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Hip Pain – How Does It Affect Swimmers?

Hip, Swimming, Blog, / By Winsen Citra

Do you like to swim? I do too. However, if you’re anything like me, you probable never went for a proper swimming lesson. Therefore, the only style that you know is breaststroke, which is the easiest style to learn. However, the breaststroke has a distinct disadvantage of causing hip pain in some swimmers.This is due to the rotational movement that we normally do when we swim. This rotational movement is what usually causes the injury. In this article, we will discuss the common causes of hip pain in swimmers and how to prevent them.

What Causes Hip Pain?

As I mentioned earlier, hip pain is an uncommon problem in swimming and is more frequently associated with the breast stroke due to the rotational motion of the kick. The cause of which is usually associated with either a flexibility issue or a strength issue. 

Some common diagnoses for hip pain in swimmers include :

  • Sprain/strain
  • Femoral acetabular impingement
  • Labral injuries

The causes of hip pain in swimmers include:

  • Poor hip range
  • Reduced core muscle strength
  • Poor hip stability
  • Imbalance in hip range (usually too much external rotation)
  • Muscle tightness

What Can I do?

One of the best things that you should do if you’re experiencing hip pain when swimming is to seek professional assessment.The different hip conditions will require different treatment in order for it to recover. In the mean time, you should avoid going back to swim, or try another style that doesn’t cause your hip to be painful.

Here are some things you can do to prevent your pain in the first place:

  • Have a coach teach you the proper technique
  • Do not overtrain
  • Consider pilates as a means to improving your core muscles
  • Strengthen your hip stabilisers and core muscles
  • Stretch your hip and lower back muscles

We hope that this article has been useful to you. Below is a quick video showing you a couple of stretches you can do to help alleviate your pain. More videos like this is available on our channel. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.