Three stretches that swimmers should NOT do:
- Door Way Stretch
- Horizontal Adduction Stretch
- Chest Stretches With Clasped Hands Behind the Back
Almost every swimmer I have worked with has been given the advice to stretch, especially if they are dealing with an injury. While under some circumstances stretching may helpful, many times it is unhelpful and unneccesary. For swimmers, stretching certain areas can actually increase the risk of injury. Yes, increase the risk of injury!
Why Would Stretching Increase your Risk of Injury?
Swimmers tend to be hypermobile. This means you actually have more motion than what is considered normal. With a hypermobile shoulder, all your ligaments, muscles, and tendons are a little bit looser than what is considered normal. While not all swimmers are considered hypermobile, most swimmers have more mobility in the shoulder than what is considered normal. This makes since given the demands on swimming!
Why does it matter if the ligaments and other soft tissues around the shoulder are lax? When a ligament is stretched, the sensory receptors in the ligament give a signal to the muscles around the shoulder to contract to help stabilize the shoulder. When your ligaments are lax, your ability to detect that stretch is diminished. This delays the response from the rotator cuff or scapular muscles to help stabilize the shoulder. Further stretching out the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in this scenario is counter productive and will further exacerbate they delay in response from the stabilizing muscles. A previous blog post, Do Swimmers Really Need to Stretch? , talks about this in more detail.
If you are Hypermobile, Then Why Do You Feel Tight?
There are two reasons why you may feel tight. The first one is that your muscles are just tired and fatigued. When your muscles are fatigued, they will become stiff and shortened. Once given time to recover, your muscles will go back to their normal length. For swimmers, some tightness is normal and expected. It is almost impossible to train at a high level and not have any tightness.
The second reason you may feel tight is because of weakness. A weak muscle will subconsciously become tight to try and provide stability to the shoulder. While stretching the muscle might provide temporary relief, the tightness will normal come back in order to stabilize your shoulder. In this situation, you need to strengthen the muscle, NOT stretch it.
What Stretches for Swimmers Should You Avoid?
Door Way Stretch
Why:
Especially in swimmers who are hypermobile, doing this stretch will stretch the anterior capsule of the shoulder just as much as it will stretch the pecs. Too much stretching on the anterior capsule will decrease some of the passive stability provided by the shoulder joint. I have found there a couple better ways to get the pecs to loosen up than doing the door way stretch. First, is to do low intensity pec isometrics. Second is to use a lacrosse ball around the pecs. Both of these methods allow help the pec muscles relax, but without stretching the the shoulder joint out itself.
Horizontal Adduction Stretch
Why:
This has a similar rational to the the doorway stretch, except doing the cross body stretch will stretch the posterior capsule of the shoulder. This too will decrease some of the passive stability in the shoulder. In my experience, strengthening the muscles around the shoulder blade, such as the trapezius, rhomboids, and serrates anterior take away the tightness feeling in the back of your shoulder. Using a lacrosse ball to roll out of the posterior rotator cuff is also a great way to relieve some of that tightness.
Chest Stretches With Clasped Hands Behind the Back
Why:
Again, for many swimmers this stretch will stretch the anterior capsule of the shoulder joint. This will decrease your bodies ability to detect a stretch and consequently use the muscles around the shoulder for stability. Also, this stretch may cause the shoulder to rub against your biceps tendon, subscaplaris tendon, and the middle glenohumeral ligament. This can be a source of irritation for your shoulder too. Again, strengthening the muscles around the scapula, foam rolling, and using a lacrosse ball for any tight areas around the shoulder are better alternatives.
What Should You Do if You Feel Tight?
Foam rolling, isometric exercise, strengthening muscles that are weak, and dynamic movements are better options for the hypermobile swimmer. Stayed tuned for a future blog, talking about what mobility exercises are best for swimmers.
Conclusion:
While you may have good intensions with stretching, some stretches for swimmers are not helpful. Three stretches avoid are chest stretch with clasped arms behind back, doorway stretch, and horizontal adduction stretch. These stretches may stretch the shoulder joint itself, as opposed to your muscles, potentially leading to instability.
References:
Mise, T., Mitomi, Y., Mouri, S., Takayama, H., Inoue, Y., Inoue, M., Akuzawa, H., & Kaneoka, K. (2022). Hypomobility in Males and Hypermobility in Females are Risk Factors for Shoulder Pain Among Young Swimmers, Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 31(1), 17-23. Retrieved Nov 8, 2022, from https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsr/31/1/article-p17.xml