I'm double posting on this site and my weight loss blog because I'm hoping maybe someone will have an idea as to what is going on with my arm. Last Wednesday I went swimming, all primed to do my 90 laps, and about 3 laps in, my left arm started really hurting in the muscle right above my elbow. At first it was a stabbing pain starting when my stroke reached my hip and I pulled my arm out of the water to finish the stroke. I had to stop after the 4th lap because it went from a stabbing pain to feeling like the entire muscle was knotted up. I had been swimming Monday and Tuesday nights with no issues. On Wednesday, it only hurt as I was completing my stroke.
One of my roommates diagnosed a knot in my muscle and she massaged my arm a little bit to try to work it out. Thursday, my arm was a little sore from the workout the night before, but I had no pain for the rest of the weekend.
Last night I went to the pool again. A few laps in, I could feel the muscle starting to hurt again, but I kept going. Eventually, I think the endorphins took over because it seemed to get better, but I don't think it actually did because after my workout, the muscle hurt when I tried to lift something in the locker room. I did 90 laps last night (64 swimming, 26 kicking) and my arm is still sore today. I put some Tiger Balm on last night after my workout, and that seemed to help a bit. I was going to go swimming tonight, but now I'm thinking I should just walk home from work for exercise.
I've been doing research online this morning, and I can't figure out what's wrong. There are two distinct arm injuries common to swimmers, and I don't seem to have either of them. Swimmers Shoulder is caused by overuse and poor technique, as well as by breathing on one side exclusively. The pain is in the shoulder and radiates to the clavicle. While I do breathe exclusively on my right side (I need to work on that), the pain isn't in my shoulder. I've also been told I have good technique so I don't think my technique is straining my arm too much.
The other possibility is Swimmers Elbow (like tennis elbow), which is caused by overuse. However, from what I can tell on the sites, the pain of that is mostly in the lower arm and affects the ability to grip things. That isn't my problem either.
The pain I'm having is in the exterior muscle of the upper arm, down near my elbow. It only hurts when I swim, although it's sore today because of my workout last night.
I've never had this issue before and I've been swimming for years. When I started back several weeks ago, I progressed slowly through 40, then 50, 60, 70, 80 and now 90 laps per workout session. I used to swim 120 laps at times and was hoping to get back up to that. This is just really frustrating.
8 comments:
Tendonitis? It can burn all the way up the limb.
Hmmm, wrong sport right injury. You have tennis elbow.
~Jef
Here's a bummer: there is the possibility that carpel tunnel syndrome may be the cause. Typical symptoms involve the hand, forearm and elbow; but it can also manifest in the upper arm in some cases. Have you noticed any tingling in your hand or fingertips associated with the arm pain? That would be a possible confirmation.
More importantly: what did the doctor say when you went and reported your symptoms? ;-)
Hope you find an answer and feel better soon!
T-K
The super sporty girl at worked who I just talked with about it seems to think it's tendonitis. She suggested rest, icing and taking an anti-inflammatory when it hurts. If it's not better in a couple of weeks, check out physical therapy.
Dad, the doctor? Who has time to go to the doctor? If it's not better in a few weeks, I'll be going to the doctor, don't worry.
BTW, you have a cousin, Nicole, who's getting her PhD in Physical Therapy. She's staying at Aunt Daisy's so you could get a maybe a free consult from an expert. She's had internships in real hospitals all around the country in working toward her degree, so give her a call. If she doesn't focus on the elbow, upper arm, I'm sure she has colleagues who do.
Just a thought, and the price is right! ;-)
Your L33T Dad.
That sounds like carpal tunnel to me too. :( That happened to my friend when he was working on the computer a lot and using a lot of shortcuts (like shift-keys) in excel. He went to physical therapy and learned some exercises to improve it. It takes a long time to improve - he still has trouble with numb fingers and gripping things and it's 6 months later :( Good luck!!
Dad, I didn't even think of Nicole. I'll have to talk to her.
Dad and Anon, I don't think it's carpal tunnel, since I haven't had any tingling, and I don't have problems gripping things. I don't feel any pain or any difference in my hand, it's all localized in the muscle/tendon above my elbow.
I've had similar sounding pains in my calves on and off since college. The PT in the dance department told me it was potassium deficiency, and that I could fix it by eating bananas (which is actually a real chore for me because the only way I like bananas is when they're rendered virtually unrecognizable by ice cream). It works.
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