Resistance Band Exercises for Swimmers

The most common injury that swimmers suffer from is a shoulder injury. This injury, known as swimmer’s shoulder, can range from inflammation to a torn rotator cuff and can come from poor form, muscle imbalance around the shoulder joint or an inability of the shoulder muscles to pull the body through the water (lack of strength).

Prevention is the key when it comes to swimming related shoulder injuries. Prevention begins with stroke correction and a program to stretch and strengthen the shoulder. This blog post will focus on using resistance bands (Theraband, for example) to help you slowly build strength, mobility and function in your shoulders, arms, and back without overexerting yourself. If you are new to swimming or swim frequently, and you’re worried about shoulder injury, these band exercises will be of benefit.

Set Shoulder Position

It is important to set correct posture and body alignment prior to beginning each exercise. Keep shoulders and hips aligned, tighten abdominal muscles, maintain a neutral spine and relax the knees.

All resistance band exercises should be performed slowly and controlled. Regular relaxed breathing throughout the exercises, with exhalation breathing during the more difficult part of each exercise. Each exercise should be performed as 1 set of 10-15 repetitions, increasing to 2 sets, and 3 sets as you get stronger.

1. Lacing the CLX around your upper back, grip each end of the Theraband into a loop around each hand.
2. Abduct your shoulders about 60° and bend your elbows about 45°.
3. Keeping your arms raised and in position, push your arms forward and inward as if you were giving someone a hug.
4. When your hands meet in the middle, hold briefly and then slowly return to the starting position. Avoid shrugging shoulders to perform exercise.

For any concerns or access to more exercises, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team at 13th Beach Health Services to book your appointment with one of our highly experienced practitioners. Call us today on (03) 5254 2668

References

Thera-Band Resistance Band and Tubing Instruction Manual, Volume 4

http://www.thera-band.com/ , http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/93213-overview#a5 , http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1551&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en ,   https://www.swimoutlet.com/guides/resistance-band-exercises-for-swimming