Abstract

Shoulder pain is the most common orthopaedic problem in competitive swimming. In a group of 137 of this countrys best swimmers, 58 had symptoms of swimmerss shoulder. Population characteristics of this group indicated thatsymptoms increased with the caliber of the athlete, were slightly more common in men, and were related to sprint rather than distance swimming. The use of hand-paddle training exacerbated symptoms, which were more common during the early and middle season. Consideration of shoulder mechanics in swimming reveals that freestyle, butterfly, and backstrocke require similar motions; a swimmer using any of these strokes is susceptible to developing shoulder pain.Swimmers shoulder represents chronic irritation of the humeral head and rotator cuff on the coracoacromical arch during abduction of the shoulder, theso-called impingement syndrome. Treatment included stretching, rest, ice therapy, oral antiinflammatory agents, judicious use of injectable steroids, and surgery as a last resort. Verf.-Referat