What are the common injuries in synchronized swimming?

Grace,  elegance, beauty, artistry - how often do we hear these words related to synchronized swimming. Yes, this sport is akin to art, but still, it is a sport, and sport, as you know, is unpredictable and there are injuries in it. Today we will look at the common injuries in synchronized swimming.

Let's start with the medical contraindications for artistic swimming classes.

Before going to the synchronized swimming section, consult a doctor, because there are a number of pathologies in the presence of which it is impossible to engage in this sport:

• brain injuries
• respiratory diseases
• allergies
• epilepsy
• heart and vascular issues
• kidney and liver diseases
• viral infections
  

If everything is fine and you want to devote yourself to synchronized swimming, then pay attention to possible injuries.

1. Hypothermia, long stay in the water, and the consequences

Regular classes in cool water, especially during professional training, can bring gynecological problems or kidney problems. Hence, there may also be problems with the ear-throat-nose system, such as

- rhinitis

- sinusitis

- otitis

- tonsillitis

A long stay in the water has a negative effect on the skin such as overdrying and dermatitis. And the cause of dry skin is chlorine and bromine substances that are included in the pool cleaning system. It is necessary to carefully select skincare products. 

2. Collisions

A very unpleasant kind of injury in the pool, and not only in the pool, everywhere and in every sport or outdoor activity. Collisions occur when performing exercises on the back, during lifts and jumps.

There was a case when immediately after the jump, one athlete hit the partner swimming behind her in the nose and broke it. And there was a whole program ahead! It's good that the clamp didn't come off, but blood suddenly gushed out of the broken nose.

It happens that one of the colleagues accidentally touches and knocks down the clamp or the athlete accidentally touches her nose herself. Sometimes you can have time to put on a spare, but most often the pace of the program is so high that you have to finish without a nose clip. This is very unpleasant, and some swimmers even lose consciousness in the process.

3. Shoulder injuries

A huge load falls on the shoulders. No matter what movements you do with your hands, the shoulder joint is always involved. If you do not fully warm up the muscles, there is a risk of damaging the shoulder performing lifts. To prevent it, you should do a warm-up before entering the pool. Examples of shoulder injuries: bursitis, tendinitis, ruptures. A very large number of professional athletes underwent shoulder surgeries and even then ended their sports careers. Don't forget to warm up before training!

4. Knee and hip injuries

During intensive preparation for competitions, the condition of the knees can be seriously affected due to the extremely high load. After all, synchronized swimmers rehearse every day from 4 hours before the performance. Ligaments can be severely damaged, which can lead to injuries to the medial collateral ligament. There have been cases when professionals, masters of synchronized swimming pumped fluid out of their knees due to the inflammatory process. There are also cases of inflammatory processes in the hips, for example, piriformis syndrome, bringing pain during rotation, abduction, and swimming itself.

5. Lower back injuries

This happens because of the wrong technique and exhausting loads. You can also damage the lower back if the program starts unsuccessfully or during lifts. And, of course, also do not forget to constantly raise the level of your technique, as there are numerous cases of pinched nerves in the lower back or pinched sciatic nerve - the sensations are not the best!

Take care of yourself, train properly, think about your team members and be healthy!