Dive into Success: Chiropractic Tips for Swimmers to Enhance Performance

Whether for fun, fitness, or competition, swimming is one of the most effective workouts there is, offering a myriad of physical and mental health benefits in a full-body, yet low-impact way.

Serious swimming places very specific demands on the body, requiring a unique combination of balance, strength, flexibility, and breath mastery to move efficiently through the pool. Much of that success is built on dry land.

Sports Chiropractic for Training

Sports chiropractic care can help condition a swimmer’s body for more optimal training and improved performance.

A thorough biomechanics assessment can reveal a great deal about a swimmer’s body that might be affecting training and performance times. Sports chiropractic modalities include both manual techniques and state-of-the-art technologies for identifying body misalignments, range-of-motion issues, muscle imbalances, and mobility concerns.

All of these things can interfere with proper nerve communication and body functionality, creating inefficient stroke techniques or unnecessary drag in the water.

Sports Chiropractic for the treatment and prevention of Injury

With four basic strokes, there are a lot of repetitive motions involved in swimming that can lead to discomfort or overuse conditions, as well as muscle imbalances that compromise technique and, ultimately, speed. Sports chiropractic can work to treat and prevent many swimming-related injuries, including:

Shoulder Strain and Rotator Cuff Injuries from Repeated Strokes
Non-invasive chiropractic techniques such as shoulder adjustments, soft tissue manipulation, and strengthening exercises can get to the root of shoulder pain.

Neck Pain
Freestyle, in particular, requires a lot of torso rotation, but all of the strokes can stress or strain the neck through improper technique, poor body alignment, or incorrect head position when breathing. Manual adjustments to the upper spine can keep things properly aligned and mobile. Myofascial manipulation in and around the neck muscles can free up knots and constrictions and reduce pain.

Lower Back and Hip Discomfort
Poor kicking strength, lack of torso flexibility, or hip subluxations can cause pain in the lower body during and after swimming. Chiropractic adjustments involve the gentle manual manipulation of the hip joint into the proper position; deep tissue massage to the lower back and hips frees up movement and reduces pain and inflammation.

If swimming is part of your athletic training or fitness plan, discover how incorporating sports chiropractic care into your training approach can leave your body better conditioned for the sport you love.