Swimming is a very popular sport, due to the specific characteristics of water that aid to a better physical condition of people of all age groups, despite their limitations. Competitive swimming creates many injuries, due to the repetitive moves of swimmers. The parts of the body which are most prone to injuries are shoulders, knees and the lower-back, therefore, these parts succumb to injuries more often. The aim of this master thesis is to construct a kinesiological examination model, in order to decrease swimmer’s injuries. The model is intended to help competitive, topmost swimmers, since their training is utterly extensive and more intensive then the one of recreational swimmers.
The conclusions we draw after a literature review show that in swimming, chronical injuries are an often occurrence. Instability, slap lesion, tightness and glenohumeral inner rotation deficit are the most common shoulder injuries. Outer collateral ligament and medial collateral ligament injuries are the most common knee lesions. Degeneration of intervertebral discs and discus hernia are the most common lower-back injuries.
The model review consists of three parts. In the first part, the swimmer fills in a questionnaire to provide the kinesiologist with the information about his health condition and former injuries. In the second part the kinesiologist conducts an evaluation of the swimmer’s posture and shares the results with him. In case of incorrect posture, the kinesiologist provides the swimmer with appropriate exercises for strengthening and stretching specific muscle groups, or he instructs a doctor consultation (in case of serious posture incorrectness). In the third part, the kinesiologist tests active range of motion for each body part (shoulders, back and knees). If the swimmer does not achieve the recommended active range of motion and feels no pain while trying to achieve the recommended range, the kinesiologist advises a continuation of corrective exercises. If the pain is present, the swimmer is instructed to consult a doctor.
|