Swimming is a sport that requires great commitment, mental and physical toughness, and durability. One area that requires the most durability is the shoulder girdle. Swimmers spend hours using muscles in the shoulder to help propel them through the water. The shoulder contains four muscles that specifically combine to make what is commonly known as the rotator cuff. These muscles, infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor combine to keep the humeral head in the proper place in the shoulder (glenoid) cavity (Thompson & Floyd, 1998). Attention must also be given to the muscles that surround the shoulder blade and position it snugly against the back of the rib cage. A common problem for swimmers is “swimmer’s shoulder” which is most often related to pinching of one or more of the rotator cuff tendons or the biceps tendon (Salo & Riewald, 2008). One reason for this problem is the frequent repetitive overhead motion swimmers use.
As an athlete involved in the sport of swimming, there is very little that can be done to decrease the volume of repetitive motion, but there are strengthening exercises that can help in preventing or recovering from overuse injury.
The other reason for the “pinching” mechanism that results in swimmer’s shoulder is the large amount of anterior or front-side muscle use. Because of that, the muscles in the front of the shoulder get stronger and tighter while the posterior (back-side) muscles are not developing proportionally. How does an athlete correct this imbalance which may have led to injury? Part of the solution to the problem is posterior (backside) shoulder/ upper back strengthening and another part is flexibility.
Since I work with young athletes, I have to develop simple routines that can easily be implemented on a pool deck or at home. If there is no sign of injury these exercises can be implemented without modification otherwise if there may be an injury take the time to have the shoulder examined by a sports medicine professional such as physical therapist or a certified athletic trainer. One such routine is a posterior (or backside) shoulder strengthening routine that focuses on the rotator cuff and shoulder blade musculature.
The following exercises can be easily performed on the pool deck with tubing and light weights: open arms external rotation (ER) (Figure 1), towel ER (Figure 2.1, 2.2), 90/90 ER (Figure 3.1, 3.2), shoulder blade squeeze (Figure 4.1, 4.2), and full cans (Figure 5), Y’s (Figure 6) and T’s (Figure 7) can be performed on the pool deck, and finally diagonals (Figure 8.1, 8.2). The pictures demonstrate how to perform the exercises. Each exercise can be performed with reps of 10 and gradually increasing the reps as the exercises get easier.
Figure 1. Open Arms External Rotation | 
Figure 2.1. Towel External Rotation |
Figure 2.2. Towel External Rotation | 
Figure 3.1. 90/90 External Rotation |
Figure 3.2. 90/90 External Rotation | 
Figure 4.1 Shoulder Blade Squeeze |
Figure 4.2 Shoulder Blade Squeeze | 
Figure 5. Full Cans |
Figure 6. Y Position | 
Figure 7. T Position |
Figure 8.1. Diagonals | 
Figure 8.2. Diagonals |
With each exercise, focus on keeping the shoulder blades back and down and forcing the chest out. This will put the shoulder blades in the proper position. Also, encourage the athlete to relax the trapezius muscles by the neck so the correct musculature is used during the exercises. Finally, when recovering from an injury always perform the exercises in a pain free range of motion and consult a qualified sports medicine professional to ensure these exercises will be beneficial for the athlete’s specific injury.
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