521 MEP133 – Effect of two 12-week prevention exercise programs on swimmer’s shoulder epidemiology in competitive swimmers

AbstractBackground Strength programs with few exercises, performed out of the water and in an open kinetic chain have shown good results in minimizing some musculoskeletal risk factors related to swimmer's shoulder. However, there is no information about the epidemiology of this injury after its implementation.Objective To evaluate the effect of two 12-week strength exercise programs on swimmer's shoulder epidemiology indicators in competitive swimmers.Design Randomized control trial.Setting A survey of swimmer's shoulder episodes and respective characterization were collected every 6 weeks through telephone contact with swimmers and their coaches, over 24 weeks after the start of the interventions.Participants Thirty competitive portuguese swimmers with a mean age of 19.5 ± 3.1 years, divided through stratified randomization according to team, sex and main swimming style into 3 groups.Interventions Group A performed a 12-week program of 5 exercises with weights 2 times per week, group B performed a 12-week program of 5 exercises with elastic band 2 times per week and group C did a sham exercise intervention 2 times per week.Main Outcome Measurements Retrospective assessment of the swimmer's shoulder episodes, laterality, moment of occurrence, duration and maximum intensity of pain, physiotherapy sessions needed, and number of modified and failed trainings/competitions.Results The groups that performed a preventive program had a lower number of episodes and consequently a smaller number of modified swimming trainings and physiotherapy sessions performed due to swimmer's shoulder. On the other hand, no significant differences were found between groups in the mean duration and intensity of shoulder pain episodes.Conclusions A 12-week preventive strength exercise program seems to reduce the number of episodes of swimmer's shoulder and their consequences in competitive swimmers during the season. However, carrying out these programs does not seem to change the severity of pain episodes when they appear.