One of the best forms of exercise you can do is swimming. It’s low load on your joints, can be made very easy or very hard, and really gets your body and heart working without too much strain. It’s great bang for your buck as exercise!



There are unfortunately some common injuries associated with swimming:

1) Swimmer’s Shoulder – This is the most common injury seen in swimmers of all abilities. It is characterised by pain usually in the front of the shoulder as a result of overuse and impingement of some of the muscles and tendons of the shoulder. There are many factors which may contribute to this; swim technique, breathing to one side only, over-training, lack of muscle strength, and many more.

2) Swimmer’s Knee – Breaststroke is usually the culprit when it comes to swimmer’s knee. During this stroke, the knee is required to do a lot of work to twist and rotate to propel you forward in the water. If you were to do the same movement on land you wouldn’t think it is putting much strain on the knee. However, the resistance of the water places significantly more load on the knee which can lead to knee pain during swimming. This can then translate over into other strokes of swimming if it becomes established.

3) Swimmer’s Neck – Beginner swimmers or older swimmers are the most common groups to experience swimmer’s neck. It is characterised by pain usually at the base of the neck, sometimes with radiating pain down towards the shoulder. It is most common in swimmers who breathe only to one side, have their head raised to look forward, or the older athlete who may have some degenerative changes in their neck which limits their movement and subsequent breathing mechanics whilst swimming.

The best way to prevent all of these occurring is to slowly ease into swimming if you’re new to the sport. Ensure you perform an adequate warm up prior to swimming too. If you only breathe to one side, practice breathing both ways. It will feel weird at first, and you’ll be slower, but it will help in the long run. If you’re already a swimmer but are struggling to work out why you keep getting sore after, try some activation exercises beforehand. Some great activation / movement exercises you can do before you get in the water include:

  • Arm circles
  • Windmills
  • Thoracic rotations
  • Banded swimming activation (Note* use a light band!)

The other thing which can be important for swimmers, is to do some swim specific strength work in the gym or at home. My 3 favourite exercises to keep my shoulders moving well in the pool are:

1) Lat pulldowns

2) Banded or cable external rotation

3) Planks or push-ups (Note* focus on keeping a neutral spine like you would be in the water)

Are you looking to get fit over winter with some swimming, or are you currently managing an injury that is preventing you from logging those laps in the pool? Come down to BSPC and one of the experienced team members can perform a thorough assessment to determine the best way for you to continue on your swimming journey!

If you’d like more information about how we can help YOU on your swimming journey, please book online or give our friendly reception team a call on 03 9836 7000.

Written by Ryan Doyle

Triathlete and Physiotherapist at Balwyn Sports and Physiotherapy Centre