Musculoskeletal pain in elite competitive male swimmers

摘要

Musculoskeletal problems that interfere with effective training is serious and may result in decreased performance in the swimming athlete. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in our competitive male swimmers, and to investigate the relationship between stroke style and musculoskeletal pain. It was found that 23 of the 38 competitive male swimmers examined reported musculoskeletal pain in this study: 13 had shoulder pain, 7 had low back pain, and 3 had knee pain. Ten swimmers with pain never stopped training, and only one swimmer had to stop swimming for a period of one month. Knee pain was observed only in breaststrokers, but back pain from all strokes. Shoulder pain was not seen in breaststrokers; this pain instead occurred frequently in free-stylers. Injuries leading to pain may be acute or caused by repeated microtraumas, eventually leading to an overuse injury. Corrections of factors contributing to overuse injuries should be properly treated so that the swimmers may return rapidly to swim safely.