What is Swimmer's shoulder?
If you are a swimmer then you know that shoulder problems can come with the territory. The reasons are many but the biggest reasons are related to these two stats: Ninety percent of the propulsive force in swimming comes from the upper limbs and even more amazing the shoulder can perform 16,000 shoulder revolutions per week which is approximately 2500 revolutions per day (Pink & Tibone 2000). So it is no wonder that this can lead to lead to injury from repetitive microtrauma. Pink and Tibone (2000) state that there are many shoulder injuries that exist and generally shoulder problems are reported in 66% of swimmers. So what is swimmers shoulder? Swimmers shoulder: Caused by avascular tendinosis, impingement, labral tear or instability (active and passive) (Weldon & Richardson 2001). So it’s pretty broad then! However, it’s believed that most shoulder pain is caused by instability. This is because swimming needs an increased shoulder range of motion. Muscl...