The 4 Most Common Swimming Injuries: and How to Prevent Them
A Perth Physio’s guide to staying strong and pain-free in the pool.
Whether you're chasing PB’s in the pool or clocking consistent laps as part of your weekly exercise routine, swimming is often praised for being low-impact and joint-friendly. And while that’s true, it’s not immune from overuse issues — especially when training ramps up as we head towards summer.
At Kinima Physio, we regularly see swimmers dealing with persistent niggles that, left unchecked, can begin to interrupt training or even lead to time out of the water. The good news? Most swimming injuries are preventable, manageable, and often respond well to early physiotherapy intervention and targeted rehab.
Here are four of the most common swimming injuries we see, what causes them, and how you can keep your body in the water and out of trouble.
1. Swimmer’s Shoulder
Why it Happens
Swimmer’s shoulder is by far one of the most common issues we see in the pool-going crowd. It often refers to rotator cuff-related shoulder pain, typically caused by repetitive overhead movement, poor stroke mechanics, and muscle imbalances.
Swimming involves thousands of overhead strokes per session. If your rotator cuff or supporting muscles aren’t strong enough, it’s easy to overload the shoulder joint and tendons — particularly with higher weekly swim volumes.
Common Signs
Pain or weakness during the pull-through phase
Discomfort reaching overhead (even out of the pool)
Soreness after high-volume swim sets
Kinima Physio’s Approach
We look beyond just the shoulder itself, assessing thoracic spine mobility, upper body strength, and even core engagement. Hands-on treatment, targeted rehab, and simple dryland shoulder strength exercises are often game changers.
Swim-Smart Tip
Mix up your strokes, avoid ramping up volume too quickly, and make time for regular shoulder maintenance. Even 10 minutes post-swim can help.
2. Neck Pain or Tightness
Why it Happens
Neck tightness is another frequent flyer in the swimmer’s injury list, especially in freestyle swimmers who only breathe to one side. Over time, this repetitive rotation can overload one side of the neck and upper traps.
Repetitive unilateral breathing
Poor head and neck positioning during strokes
Tension from stress or rigid posture
Symptoms
Stiffness or aching after long sets
Pain referring into the upper back or shoulders
Feeling like your head is “stuck” after swimming
Kinima Physio’s Approach
We start with gentle soft tissue release and mobility work, then layer in strength for neck stabilisers and guidance on technique tweaks — like building bilateral breathing patterns. Breathing retraining can also reduce excess tension through the neck and shoulders.
Swim-Smart Tip
Practice bilateral breathing for a few intervals each set. Don’t skip upper-body strengthening at the gym, and add gentle neck mobility to your warm-down.
3. Lower Back Pain
Why it Happens
Swimming is often recommended for people with lower back pain — but ironically, we also see many swimmers develop it. This is especially common in butterfly and freestyle, where spinal control is key.
Excessive lumbar extension (arching the back) during strokes
Weakness in core muscles
Poor streamline control during push-offs and turns
Symptoms
Aching, tightness, or pinching pain in the lower back during or after long sessions
Discomfort during tumble turns or push-offs
Kinima Physio’s Approach
We assess glute activation, deep core strength, and spinal control. Manual therapy may ease acute symptoms, but the real win comes from correcting underlying imbalances.
Swim-Smart Tip
Land-based core and glute training makes a huge difference. Think Pilates-style control, not just planks and crunches.
4. Ankle Pain in Swimmers
Why it Happens
Swimmers rely on ankle flexibility (plantarflexion — pointing the toes) to generate propulsion. But excessive force, fin use, or limited mobility can cause irritation at the front of the ankle joint.
Symptoms
Pain at the front or top of the ankle
Tightness when pointing the toes
Discomfort when kicking or using fins
Kinima Physio’s Approach
We combine hands-on treatment with mobility drills, strengthening ankle stabilisers, and adjusting training loads if needed. Kicking drills and range checks help pinpoint the issue.
Swim-Smart Tip
Build into fin work gradually and include ankle mobility in your dryland prep.
Keeping Your Body in the Water
Swimming offers incredible benefits for strength, endurance, and mental clarity, but it also places unique demands on the body. Recognising the difference between normal post-training fatigue and early warning signs of injury is key to staying pain-free.
If you’re easing back into the pool this summer and want to fine-tune your movement to reduce injury risk, our team at Kinima Physio in West Leederville and Gwelup is here to help. We take a holistic approach, combining hands-on therapy with functional rehab tailored to your goals, so you can keep swimming strong.