Overuse swim injury

2012-11-25 11:44 AM

Champion

10154

Alabama

Subject: Overuse swim injury

I'm not a doctor but have internet-diagnosed myself with an overuse swim injury to the shoulder blade muscles in the middle of my back. After being on the road for business and not swimming for 18 months, I changed jobs and have gotten back into a routine. I was a bit over zealous though and in 2 months time I went from zero swimming to swimming 5 miles / week (1750 yds x 5 days). I took the last 6 days off but am still hurting between the shoulder blades.

1. Have you ever had an overuse injury from swimming? How long was recovery?

2. Is there any value going to an ortho/sports med doc? Is there anything they can do to expedite recovery?

3. Should I quit swimming at all or just cut way back?

mirthfuldragon

2012-11-25 12:03 PM

in reply to: #4509243

Veteran

706

Illinois

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

I'm recoverying from a strained right shoulder right now, too, on a similar set of circumstances; I went from zero swimming to two to three times per week, and then swam on a tight shoulder that I really probably shouldn't not have swam on. I feel about 85% right now, about five days later, but I plan to take the next full week off from swimming just to be certain. That probably means I'll have a foot strain in a week, due to the extra running and cycling

If you haven't seen any major reduction in pain or soreness in six days, it's probably time for a trip to the doctor.

2012-11-25 12:15 PM

in reply to: #4509243

9167

Stairway to Seven

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

behind the shoulder blad is a difficult place to injure, but an easy place to get muscle tension & knots. How about a massage?

(this is not medical advice)

2012-11-25 1:51 PM

in reply to: #4509261

Champion

10154

Alabama

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

AdventureBear - 2012-11-25 12:15 PM

behind the shoulder blad is a difficult place to injure, but an easy place to get muscle tension & knots. How about a massage?

(this is not medical advice)

Did not have a professional message but my wife gave me a pretty good message and that seemed to help but the pain came back the next day. I can live with the pain if I knew it was just normal soreness/tightness but I've never had soreness last this long after not doing anything for 6 days now.

BTW, I found some back/shoulder stretches and they seem to work but only for a little bit.

Ironically it does NOT hurt at all while I'm swimming....which doesn't make sense to me.

2012-11-25 3:37 PM

in reply to: #4509298

9167

Stairway to Seven

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

Rogillio - 2012-11-25 12:51 PM

AdventureBear - 2012-11-25 12:15 PM

behind the shoulder blad is a difficult place to injure, but an easy place to get muscle tension & knots. How about a massage?

(this is not medical advice)

Which suggests to me its not an overuse "injury"...ie it's not a strain or pull. Go see a pro tissue therapist whether it's a sports massage, ART provider or similar...really sounds like a chronic tightness that's leading to pain in surrounding tissues. Pain will reduce during use as the muscle gets warmed up and used in its range of motion.

Long term correctoin whether it's an injury or not would obviously require that your swim form gets looked at and improved if that's in fact a cause...as well as corrective stretches or counterbalancing excericses since swimming is inherently an unbalanced activity from the POV of muscle use.

(still not medical advice).

Edited by AdventureBear 2012-11-25 3:38 PM

2012-11-25 3:53 PM

in reply to: #4509364

Champion

10154

Alabama

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

AdventureBear - 2012-11-25 3:37 PM

Rogillio - 2012-11-25 12:51 PM

AdventureBear - 2012-11-25 12:15 PM

behind the shoulder blad is a difficult place to injure, but an easy place to get muscle tension & knots. How about a massage?

(this is not medical advice)

Thanks for your non-medical advice. :-). Seriously, I understand.

So with further reading I found that a tear can be pinpointed. So I had my wife go over the whole area trying to isolate the pain but there was no specific point. She massaged it and it felt better - further indicating it might just be tight/sore muscles....or chronic tightness as you said.

So I've vacillated about 6 times this afternoon on wether or not to swim tomorrow. As of right now, I swimming tomorrow morning.

RE the stroke. While I've not swum regularly in about 18 months, the volume I'm doing now is much less than my IM training and I never had any pain before. I had a swim coach look at my swimming a few years ago and he said I looked fine with only one suggestion on crossing my arm over my centerline slightly....or something like that.

