training strategies and preventive measures to lower your risk of swimming injuries in the future.
Why Choose Response Physio & Sports Therapy?
At Response, we offer expert, personalised and convenient services. As one of the leading providers of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in sport and leisure, we always make sure to attend to our customer’s needs and assist them in helping them recover from different injuries that they could experience in life.
With a team of passionate and highly-experienced clinicians, we help more than a thousand people per week recover from their daily struggles of dealing with different sorts of pain from their injuries and conditions. Suppose you are busy yet want treatment for specific injuries. In that case, we offer flexible hours and accept early and late appointments, Saturday appointments, and even virtual appointments to suit your busy lifestyle.
We always want to maintain the highest standard of care. We are passionate about helping you, your family member, or your friend recover and start from their injury—all with physiotherapy.
The article was submitted by David Williams, Communications Director, www.nereids.com.au