With the weather finally warming up swimming is an ideal way to get a full body workout. Due to the repetitive nature of swimming, overuse injuries in the shoulder and neck are common.

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint with a ring of cartilage around the socket to make the joint more stable. Around this is a loose joint capsule that is reinforced with ligaments and muscles. Because the shoulder is a very mobile joint it relies on the action of these muscles and ligaments to maintain stability. These muscles are called the rotator cuff and consist of four muscles that work together to keep your shoulder centred in its socket.

So if swimming strengthens the shoulder muscles why do so many swimmers have shoulder problems?

The simple answer is due to the repetitive nature of swimming. The more complex answer lies in the fact that many swimmers don’t have good stroke technique, while those that do, can still have problems because the swim stroke (in particular freestyle) mainly strengthens the shoulder internal rotators and adductors. This causes muscle imbalance, leaving the scapular stabilisers and external rotators relatively weak and joint laxity increases. The rotator cuff must work harder to keep the shoulder centred in the socket. When the already relatively weakened external rotators fatigue, the ball of the shoulder joint moves forward and the tendon of the rotator cuff muscles is pinched between the bones as the hand is raised above shoulder height.

Next column I will cover some practical ways to prevent this from happening and what to do if you already have problems. For the fitness of you.

Linda Reilly

Spring has well and truly sprung, leading to a great number of us suffering from Allergic Rhinitis – also known as hay fever.

Hay fever can occur seasonally or year round and symptoms differ from person to person. It’s estimated that 20% of people will suffer from hay fever at any given time.

Interestingly hay fever is not caused by hay and doesn’t result in fever! Instead it is caused by allergens such as pollens, dust mites, mould and animal hair.

Signs and symptoms of hay fever include a runny nose, rubbing of the nose, itchy nose, itchy watery eyes or sneezing.

Here are some general preventative steps that might help: avoid cutting grass, playing or walking in grassy areas, and camping; wear wraparound sunglasses; change yourclothes and take a shower after being outdoors to remove the pollen on your body; keep the windows closed at home and in the car, and use recirculating air-conditioning in the car; try to stay indoors when the pollen index or count is high (refer to Weather zone www.weatherzone.com.au), or the pollen forecast and if possible, avoid drying clothes outside. This will help prevent bringing pollen into your house.

There are several treatment options for hay fever, so call in and speak to one of the friendly pharmacists or team members at Flannery’s or Life Pharmacy to tailor an effective solution for you.

Treatment options include but are not limited to: Antihistamine tablets, eye drops and nasal sprays (non-sedating) to help reduce symptoms such as sneezing, itchy and irritated eyes. These only need to be taken when you have the symptoms.

Nasal Corticosteroid sprays, a potent anti-inflammatory action when used regularly. Perfect for those who suffer regular/seasonal allergies.

Now that the days are getting longer and warmer, we tend to take on more chores in and around our homes.

Extra gardening, dusting off the cobwebs, window cleaning, spring cleaning and preparation for Christmas becomes an added part to our day.

Long and extended activity that has not formed part of our usual routine may lead to a lot of muscle and joint pain.

To avoid these unwanted muscle and joint pains it is important to take precautions prior to doing these jobs.

Start by stretching your arms and legs. Take regular breaks and walk around a little.

Combined with drinking enough water, sore limbs and other injuries may be eliminated. These allow our body to resume its normal posture.

Planning ahead by doing a little extra each day will also enable you to get the task done with much less pain.

Remember, the quicker you receive massage therapy the quicker the recovery time.

To schedule a massage appointment contact Greg Howell at Forbes Bowen Therapy

& Wellness on 0427 592 771.

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylalgia) is a general term used to describe pain on the outside of the elbow. Ironically, most people who get tennis elbow do not play tennis and whilst pain is felt at the elbow it is a degenerative problem that involves the wrist and finger extensor muscles.

Typically, those with tennis elbow will experience pain when performing gripping tasks or resisted wrist or finger extension. There will be tenderness over the bone on the outside of the elbow and the muscles of the forearm may feel very tight. Often grip strength is decreased and it is painful to grip or lift objects or to shake hands.

In the not so distant past, it was thought that this was an inflammatory condition and the common advice was to rest, and take anti-inflammatories. We now know that this is a degenerative condition of the tendon where the wrist extensors attach to the lateral epicondyle of the elbow. The cause can be due to one large/strong movement or repeated movements that stress the tendon to the point where the tendon is unable to repair as quickly as damage is occurring.

Initially treatment involves rest from the aggravating activities and gentle strengtheningexercises to stimulate the growth of new tendon cells within the tendon. Load management is important, for example instead of painting that room in one day complete it over several days to minimise aggravation. Initially isometric exercises such as tensing your forearm muscles without moving your wrist will help relieve symptoms. These are later progressed to eccentric strengthening exercises to prevent reinjury.

For the fitness of you,

Linda Reilly