🤕 How to Prevent Shoulder Injuries

Table of Contents

• 🔥 Warming Up

• 🛠️ Fixing Your Technique

• ⚖️ Shoulder Stability

• 🤕 Recovery & Injury Prevention

^{Warming Up}

Jumping straight into the water without a proper warm-up is a major mistake that increases your risk of injury

A good swim warm-up should:
✅ Raise your core temperature – Light movement (jump rope, jogging) for 5–10 minutes
✅ Activate the rotator cuff & scapular stabilizers – Bands & mobility drills
✅ Increase mobility & range of motion – Dynamic stretches

Best Shoulder Activation Drills Before Swimming:
✅ Banded external & internal rotations (to engage the rotator cuff)
✅ Wall slides or serratus push-ups (to activate scapular control)
✅ Thoracic spine mobility drills (to improve rotation & overhead reach)

💡 Do not do long static stretches before swimming, save those for after practice

^{Fixing Your Technique}

Bad stroke mechanics can increase strain on your shoulders, leading to overuse injuries. The most common stroke errors that cause shoulder pain include:

Freestyle & Backstroke:

• Straight Arm Recovery – puts excessive stress on the front of the shoulder.
  Solution: Keep a high elbow catch to engage larger back muscles instead of just the shoulder.
  

• Overreaching & crossing midline – increases impingement risk
  Solution: Keep hand entry shoulder-width apart and avoid over-rotation.

Butterfly:

• Throwing arms too wide or too high – strains the shoulders. Solution: Keep the catch compact and engage your core to reduce shoulder load.

Breaststroke:

• Overextending the reach forward – can overstress the shoulders. Solution: Keep a controlled and natural range of motion with your arm recovery.

🔍 How to Fix It:

• Use video feedback to analyze your stroke

• Incorporate drills focusing on proper arm mechanics

• Reduce excessive yardage when fatigued to prevent bad form

^{Shoulder Stability}

A strong, well-balanced shoulder is much more resilient to injury. Swimmers often overuse their front muscles (chest, delts) and neglect the back & stabilizers, which leads to muscle imbalances and shoulder instability.

The key? Strengthen the supporting muscles that protect your shoulders.

Essential Shoulder Strength & Stability Exercises:

✅ Rotator Cuff Work – Banded external rotations, prone Ys & Ts
✅ Scapular Stability – Serratus push-ups, wall slides
✅ Posterior Chain Strength – Deadlifts, pull-ups, face pulls
✅ Core & Hip Engagement – Single-arm planks, banded rotations

📌 Pro Tip: Heavy pressing (bench press, overhead press) should NOT be the priority for swimmers. Balance pushing exercises with plenty of pulling and shoulder stability work.

^{Need Personalized Help?}

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^{Recovery & Injury Prevention}

Even if you train perfectly, your shoulders will break down without proper recovery. Smart recovery = longevity in swimming.

Best Practices for Shoulder Recovery:
 ✅ Active recovery – Light swimming, mobility work, or stretching on off days
 ✅ Controlled strength work – Avoid random heavy lifting that overloads your shoulders
 ✅ Sleep & hydration – Lack of sleep alone can reduce injury prevention by 30%

If your shoulder aches consistently, do not push through it. Get it checked and adjust your training, small injuries turn into big ones fast.

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