2012-11-25 3:59 PM

in reply to: #4509375

9167

Stairway to Seven

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

Rogillio - 2012-11-25 2:53 PM

Thanks for your non-medical advice. :-). Seriously, I understand.

So with further reading I found that a tear can be pinpointed. So I had my wife go over the whole area trying to isolate the pain but there was no specific point. She massaged it and it felt better - further indicating it might just be tight/sore muscles....or chronic tightness as you said.

So I've vacillated about 6 times this afternoon on wether or not to swim tomorrow. As of right now, I swimming tomorrow morning.

RE the stroke. While I've not swum regularly in about 18 months, the volume I'm doing now is much less than my IM training and I never had any pain before. I had a swim coach look at my swimming a few years ago and he said I looked fine with only one suggestion on crossing my arm over my centerline slightly....or something like that.

Sounds good! In the location you are describing, there is really nothing to tear back there...BUT...there are a whole bunch of muscles underneath the shoulder blade that are hard to access for massage & such and are easy to have become chronically overtight...it's my biggest problem area and have it worked on regularly.

Good luck!

Feel free to send me a link to a video if you like.

meadedrock

2012-11-26 6:04 PM

in reply to: #4509243

Member

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

I've had an overuse injury in the past in my shoulder from swimming. They suck. I've been using a muscle stim device called Marc Pro and it seems to help.

My tri team by Marc Pro and we have a couple units for the team that we all share. My shoulder feels great after using the device a couple times a week after swim practice. As canned as this sounds, it also works great for reducing soreness the next day from harder workouts. I've noticed I'm definitely not as sore the next day.

The company promotes the fact that the device is great for preventing and helping recover from overuse injuries. It feels like a massage when you are using it because it makes your muscle twitch.

Here's their website, www.marcpro.com. I highly recommend checking them out.

kingofbanff

2012-11-26 6:49 PM

in reply to: #4509378

Veteran

389

sacramento, Colorado

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

AdventureBear - 2012-11-25 1:59 PM

Rogillio - 2012-11-25 2:53 PMThanks for your non-medical advice. :-). Seriously, I understand. So with further reading I found that a tear can be pinpointed. So I had my wife go over the whole area trying to isolate the pain but there was no specific point. She massaged it and it felt better - further indicating it might just be tight/sore muscles....or chronic tightness as you said.So I've vacillated about 6 times this afternoon on wether or not to swim tomorrow. As of right now, I swimming tomorrow morning.RE the stroke. While I've not swum regularly in about 18 months, the volume I'm doing now is much less than my IM training and I never had any pain before. I had a swim coach look at my swimming a few years ago and he said I looked fine with only one suggestion on crossing my arm over my centerline slightly....or something like that.

Sounds good! In the location you are describing, there is really nothing to tear back there...BUT...there are a whole bunch of muscles underneath the shoulder blade that are hard to access for massage & such and are easy to have become chronically overtight...it's my biggest problem area and have it worked on regularly. Good luck! Feel free to send me a link to a video if you like.

How do you work on it? I'm doing Y T W and L which seems to help a little.

2012-11-27 12:53 AM

in reply to: #4510885

9167

Stairway to Seven

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

kingofbanff - 2012-11-26 5:49 PM

AdventureBear - 2012-11-25 1:59 PM

Rogillio - 2012-11-25 2:53 PMThanks for your non-medical advice. :-). Seriously, I understand. So with further reading I found that a tear can be pinpointed. So I had my wife go over the whole area trying to isolate the pain but there was no specific point. She massaged it and it felt better - further indicating it might just be tight/sore muscles....or chronic tightness as you said.So I've vacillated about 6 times this afternoon on wether or not to swim tomorrow. As of right now, I swimming tomorrow morning.RE the stroke. While I've not swum regularly in about 18 months, the volume I'm doing now is much less than my IM training and I never had any pain before. I had a swim coach look at my swimming a few years ago and he said I looked fine with only one suggestion on crossing my arm over my centerline slightly....or something like that.

