Stretching, training can help competitive swimmers prevent shoulder injuries and pain.
Elite and competitive swimmers log between 60,000 and 80,000 meters weekly - swimming the length of an Olympic-sized pool 1,200 times - which places significant stress on their shoulder joints. "The upper body provides 90 percent of the propulsive force to move through the water. Due to the amount of force generated and the range of motion required to swim efficiently, the shoulder needs to have perfect mechanics to avoid injury," says Dr. Elizabeth Matzkin, lead study author of a literature review in the August issue of Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School.
