Another boring injury post…. yeah, being a 30-something age group long course triathlete I’m often working through something. Sometimes we do everything right and still wind up with frustrating setbacks. The goal is to balance it all and react appropriately when something does come up. I’m also constantly looking for the “root” cause. I believe my slip and fall last year 2 weeks prior to Rev3 Williamsburg Half was stress related, for example… a hidden cause. So, with a new flare up, I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with a “reason” this happened.
I had a minor flare up this week with the “good” shoulder and had to take a week out of the pool. I tried light massage, lots of ice and then one session of Active Release but the inflammation and pain was still sharp despite these measures. Luckily, Dr. Stadler at Commonwealth Sports Medicine was able to squeeze me in really quick for an evaluation since I have a race coming up in just a few weeks.
The verdict: Impingement, inflammation and a bursa!
We are working through the inflammation now and I had to take a full week out of the pool. Today, I was allowed to try easy in the pool assuming it would be 90% better. Sure enough it felt a LOT better, However whenever I flip turned at the wall during the turn and first stroke, the shoulder really hurt. This may uncover the cause. I’ve been flip turning more and more since I signed up for a local pool spring tri this season but I am NOT a proficient turner and really have no idea what I am doing at the wall. Clearly my flip turn form is OFF. I suspect this might have been the cause/trigger here. I always pull with this shoulder as it was my “good” shoulder and I think it was taking way too much of the force in a very awkard position at the end of my “turn”.
Plan: Build back swimming cautiously, continue to treat the inflammation, keep a logical and realistic eye on any changes in the shoulder and then race. Dr. Stadler believes I’ll be back to 100% by race day.
I’m happy to report today’s swim went as expected AND uncovered a possible issue I have with flip turns.