Too many swimmers have too many shoulder injuries, a predictable result of arm-driven swimming.
Many swimmers put too much work in their shoulders and are injuries waiting to happen
Wise swimmers keep the work far away from their shoulders
Your arms are not meant to propel your body, your hips are
Swimming is the best exercise, nothing else even comes close, but swimming has an unpleasant, dark side: shoulder injuries. Arm-driven swimmers, those swimmers who push hard on the water with their hands and arms, will likely have shoulder injuries. Core-driven swimmers, those swimmers who only hold water with their hands while they swim past the catch, will not have shoulder injuries. Why is simple. Core-driven swimmers shift all of the work down from their shoulders to large core muscles in the middle of their body. Core-driven swimmers know their arms are not meant to propel their body, it places too much work in their shoulders, work shoulders are not designed for.
The shoulder has the most range of motion of any joint in your body, but is also the most unstable and the most prone to injury.
Problem: shoulder injuries. Solution: Use your hips for propulsion, not your arms.
A destination for some swimmers
How you swim can have consequences
Too many swimmers have too many shoulder injuries
“The pain was almost like arthritis. I couldn’t sleep at night. I couldn’t lift my arm more than six inches from my side. I had no range of motion and I had a dull ache that went from my bicep through my shoulder and all the way down my back." Ashley Twichell
Shoulder injuries are caused by repetition of swim errors.
Core-driven swimming prevents shoulder injuries.