A study in American Journal of Sports Medicine investigated how athletic training changes the physical characteristics of competitive swimmers.
The researchers identified 43 competitive adolescent swimmers and 29 control athletes who were not experiencing any shoulder, neck or back pain. The participants were evaluated three times, in which they completed a physical examination related to forward head and forward shoulder posture and subacromial space distance.
Here's what you need to know:
1. The swimmers had significantly greater decreases in subacromial space distance compared with the controls.
2. The swimmers had significantly greater increases in forward shoulder posture compared with the controls.
3. Changes in forward shoulder posture and changes in subacromial space distance were significantly associated with one another; as forward shoulder posture increased, subacromial space significantly decreased.
The researchers concluded: "Because of their training load, swimmers experience a decrease in subacromial space distance and an increase in forward shoulder posture over the course of 12 weeks of training, potentially making these athletes more vulnerable to the development of shoulder pain and injury."