Improve Swimming Performance with Chiropractic
What you need to know
Nutritional Needs for Swimmers
Adolescence is defined as the period between 10 to 19 years of age and is a life phase where future patterns of adult health are often established , including the development of dietary habits and lifelong relationships with food . It is also during this time that sporting commitments can dramatically increase, with some young athletes becoming capable of competing at a high level of participation Swimmers often undertake high training volumes (1–3 sessions per day) at a very young age to facilitate the development of biomechanical technique, physiological capacity, and race skills, all of which contribute to their ability to compete at an advanced level. Combined with the nutritional requirements to support growth and development, this high level of training places a considerably high energy demand on adolescent swimming competitors . This includes greater quantities of macronutrients and micronutrients, such as carbohydrate , protein, vitamin B1, and zinc However, previous research has shown that the nutritional practices of adolescent swimmers are less than desirable, with insufficient energy, carbohydrate, calcium, iron, magnesium, and iodine often being consumed . These suboptimal dietary practices could have long-term negative implications on swimmers’ health and performance. For instance, chronic low energy availability caused by insufficient energy intake resulted in ovarian suppression among female swimmers and subsequently led to decrements in swimming performance compared to healthy swimmers
Seasonal changes in swimmers
Swim performance peaked at off-season when psychological stress was at its lowest Depending on the time of year, elite swimmers may train at volumes up to ~ 57 km across 6–7 days per week excessive long-term training in combination with lack of recovery time can lead to fatigue or burnout in a swimmer where muscle strength, anaerobic power, and swim performance is compromised
Swimmers Shoulder- Everything you need to know
Swimmer's Shoulder Swimmer’s shoulder is a term that can represent numerous shoulder pathologies. The term was first used by Kennedy and Hawkins in 1974 to report the impingement of the supraspinatus tendon beneath the coracoacromial arch, which was found in swimmers due to repeated shoulder abduction and forward flexion movements More recently, the term has come to encompass shoulder pains in swimmers due to various causes, including impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendinitis, labral injuries, instability secondary to ligamentous laxity or muscle imbalance/dysfunction, neuropathy from nerve entrapment, and anatomic variants. For the athlete to return to the sport in an appropriate and timely manner, the clinician must be able to differentiate between these different etiologies Swimming is a unique activity because it primarily utilises the upper body for the propulsive force, with 90% of the driving force provided primarily by the torque generated from the shoulder. To swim at an elite level, each swimmer must log between 60,000 and 80,000 meters per week, equivalent to 30,000 strokes per arm Various risk factors relate to swimmers' shoulders, including musculoskeletal, psychological, training, and lifestyle factors.Musculoskeletal risk factors include strength and endurance, shoulder posture, proprioception, glenohumeral instability, and scapular dyskinesia. Load, distance, technique, years of experience, competitive level, stretching, and cross-training are some training risk factors associated with swimmers' shoulders.
Injuries and Problems with swimming
Laxity and Multi-direction Instability: Normally, in a shoulder joint, excessive translation of the humeral head on the glenoid is prevented by a combination of static stabilizers (that include ligaments and labrum), as well as dynamic stabilizers (that include the rotator cuff muscles). There are many reports of laxity of the static stabilizers of the shoulder joint in most competitive swimmers.This stresses the rotator cuff muscles to balance the joint biomechanics, causing dysfunction. Overuse: Competitive swimmers undergo frequent and excessive shoulder revolutions in a day, during which serratus anterior and subscapularis muscles get fatigued as they are active during most of the pull-through phase. The kinematics of the shoulder are adversely affected by muscle fatigue, leading to shoulder pain and secondary impingement. Impingement: Competitive swimmers suffer from impingement chiefly due to muscle fatigue and laxity. Due to the excessive laxity, there is increased glenohumeral translation that impinges on the rotator cuff tendons. The impingement can be subacromial, seen in forward flexion and internal rotation (recovery phase of stroke), or intra-articular, as seen in forward flexion, adduction, and internal rotation (hand entry phase of the stroke). Scapular Dyskinesia: When the serratus anterior and subscapularis muscles are fatigued, there is unopposed action of the pectoralis major that strains the anterior glenohumeral joint. This causes abnormal scapular movements, leading to secondary impingement and causing labral tears and shoulder pain. Abnormal scapular movements can also be associated with suprascapular nerve entrapment when with contraction of the infraspinatus and hyperelasticity. The good news is Health Wise Chiropractic can help! We can not only assess if you have these problems, but we can help treat it with Specific chiropractic adjustments, shockwave, dry needling and cupping
How Different Strokes in swimming occur and what part of the body is affected
The freestyle stroke can be divided into six distinct parts/phases: Hand entry Forward reach Pull through Middle pull through Hand exit Middle recovery Swimming strokes can be broken down into pull-through and recovery phases. The latissimus dorsi and the pectoralis major are the primary contributors to the propulsive forces of the swim stroke through adduction and internal rotation. The subscapularis and serratus anterior muscles also play an integral role in the freestyle stroke Research has reported that decreased glenohumeral joint internal rotation movement and either increased or decreased external rotation movement are significant risk factors for shoulder pain in swimmers Some things Chiropractors can do are specific tests like the apprehension/relocation test and sulcus test offer provide insight into instability. The Hawkins test is a valuable and sensitive exam in diagnosing subacromial impingement. In patients with positive laxity test results, the examiner should also check other joints for laxity to rule out a generalised condition
Chiropractic treatment for swimmers to improve pain and performance
When a swimmer initially experiences pain, ice, NSAIDs, and rest can prevent progression. If pain continues or worsens, this Is where Chiropractors can become helpful in improving motion and decreasing inflammation naturally in the body At a minimum, effort should be made to reduce yardage to below the point of pain. For swimmers with impingement, tendinitis, or scapular dyskinesis, a subacromial and/or glenohumeral We can do the following Adjust the joint Muscle Therapy Shockwave therapy to promote healing Stretches focusing on the posterior capsule are important for preventing and reversing impingement. When coupled with overstretching of the anterior capsule, swimmers can create imbalances that worsen impingement. The swimmer can stretch the posterior capsule by horizontally adducting the arm and using the contralateral arm to pin it against the body. Disproportionately increased adduction strength and internal rotation are unavoidable consequences of swimming. Overdevelopment of the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi muscle groups creates a force that displaces the humeral head anteriorly, leading to joint instability
