While athletes and people who stay active may be healthier overall, they are more vulnerable to certain types of injuries. Swimmers in particular and people who do hard work with their body every day are more likely to experience shoulder pain. Our shoulders have a very wide range of motion, which allows us to reach in multiple directions. Swimmers, athletes and workers do the same repetitive movements over and over again, making use of their arm strength. Putting repetitive strain on the shoulder joint can start to affect the soft tissue, resulting in a type of injury called swimmer’s shoulder.
Recognizing the signs of swimmer’s shoulder is an important way to prevent a severe injury. It’s OK to work hard, but your body will tell you when you’re pushing yourself too far. When you think you might be developing an overuse injury, you should take some time to rest.
How do you know if your shoulder pain is just muscle soreness or if it’s something more? In this blog post, we’ll discuss common signs of swimmer’s shoulder to look out for.
What is swimmer’s shoulder?
Swimmer’s shoulder is a general term for a few different shoulder pain conditions that result from moving your arms above your head, especially in activities where you’re using your muscles. These conditions are particularly common among swimmers and other athletes because in most swimming styles, the arms reach up repeatedly to propel the swimmer forward. You don’t have to be a swimmer or an athlete to get swimmer’s shoulder. People can develop these conditions from jobs like carpentry or painting, home maintenance projects, exercising to stay fit, and other activities.
These conditions are sometimes referred to as swimmer’s shoulder:
- Rotator cuff tendinitis
- Shoulder impingement syndrome
- Shoulder muscle strains
- Shoulder labrum injuries
- Pinched nerves
6 common signs and symptoms of swimmer's shoulder
Most types of swimmer’s shoulder are strains or overuse injuries from repetitive movements. You may notice mild pain at first that gets worse over time, or you may feel more intense pain all at once. In most cases, raising your arm or reaching behind your head will make your pain worse. Many people with swimmer’s shoulder also notice their pain more at night.
When you start showing signs of swimmer’s shoulder, it’s important to stop doing any activities that aggravate your pain. Your body needs time to heal. Continuing to swim, work, or exercise may make your pain worse and extend your recovery time. After a period of rest, you can start rehabilitating your shoulder and easing back into more strenuous activities.
The following symptoms may indicate that you’re developing swimmer’s shoulder:
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Shoulder pain — Most people feel pain from swimmer’s shoulder in the front and side of the shoulder, and it can spread to the upper arm. It might feel like muscle soreness at first, but swimmer’s shoulder is a soft tissue injury that can cause strains and tears. Pain often gets worse at night, especially if you sleep on your affected side.
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Pain when performing certain movements — Pain from swimmer’s shoulder usually gets worse when reaching your arm above or behind your head. If you’re a swimmer, you might notice that you’re changing up your stroke to compensate for pain and weakness.
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Shoulder pain that’s worse at night — Your pain may be worse at night because your circulation slows down when you’re resting, and there are fewer distractions. Lying on the affected shoulder can also make your pain worse. While recovering from swimmer’s shoulder, you should try to sleep on your back or on the other side. Using pillows to stabilize your body and support your arm can be helpful.
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Stiffness and swelling — Soft tissue injuries such as tendinitis and muscle strains are caused by tiny tears in muscles, tendons and other tissue. Swelling and inflammation can make your shoulder feel stiff, especially with injuries inside the shoulder cuff. Your body forms scar tissue over these small tears in order to heal them, and this buildup also contributes to stiffness.
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Reduced range of motion — You may find that you’re not able to move your arm and shoulder as much when you have swimmer’s shoulder, at least not without a lot of pain. After your body has had some time to heal, you’ll be able to start stretching your shoulder and increasing your range of motion.
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Shoulder weakness or instability — Soft tissue injuries can weaken muscles in the affected area and make your joints feel less stable. You may have less control over your shoulder joint, which is why it’s important to rest. If you make sudden movements or try to bear too much weight, you could end up with a more serious injury.
How can physical therapy help me recover from swimmer’s shoulder?
Physical therapy treatments support your body’s natural healing process in different ways at each stage of recovery. At first, treatments will focus on managing your pain and swelling. Next, your physical therapist will start mobilizing your shoulder joint and increasing your range of motion. Finally, you can start conditioning your shoulder to restore strength and prevent reinjury. Stimulation of stiff tissue and healthy movement in your shoulder joint are critical aspects of physical therapy treatment. These strategies help bring fresh, nutrient-rich blood to the area and improve circulation to promote healing.
A physical therapist may use the following treatments to help you recover and rehabilitate from swimmer’s shoulder:
- Manual therapy — This is a set of hands-on techniques your PT will use to mobilize the tissue around your shoulder joint and the joint itself. In manual therapy techniques, the therapist uses massage-like movements to loosen up tension and stiffness in layers of tissue.
- Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) — To locate and break up scar tissue in your shoulder, your PT may use a set of ergonomic tools made of stainless steel. IASTM treatments help relieve pain and stiffness while restoring blood flow that’s been blocked by scar tissue formation.
- Dry needling — This technique helps stimulate a healing response in deep layers of soft tissue inside your shoulder. Your PT will insert tiny needles into a targeted area. Although they resemble acupuncture needles, dry needling is a much more precise and evidence-based technique.
- Therapeutic exercise and stretching — Stretching and exercise will help restore healthy movement in the tiny fibers of soft tissue in your shoulder. Your PT will show you exercises to rehabilitate your shoulder by gradually increasing your range of motion and building strength.
- Kinesiology taping — Sometimes weakened and stiff muscles need some extra support to stay in place while you’re healing from an injury. Your PT may apply fabric-backed kinesiology tape, which can stay on for up to a couple of weeks.
Alliance PTP is ready to help you find a caring partner to address your swimmer’s shoulder
Need a partner to help you heal and rehabilitate from swimmer’s shoulder? Alliance Physical Therapy Partners is here for you. Our partner clinics can provide standard physical therapy or sport-specific treatment to help you get back to your usual routine. Many of our partner clinics also offer a work conditioning program that focuses on creating resilience and preventing reinjury for people who do physical labor. There’s a good chance we have a PT clinic in your area.
We can help you find the in-person or virtual physical therapy that’s right for you, and even better, we’ll help you find a team of caring professionals who are ready to walk with you through your entire PT journey.
The first step is scheduling a free screening or a full evaluation. Contact us today to start getting the care you need.
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