Sounds good! In the location you are describing, there is really nothing to tear back there...BUT...there are a whole bunch of muscles underneath the shoulder blade that are hard to access for massage & such and are easy to have become chronically overtight...it's my biggest problem area and have it worked on regularly. Good luck! Feel free to send me a link to a video if you like.

How do you work on it? I'm doing Y T W and L which seems to help a little.

I dont work on it...I have it worked on. I get a massage and she digs under my scapula and mashes it around and gets up underneath and I moan and groan and it feels awesome.

When I do work on it myself I use a foam roller, try to "spread out" my scapula to stretch the muscles asmuch as possible then roll either directly on the scapula to provide pressure to the muscles or right on the inner edge of the scapula to stretch a little more.

I try to be aware during my usual activities (typing, seeing patients, driving) of when my shoulders climb up to my ears and take some time to do deep breathing and stretching midday. I do a lot of shoulder blade depressing isometrics during the day, "Put your shoulder blades into your back pockets" to help remind myself how to stay relaxed.

2012-11-27 12:54 AM

in reply to: #4510885

9167

Stairway to Seven

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

kingofbanff - 2012-11-26 5:49 PM
I'm doing Y T W and L which seems to help a little.

Those are primarily rotator cuff strengthening exericises but will also strengthen the upper back as well.

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jmhpsu93

2012-11-27 5:46 AM

in reply to: #4509243

Expert

4627

Middle River, Maryland

Silver member

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

Could this be a disc injury to the thoracic area? I'm dealing with similar symptoms.

2012-11-27 6:14 AM

in reply to: #4511198

Champion

10154

Alabama

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

jmhpsu93 - 2012-11-27 5:46 AM

Could this be a disc injury to the thoracic area? I'm dealing with similar symptoms.

So after swimming only 1000 yds yesterday and the pain still there, I decided to see a doc. 3 years ago I had my c6 and c7 discs fused....so now I'm wondering if that has something to do with this....like maybe the lack of mobility caused another disc to herniate.

amymengel

2012-11-27 5:49 PM

in reply to: #4509243

Extreme Veteran

725

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

I was a college swimmer and developed upper back pain at the edge of my left shoulder blade (scapula). I had several cortisone injections, physical therapy, pain medication, etc. I had all the scans and tests conducted to determine the issue. I swam through it my senior year. After graduation, I sought the opinion of two different orthopedic surgeons. More tests were conducted They finally determined that is was nerve damage which they believe could have been caused by overuse, but were not 100% sure what caused the problem. I started getting acupuncture based on the recommendation of one of the surgeons. Even today (at age 36) I still have pain if I swim too much or too hard. It also bothers me if I have excess stress or am really tired. I used to need acupuncture twice a month to keep the pain down, but now I only go every few months. The college doctors treated the injury as a muscle injury, as would most doctors, but it clearly was not. There is the possibility that your issue could also be related to nerve pain. It may be worth giving acupuncture a try. :-) Hope you feel better soon. The pool misses you!

2012-11-27 6:00 PM

in reply to: #4512374

Champion

10154

Alabama

Subject: RE: Overuse swim injury

amymengel - 2012-11-27 5:49 PM

I was a college swimmer and developed upper back pain at the edge of my left shoulder blade (scapula). I had several cortisone injections, physical therapy, pain medication, etc. I had all the scans and tests conducted to determine the issue. I swam through it my senior year. After graduation, I sought the opinion of two different orthopedic surgeons. More tests were conducted They finally determined that is was nerve damage which they believe could have been caused by overuse, but were not 100% sure what caused the problem. I started getting acupuncture based on the recommendation of one of the surgeons. Even today (at age 36) I still have pain if I swim too much or too hard. It also bothers me if I have excess stress or am really tired. I used to need acupuncture twice a month to keep the pain down, but now I only go every few months. The college doctors treated the injury as a muscle injury, as would most doctors, but it clearly was not. There is the possibility that your issue could also be related to nerve pain. It may be worth giving acupuncture a try. :-) Hope you feel better soon. The pool misses you!

And I miss the pool Amy. This is good info. I'm trying to get in to see an ortho doc. I am thinking it might be a disc issue. My left deltoid was sore today....but not my right one. As far as I know, my right arm swam just as much as my left one.