Swimming has plenty of health benefits. It is great for your heart and rather low impact on your joints. Of course, like any exercise, there is always risk of getting hurt. Recognizing and avoiding common swimming injuries is a crucial skill for any swimmer.
What Causes Common Swimming Injuries?
As mentioned above, swimming tends to be much safer on the body than other forms of cardio exercise. That said, repetitive motions and overuse can still lead to common swimming injuries over time. A lot of these issues stem from training too hard without taking an adequate rest period. No matter how low impact, the body needs time to recuperate between sessions.
Many smaller, seemingly innocuous injuries a body suffers can lead to serious trauma. Besides overuse, here are a few other reasons for common swimming injuries:
- Poor swimming stroke mechanics and flexibility
- Inadequate breathing techniques
- Lack of core strength or stability
Avoiding Common Swimming Injuries: Swimmer’s Ear
Let’s begin with swimmer’s ear. This affliction that has been covered on this blog in the past. When most people think of injuries, they think of muscle pain. Well, believe it or not, swimmer’s ear is quite common and quite painful.
Swimmer’s ear often happens when the ear comes into contact with contaminated water. If a pool is not properly cleaned with chlorine or other chemicals, this can lead to a painful infection. It is also possible in natural bodies of water. Basically, if the water isn’t clean, you would not want it to enter your ear.
When water with parasites or bacteria becomes trapped in your ear canal, it can cause serious issues. This trapped dirty water is a breeding ground for harmful microbes. The longer you wait to clear it from your ear canal, the higher the risk of infection.
After swimming, carefully and gently clean the ear canals with a cotton swab. Beyond cleanup, try using earplugs when swimming. This can help to eliminate the problem before it starts. Beyond this, simply try to avoid swimming in dirty water! Try to avoid swimming in public and open water locations, such as lakes and community pools.
Swimmer’s Knee from Breaststroke
Our next potential common swimming injury is also not one that people often think about. The breaststroke is a very common swimming technique, but it can put a lot of pressure on the knees. This is mostly due to the position of the swimmer’s feet while kicking. With poor technique, this can result in the common injury known as swimmer’s knee.
To prevent this, vary your swimming techniques. Don’t rely entirely on the breaststroke. Additionally, proper technique and hip placement is also important. A strong core and regular full body training should help to prevent pain or discomfort.
Swimmer’s Shoulder
Beyond the knees, swimmer’s shoulder is another of the more common swimming injuries. This is often caused by poor technique and repetitive arm motion. Over time, this can lead to tissue damage in the form of tendonitis, rotator cuff tears and impingements and more.
To avoid a swimmer’s shoulder, be sure to practice perfect technique. Your whole hand should enter the water in one motion. Don’t lead with your thumb. This can lead to excess muscle strain.
Neck Pain
Finally, the neck is often a problem area for swimmers. As with the other common swimming injuries, it can be avoided by taking breaks and proper technique. Improper breathing, in particular, can lead to too much neck twisting. Instead, align your neck with the rest of your body while swimming. Then, instead of turning your head, simply rotate your entire body to take breaths. This should help to reduce the amount of strain.
