WHAT CAUSES INJURIES TO THE SHOULDERS OF WATER POLO PLAYERS?
Athletes with a long history of participation in sports involving repetitive overhead motions or throwing, such as water polo, swimming, volleyball or baseball, are more prone to suffering injuries to the shoulder. Water polo players are prone to shoulder injuries from both direct trauma and overuse. The most common cause of physical trauma when the arm is in an extended overhead position, is when the player is in the act of shooting, and has the arm pulled back from behind. Many water polo players start as competitive swimmers and have accumulated a lot of mileage in the pool before they even pick up a ball. Overuse is caused by the repetitive rotation of the shoulder joint, especially when performing the crawl or butterfly swimming strokes. Add to this the stress from taking thousands of overhead shots and passes, and the result can be pain, numbness, and weakness in the shoulder joint; sometimes resulting in the inability to move the arm or shoulder. The repetitive stretching of the
