Can you swim breaststroke with a herniated disk ?

Maybe you’ve heard that breaststroke is not healthy when it comes to lower back pain, and it is so vey true. Breaststroke can hurt our lower back and neck if we are not swimming according to our flexibility level.
But the question is, if we swim breaststroke without breathing, will it be painfull as well? If we stretch our arms but only underwater ,as much as 35 cm below the water line, will it cause pain to our neck? And if we go breaststroke kick without lifting our head and separating the knees, so kicking is looser, will it still cause us pain? So the answer is clearly – probably not. So how come breaststroke is classified as unhealthy?
breaststroke 2
Before we answer this question we need to know that freestyle is  backstroke are much healthier when it comes to relaxing , loosening and treating lower back pain.
But what if we don’t know how to swim freestyle, and we only know how to swim breaststroke? So should we stay at home and do nothing? or should we maybe swim breaststroke but in a somewhat modified swimming technique? The answer is again, clear – we should continue swimming even if suffer a bit of pain, but with a couple of different movements which can improve our swimming and overall feeling.

First, know it is very important to open the arms, don’t start your stroke with your legs. Do so only when your head is back in the water, because when you lift your head and open your legs, you arch your lower back. It could hurt your lower back, even if you don’t suffer any pain. So what you should do is straightening your body, meaning, letting your legs drag down (don’t life them up) when lifting your upper body for breathing.

Secondly, your body is loosen only when your head is underwater. So it is only afterwards you can start kicking.

Thirdly, when your are done with a single kick (when you bring your legs together), glide for 3 seconds, while stretching your arms out as much as possible, as well as elongating your shoulders, neck and lower back.


Last but not least, when you lift your head up try to keep your chin underwater. Do not attempt to throw your arms off above water like a competitive swimmer (there is ho need to show off). In other words, lift your head slowly, and as low as you can to just allow yourself to breathe. When you glide for 3 seconds (which is the time period after your pulling stroke and before starting your kicking) don’t arch your back. Try to keep as a neutral body position as you possibly can.
breatstroke 1
Keep swimming WEST technique breaststroke without hurting your back, because even if you don’t swim correctly, it’s better than laying around on the couch doing nothing. Aerobic activity is important for your body, brain and mind. So it’s very important to continue swimming, and after reading this article, you should know how to swim correctly.

If you do want to learn how to swim freestyle?Fill in the WEST swimming technique diagnose questionnaire  and you will get your 50% off coupon to your first course.

 

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