No correlation between stroke specialty and rate of shoulder pain in NCAA men swimmers

PURPOSE: To established an association between shoulder pain and the stroke specialization among NCAA men swimmers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All members of the top 25 NCAA men's swim teams were invited to complete the survey. Eleven teams with a total of 187 participants completed the study survey. The teams were mailed surveys that included multiple choice questions regarding their primary stroke and their incidence of shoulder pain. Additionally, the survey included questions about risk factors including distance trained, type of equipment, weight training, and stretching. RESULTS: The analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the rates of shoulder pain among the four strokes and individual medley specialists. The other risk factors did not show a significant correlation with shoulder pain. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no significant correlation between stroke specialty and shoulder pain in male collegiate swimmers. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Descriptive epidemiology study.