Date of Award
Spring 5-9-2020
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Department/Major
Kinesiology and Sport Management
First Advisor
Dr. Hyung Suk Yang
Second Advisor
Mrs. Andrea Powell
Third Advisor
Dr. Talin Louder
Keywords
swimmer's shoulder, biomechanics, breathing, posture, prevention
Subject Categories
Rehabilitation and Therapy | Sports Sciences
Abstract
Swimming is a unique sport in that the shoulders generate most of the propulsive force. Therefore, due to the large amounts of repetitive force, the shoulders generate during freestyle, swimmer’s shoulder is the most common injury among competitive swimmers. Freestyle biomechanics, muscular imbalances and posture all play a pertinent role in a swimmer’s risk for developing a shoulder injury during their swimming career. Swimmers typically develop large muscular imbalances between their dominant and nondominant shoulders due to several sport-specific demands including freestyle stroke mechanics, breathing, and body roll. These muscular imbalances alter a swimmer’s posture and freestyle biomechanics which eventually lead to shoulder pain or injury. Understanding the effects of sport-specific demands on stroke biomechanics, posture, and muscular imbalances may provide a way to improve shoulder mechanics in the water, allow for preventative measures to be taken early on in a swimmer’s career, and ultimately decrease the swimmer’s risk of developing swimmer’s shoulder.
Recommended Citation
Thielbar, Jordan A., "Effect of Sport-specific Demands On Swimmer's Shoulder" (2020). Honors Thesis. 77.
https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/77