Help! Back pain when doing the crawl

grassette

The crawl is giving me back pain. I wonder what I am doing wrong. Has anyone had that problem? What do you recommend.

The pain is not there when I swim on my back.

FitMama2013

a few questions - do you roll side to side, or do you stay mostly flat while swimming free? also - does it hurt worse when you breathe, or do you just breathe to one side predominantly?

jessicafk11

Where on your back? Upper, lower, middle?

grassette

I think that I'm fairly flat, and I do breathe consistently to one side. It is the lower back where I have 3 herniated disks in the lower lumbar region. No pain while breathing, but an ache just above the bum.

FitMama2013

When you swim free, try to rotate side to side (watch this video - http://video.about.com/swimming/Learn-How-to-Swim-Faster-.htm) There are some drills in the video which might help you to swim more on your side, rather than flat. Swimming flat can put unnecessary pressure on your lower back. Also, if you're holding your head up too high, that can definitely put extra pressure on your lower back - where do you look when you swim? Aim for a 45 degree angle - not straight ahead, not down below, but halfway between. I'm thinking that might be the issue since it doesn't bother you when you swim on your back (your head is in the opposite position)

There's nothing wrong with breathing to one side only during free - however, since you're experiencing pain, anything you can do to "even up" your stroke would be beneficial in my mind. Maybe give breathing to both sides a try - or, if that's really uncomfortable for you, consider using a snorkel (a swimmers snorkel like this one - http://www.swimoutlet.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1221&Click=310393) - I LOVE training with a snorkel!

grassette

Thanks for those tips, Em. I had not ever thought of swimming on my side to do the crawl, though I do it in side stroke. And I really like your snorkel idea. I`ll study those videos and see what might work for me.

FitMama2013

You're welcome! My coaches used to always liken it to swimming like fish - most of them swim in their side instead of flat for less resistance! Let us know how your back pain is doing and if it improves at all

Ishes

When you swim free, do you arch your back (you body would look like a bow when viewed from the side)? It's particularly prevalent among those who swim flat on their stomachs. It strains your lower back after a while, especially if you've upped yardage recently because of all the wear and tear, plus the more fatigued you get the more you drop your stomach. I've been swimming competitively for seven years now and I never had a problem until this past fall when, in the run up for a distance champ meet (it ended up severe enough I had some difficulty sitting a sleeping after practice,) I went from 4,000-8,000m a day to 6,000-10,000 m most days mostly very freestyle heavy workouts. One of my team mates mentioned similar pain when he arched his back and we eventually figured it out
Next time you swim be conscious of your hip/stomach position as the workout goes on. If it feels odd, try tucking your stomach and hips in like you're sitting up straight, so your spine is in a straight line. It's more efficient and faster anyway, plus it works your core, so you get some bonus ab work.

KimmieSue2011

Do you do flip turns? I have disc issues (L4,L5 and L5 S1) and although I swim quite a bit (and do swim side to side, or at least try to; another thing that helps with that is breathing every 3 or 5 strokes on both sides instead of always breathing on the same side) and have found that not doing flip turns keeps my back a lot happier.

grassette

I don't do flip turns. So far, I breathe only on my right side. Thanks for the tips.