Medical Care of the Aquatics Athlete

Abstract

Competitive swimmers are affected by several musculoskeletal and medical complaints that are unique to the sport. 'Swimmer's shoulder,' the most common overuse injury, is usually caused by some combination of impingement, rotator cuff tendinopathy, scapular dyskinesis, and instability. The condition may be treated with training modifications, stroke error correction, and strengthening exercises targeting the rotator cuff, scapular stabilizers, and core. Implementation of prevention programs to reduce the prevalence of shoulder pathology is crucial. Knee pain usually results from the breaststroke kick in swimmers, and the 'egg beater' kick in water polo players and synchronized swimmers. Lumbar back pain also is common in aquatics athletes. Among the medical conditions of particular importance in swimmers are exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, respiratory illnesses, and ear problems. Participants in other aquatics sports (water polo, diving, synchronized swimming, and open water swimming) may experience medical ailments specific to the sport.

Mermaid health — identifying health issues related to mermaiding

“…Injuries related to swimming usually involve upper limbs more than lower limbs, and are principally arising from overuse of one or more of the four competitive strokes practiced with errors [7,14]. Since the emphasis of mermaiding is not on speed but rather on fluidity of the movements, and that propulsive power is provided by the specific monofin entrapping the legs more than by upper members' strokes, mermaiding is -at least in regards to upper members -a less injury-inducing activity.…”

“…Since the emphasis of mermaiding is not on speed but rather on fluidity of the movements, and that propulsive power is provided by the specific monofin entrapping the legs more than by upper members' strokes, mermaiding is -at least in regards to upper members -a less injury-inducing activity. Similarly, lower limbs problems associated with swimming are usually the result of repetitive use of specific kicks, either breaststroke kick in swimmers or "egg beater" kick in water polo players and synchronised swimmers [7], something which is obviously different for mermaids. Back pain is also a common feature of swimmers [7].…”

“…Similarly, lower limbs problems associated with swimming are usually the result of repetitive use of specific kicks, either breaststroke kick in swimmers or "egg beater" kick in water polo players and synchronised swimmers [7], something which is obviously different for mermaids. Back pain is also a common feature of swimmers [7]. Despite being regularly mentioned by mermaids, the occurrence of these issues is not comparable with what conventional swimmer experience.…”

“…The following categories were suggested, based on what is documented in the current literature regarding swimmers' and aquatic athletes' health issues and injuries [7]: upper limbs, back and spine, lower limbs, respiratory pathways, ear, others. Respondents were then asked to report any accident which led to injuries (even minor) they encountered as professional mermaid.…”

The importance of thermography for injury prevention and performance improvement in olympic swimmers: a series of case study

“…3,4 Diagnosis of these injuries have done by using ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spent a lot of time to be carried out. Moreover, ultrasound is examiner dependent and MRI emits radiation and cannot be done in field of play.…”