Repetitive Strain Injury: Swimmer's Shoulder (Subacromial Bursitis)
Channel: Provolution Health
Date: 2023-02-13

This month’s body signals workshop will be on Repetitive Strain Injury. We’ll be specifically looking at the upper body with the 3 top areas being the shoulder, elbow and wrist for RSI.

The term swimmer’s shoulder comes from the overhead motion of the freestyle swimming action which can cause the tendons in the rotator cuff to get pinched underneath the shoulder blade. This pinching and trapping of the tendons cause inflammation, which leads to the symptoms of pain and restricted use of the affected arm. 

To start with, let’s talk about the shoulder where the most common injury is Swimmer’s Shoulder which is a broad umbrella term for shoulder impingement where the common symptoms are shoulder pain, instability, reduced range of motion and even muscle weakness or fatigue.

To better understand shoulder impingement though I think it’s important to understand the basic anatomy.

Our shoulders are composed of three bones:
1. Scapular (Shoulder Blade)
2. Clavicle (Collar Bone)
3. Humerus (Upper Arm Bone)

Together these bones make up an incredibly complex and mobile ball in the socket joint. In addition to these three bones, a key group of muscles known as the rotator cuff attaches to and moves the shoulder joint.

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles surrounding the joint, lying deep within the shoulder to help you move your arm smoothly. More specifically, these muscles contract to keep the ball within your shoulder joint in place when you raise your arm. Many ligaments assist the rotator cuff in holding your shoulder in place as well, giving you stability as your shoulder joint moves around.

Swimmer’s shoulder is also common in baseball players, tennis players and construction workers who often have to use their shoulders for repetitive motions. 

The obvious and best way to prevent shoulder impingement is to reduce the repetitive motions but sometimes that just isn’t realistic. 

That’s where chiropractic can help and be of benefit. Chiropractic adjustments improve posture to make sure the ears are lined up over the shoulders and the shoulders are down, relaxed and back. This allows for proper joint function and mobility to allow for rehab to strengthen the rotator cuffs which will prevent shoulder impingement. 


Register for this month's Upper Body RSI workshop today 👉https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpdOygqzIqG9GHi8uTYTVoYErraUdUoULZ

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