Swimming Stroke

[TW]

Hi all…
I am considering taking lessons and getting certified this spring. In preparation for that I’ve been at the pool pretty regularly. I am very comfortable snorkeling, and can snorkel laps for an hour quite comfortably, I’ve snorkeled in Grand Cayman with one to two foot swells, again no problems. Here is my problem… I want to be a better swimmer before I take my lessons but I have a bad right shoulder that is preventing me from doing a decent swimming stroke. I’ve taken swimming lessons in hopes of finding a swimming stroke that does not cause problems with my shoulder with no success. It seems to be the repetitive rotation of my arm / shoulder that causes problems. I tried crawl, breast, side and back strokes, all of these strokes caused shoulder problems. I can swim the 200 meter PADI swim test on my back using just my legs for propulsion, it’s ugly and slow but it gets the job done or I can do the 300 meter snorkel easily.

So my questions:
Is there a swimming technique or swim stroke that would be easier on the shoulder joint?
How do I know if I have adequate swimming skills to be a safe scuba diver?


Thanks for the help…..

Tom

 

[DivingPrincessE]

There have been a few recent threads on people who can't swim wanting to take scuba and that is a bad idea...you are a different story. As long as you can pass the swimming test, you can get certified. I don't think you should let a shoulder injury prevent you from getting certified. When you are actually diving you don't use your hands/arms at all. It's all about using your legs to propel you forward. Using the hands is called "hand finning" or "hand swimming" and is not a proper technique (unless you have a physical handicap that prevents you from using your legs obviuosly). When you dive you keep your arms at your side or your hands folded at your chest.

Can you tread water? That is one of the most important swimming skills for scuba. When you surface to wait for the boat usually your BC will be inflated and you will just float there. However, if there is an equipment failure (your BC doesn't inflate) you will need to tread water until the boat pics you up.

If you do shore diving swimming may be required...but if an injury limits your ability to swim on the surface and/or swim in rough and wavy conditions, simply accept that limitation and do boat diving. I think most people do far more boat diving than shore diving anyway.

I think you should go ahead and get certified and enjoy yourself! It's so much fun!!

 

[danclem]

Hi Tom:

For most dives you will do very little or no swimming with your arms. It is almost entirely kicking. We have a couple of hundred yard surface swim at our local dive park, and the only time I have used arm strokes was for a specialized class like Rescue Diver. I am a former competitive swimmer and life guard, and in my opinion diving is a sport where you do not need to be a good swimmer to be a good diver. You need to be comfortable in the water.

Not sure what your injury is: sounds like a possible rotator cuff. You might try to think of situations where it might be a hindrance and how you would compensate. Tasks like pulling yourself up onto a boat from a dive ladder, passing weights or BCD into a Zodiac, reaching up for a piece of equipment that is being handed from a transom, pulling yourself along a line in a stiff current, etc.

Have fun: you will do fine.

Dan

 

[Lenmonster]

Does the elementary back stroke work for you? No arm rotation, but I guess if even sidestroke or breast is painful for you, that would be out, as well. I agree with the posters here. Your comfort in the water is paramount, and you simply have to look at how you will use swimming in a diving or self-rescue situation. If you got caught in a current and surfaced far from the boat, or had buoyancy problems with your BC or whatever, could you tread water, could you surface swim (ugly or not), etc. I imagine the answer is "yes." Other than needing to deal with timed swims if you went for DM status, I can't imagine you'd have a problem.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

BTW, where are you located? That info would help as people might be able to make good shop recommendations. Most instructors are good, but as with everything...there are bad apples. It would be really unfortunate to have an instructor that was mean, too hard on you, or not willing to work with you to minimize any strain on your shoulder.

 

[Jim Kerr]

Hi all…
I am considering taking lessons and getting certified this spring. In preparation for that I’ve been at the pool pretty regularly. I am very comfortable snorkeling, and can snorkel laps for an hour quite comfortably, I’ve snorkeled in Grand Cayman with one to two foot swells, again no problems. Here is my problem… I want to be a better swimmer before I take my lessons but I have a bad right shoulder that is preventing me from doing a decent swimming stroke. I’ve taken swimming lessons in hopes of finding a swimming stroke that does not cause problems with my shoulder with no success. It seems to be the repetitive rotation of my arm / shoulder that causes problems. I tried crawl, breast, side and back strokes, all of these strokes caused shoulder problems. I can swim the 200 meter PADI swim test on my back using just my legs for propulsion, it’s ugly and slow but it gets the job done or I can do the 300 meter snorkel easily.

So my questions:
Is there a swimming technique or swim stroke that would be easier on the shoulder joint?
How do I know if I have adequate swimming skills to be a safe scuba diver?


Thanks for the help…..

Tom

You might want to talk it over with your swimming instructor. Let him/her know what you are trying to accomplish so they can work with you on it. They do not let you use a snorkle for the swim test (unless that's changed) but there's no time limit for it. You will not be using your arms with scuba like you do with swimming, so you do not have to worry about not being a safe diver. The only concern I would have is if there were a dump valve on that side of your BC, would you be able to reach it?

 

[DivingPrincessE]

PADI does let you use a snorkel/fins/mask. You do 200 yards with no assist or 300 yards with mask/snorkel/fins.

 

[TW]

Thanks for the quick responses. Treading water is not a problem neither is my arm and shoulder strength. So I think I will continue with snorkeling in the pool until summer gets here, it seems to be a decent work out for the legs. I'm from south east Minnesota and will be taking a Discover Scuba class at the end of the month that I'm really looking forward to.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[NancyLynn]

Here is my problem… I want to be a better swimmer before I take my lessons but I have a bad right shoulder that is preventing me from doing a decent swimming stroke.

You will probably need to ignore the "proper" way to do each stroke and find a modified version that doesn't hurt.

I would suggest starting with side stroke on the left side. Don't worry about which leg is on top - it only really matters for rescue technique. Either hang the right arm without using it, or see if you can modify the stroke by doing a small pull across the chest.

Elementary backstroke is another good possibility (arms only raise to shoulder height). If that doesn't work, try frog/whip kicking on your back and sculling (arms at sides with hands doing figure 8s).

Just get yourself a strong flutterkick and leave your arms at your sides on either front or back. On your front, if you need to breath, try taking a single stroke with your left arm only. (If done right, the stroke pulls along the center line of the body - so theoretically you could do a one armed crawl. In reality, it is hard to avoid pulling to one side or the other.)

Good luck. There is no time limit - so just kick your way along to get through the qualifying test.

 

[maphic]

BTW, where are you located? That info would help as people might be able to make good shop recommendations. Most instructors are good, but as with everything...there are bad apples. It would be really unfortunate to have an instructor that was mean, too hard on you, or not willing to work with you to minimize any strain on your shoulder.

I had that problem. My instructor kept threatening everyone that if we panic he will hold us down until we calm down. I know he was teaching us "safety" and the problems of bolting to the surface but that only makes a bad situation worse. This girl panicked and he held he down. After she figured out she wasnt going in where she added air to her BC. lol
His actions could turn people away from the sport of Diving.