I’m a woman in my mid-twenties with a fairly sedentary lifestyle. I also have chronic neck and shoulder pain, which often causes headaches—haven’t been able to completely pinpoint what’s wrong (got conflicting feedback from physical therapists, chiropractors, etc.) but I’m sure a lot of it is anxiety related, like from holding stress in my body. I haven’t had any neck or shoulder injuries.
I feel better when I incorporate more movement into my day though, and I want to build an exercise habit, so I decided to try swimming since I’ve always liked being in the water (never done lap swimming though.) Also other forms of exercises are hard on my neck/back—plus I absolutely hate running lol.
I went for the first time tonight—mostly breaststroke and backstroke (or something akin to those strokes. I’m sure my form is terrible). Stopped after a half hour bc my arms felt like they were on fire. 2 hours later my pecs KILL and the pain radiates down to my elbows; I also feel a headache building. I’m not sure if I’m just sore because I’m new to working these muscles or if I pulled something.
Anyway, I don’t want to quit just as I’m getting started, but does this seem like a good idea for my situation? If I keep swimming, are there certain skills I should build first? Strokes to avoid in the early stages so I don’t hurt myself? Stretches to try? Any thoughts/pointers would be appreciated!
You’re totally out of shape, so the process of getting into kinda ok shape will be painful. It’s unavoidable. Go once or twice a week to you get used to it and slowly build up your exercise time.
Any stroke you are not good at where your head is tipped back to keep your face out of the water (like unskilled breaststroke) will probably cause neck strain. While swimming with good form your head should be in a neutral position and only move to breathe. If you don’t want to move your head around, get a swim snorkel (not a dive snorkel).
I would keep up with the swimming but maybe also look for a Pilates class to increase flexibility, my neck, shoulder, back pain is all related to needing to stretch my sciatic nerve on my right side.
@ESSY Swimming works muscles you rarely use, causing soreness. Recover, eat protein, and stay active. Pain lessens each time. Backstroke may help posture too!
I have an old book about a woman with severe arthritis (pic of her with her head in a sling and a weight over the door) and she healed herself with swimming: the ONLY stroke she could do was backstroke. You don’t want to turn your head. There are also water exercises that a physical therapist might recommend for your neck and shoulders. The book is called Pain-Free Arthritis by Dvera Berson with Sander Roy. Another tip from my experience: when I started swimming again as an adult, my neck hurt from always turning to breathe in one direction, so I started breathing every third stroke. Worked great. Good luck!