Investigation of the effectiveness of a complex injury prevention programme among young swimmers

Abstract

The training load required at elite level can lead to shoulder pain even among the youngest swimmers, thus, besides modern water training plans and swimming technique development, the planning of dryland training with a preventive approach is of the utmost importance. The aim of the present study was to map kinetic patterns and sports injury risk factors among young competitive swimmers (between 9 and 12 years of age) and to investigate the effectiveness of a complex injury prevention programme on dry land.A total of 37 swimmers (19 girls and 18 boys, aged 10.8 ± 1 yrs) participated in the research. We performed a physical examination using the PostureScreen11.1 application, a digital goniometer, a manual dynamometer, and functional and diagnostic orthopaedic tests. The swimmers were divided into a trained group and a control group. A three-month complex injury prevention programme was developed for the trained group. We analysed our data using Statistica for Windows.We found that 19% of the swimmers had experienced shoulder pain since starting swimming. We also found several postural faults, a reduction in the rotational arc of motion in the shoulder joint, rotational muscle imbalance, serratus anterior weakness, and scapular dyskinesia. Following the programme, swimmers in the trained group showed significant improvement in the rotational arc of the shoulder joint, internal rotational range of motion, rotational muscle strength, and upper limb stability. Progress was also made in many other areas, although these results were not significant.As shoulder pain and its risk factors can be observed even among the youngest competitors, a dryland training plan tailored to this group can reduce the occurrence of sports injuries.