Dr. Hayden Cohen
Ocean Swimming: Nature’s salt therapy
I love ocean swimming, especially this time of year when the water’s starting to heat up again and the sun’s up that little bit earlier. For those that enjoy swimming regularly, you’d often find that once you’re in the water and swimming, the body frees up, breathing is easy, and everything flows. I get a kick out of seeing others enjoying this as much as possible and enjoy helping them with osteopathy so they can get out there and ‘’just keep swimming’’.
Technique is everything when it comes to swimming, but add in an ocean current, a sideways chop with a breezy wind and all sorts of elements and sometimes technique can be ‘’loosely’’ adhered to.
Factors that affect ocean swimmers:
BREATHING:
One of the other factors that often goes unnoticed, is the ‘’ease’’ to which you can get that full breath in. Lots of people have difficulty breathing at the best of times, often limited through stress and posture. This can carry through and impinge upon your swim time, power, and efficiency by using more energy just to breathe and diverting this away from your other actions like kicking.
I recommend working towards having an open chest. That includes good ribcage mobility, diaphragm flexibility and pliability. Some good daily breathing habits is a great way to get you swimming those few extra miles.
SORENESS AND STIFFNESS:
One of the biggest limitations I’ve found for swimmers, is sore/stiff necks, and stiff lower backs. Things like desk work, being hunched over power tools all day, or standing in shoes on hard surfaces, leave these areas under chronic strain.
The most common complaint is either ‘’I just can’t turn my neck for a good breath’’, or ‘’I’m lacking power in my kick’’.
How can we help?
Here at Quay Osteo, we have a range of interventions from Osteopathic treatment for misalignments of the pelvis, neck and low back, to specific stretches or exercise advice. We address key or weakened areas so you can kick and turn that neck with power and ease. We also look at the mechanics of breathing, and the nerve pathways involved in this, seeking to find balance in the body that enables the freest, easiest breathing style possible.
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