movement physiology: schwimming

yogabook / movement physiology / schwimming

A form of locomotion documented in Egypt 5000 years ago in which propulsion is generated cyclically with arms and legs. There are several swimming styles, mainly breaststroke, dolphin (butterfly) swimming, backstroke and crawl swimming. Many people consider swimming to be a sport that is well tolerated over the long term, but trauma from contact with other swimmers or the edge of the pool is not uncommon. However, atraumatic injuries such as swimmer’s shoulder of swimmer’s knee are also common. Depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise, the rate is up to 66% for high-performance swimmers, who complete up to 750,000 arm strokes per year. Breaststroke and crawl swimmers are particularly affected. The spectrum of disorders of the swimmer’s shoulder includes

The second most frequently affected region after the shoulder joint is the knee joint, which suffers above all from frequent breaststroke, as the adduction of the legs with the swinging internal rotation of the lower legs (see below) from a widely externally rotated position, from which 70% of the propulsion comes, represents a strain on the inner collateral ligament. This is also referred to as swimmer’s knee. Finally, the lower legs are pulled inwards against the water resistance from the not exactly low force of the adductors, creating a valgus moment that the inner collateral ligament also has to absorb. In addition, the correct technique involves a constant rotation of the lower leg in the knee joint. After initial flexion of the knee joint, it is turned outwards and then brought back into the starting position in a combination movement that is as explosive as possible, consisting of internal rotation of the lower leg to zero rotation, extension of the knee joint and adduction of the leg in the hip joint. The constant swinging internal rotation in the knee joint during valgus stress through adduction in the hip joint due to water resistance while the knee joint is extended is in itself a faulty construction. On a solid medium or in a liquid medium with a higher viscosity, one would probably never have the idea of carrying out these movements simultaneously against resistance. The resistance of the water is therefore underestimated here. In addition to the load on the structures of the inner knee, which also includes the distal end of the medial collateral ligament, there is also the development of a relative hypertonus of the inner hamstrings that rotates the lower leg, which with its tensed gracilis creates a varus moment in the knee joint and tends to develop bow legs if that muscle is strong. If the tone of the hamstrings were significantly higher than that of the biceps femoris, patellar dyskinesia would develop.

The knee joint during breaststroke puts particular strain on the distal insertion of the medial collateral ligament on the tibia and the capsule. Patellar malalignments and leg axis misalignments such as knock knees and bow legs can complicate the situation. Muscular imbalances in the lower extremity regularly result, which have to be compensated for with special training, without this being able to completely eliminate the prolematic situation of the knee joint. If the knee joint is incompletely extended during adduction, the medial retinaculum of the patella is overloaded, as is the case with excessive leg kick training (overuse) or the use of fins. Smaller basins with increased starts or turns make the situation more difficult for the knee joint.

In addition to the predominant problem area of the knee joint, the lumbar spine region is also conspicuous in high-performance swimmers (20%). Dolphin and breaststroke swimmers are particularly predisposed here, as they have to go into hyperlordosis to inhale. Strictly speaking, there hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine is not physiologically inevitable, but it is not possible to perform an extension of the cervical and thoracic spine in such a brisk movement sequence without using autochthonous muscles that hyperlordose the lumbar spine. Hyperlordosis also occurs during dolphin and breaststroke swimming, as the arms have to be lifted forwards (cranially) out of the water to minimise resistance during the movement. Therefore, in one study, 50% of high-performance swimmers had radiologically detectable changes in the spine. If the autochthonous muscles of dolphin and breaststroke swimmers are weak, this exacerbates the situation and is all the more likely to lead to their hypertonus.

with the regard to the above, the swimming athlete can be supported In the area of asana to promote the