PreprintArticleVersion 1Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Shoulder and neck pain in swimmers: front crawl stroke analysis, correlation with the symptomatology in 61 masters athletes and short literature review.
Rinonapoli, G.; Ceccarini, P.; Manfreda, F.; Talesa, G.R.; Simonetti, S.; Caraffa, A. Shoulder and Neck Pain in Swimmers: Front Crawl Stroke Analysis, Correlation with the Symptomatology in 61 Masters Athletes and Short Literature Review. Healthcare2023, 11, 2638.
Rinonapoli, G.; Ceccarini, P.; Manfreda, F.; Talesa, G.R.; Simonetti, S.; Caraffa, A. Shoulder and Neck Pain in Swimmers: Front Crawl Stroke Analysis, Correlation with the Symptomatology in 61 Masters Athletes and Short Literature Review. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2638.
Rinonapoli, G.; Ceccarini, P.; Manfreda, F.; Talesa, G.R.; Simonetti, S.; Caraffa, A. Shoulder and Neck Pain in Swimmers: Front Crawl Stroke Analysis, Correlation with the Symptomatology in 61 Masters Athletes and Short Literature Review. Healthcare2023, 11, 2638.
Rinonapoli, G.; Ceccarini, P.; Manfreda, F.; Talesa, G.R.; Simonetti, S.; Caraffa, A. Shoulder and Neck Pain in Swimmers: Front Crawl Stroke Analysis, Correlation with the Symptomatology in 61 Masters Athletes and Short Literature Review. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2638.
Abstract
Background: Swimming and, specifically, front crawl, can be included among the "overhead" sports. Overhead sports are a risk factor for some problems of the musculoskeletal system, especially the shoulder. The aim of the study was assessing the incidence of shoulder and neck pain in a Masters Swimming Team and its correlation with the crawl stroke.
Methods: It is an observational study through video-analysis of the stroke and a questionnaire. The participants are 61 athletes of a Master team, whose prevailing training stroke was the front crawl were selected for the present study. Their stroke was analyzed during training by a go-pro camera mounted on a sliding trolley on a track, evaluating with their trainer their technical defects. A questionnaire about frequency of shoulder and neck pain during the last five years was administered to all the participants at the study.
Results: From the questionnaire, 45 and 55 out of 61 athletes had suffered from shoulder pain and cervical pain, respectively. Both types of pain were correlated with the weekly swimming volume. The swimmers with hyperflexion of the wrist and prolonged internal rotation in the pulling phase had shoulder problems. Those who suffered from current shoulder pain reduced the underwater time. The four swimmers with an excessive body roll during breathing and those who kept their heads extended, reported cervical pain.
Conclusions: Shoulder and neck pain could be prevented with the correction of specific technical errors in crawl stroke.
Keywords
freestyle; swimming; cervical; video; older
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
