Which Swimming Stroke is Good For My Back?

Which swimming stroke is good for my back? I always use breaststroke, but I understand crawl is better for my lower back. I try front crawl, but my legs ache, and I cannot get far with a proper motion. I am 70yrs old and have swum since 6yrs old. I want to keep fit and find walking my dogs and swimming the best way. Do you think I need lessons?

Front crawl is not the only swimming stroke that will take pressure away from your lower back. In fact, there are a few ways of swimming that will help complement your breaststroke.

Before spending money on swimming lessons, try some of the following suggestions.

Swimming on your back is a great alternative to breaststroke and is better for the lower back. You do not have to swim full-stroke backstroke, using the arms and all that. You could swim on your back with your arms by your sides, using your hands to paddle under the water gently. If you are unsure, using a float or a swim woggle under your arms will help give you confidence.

Many people make the mistake of kicking too much when swimming front crawl, resulting in aching, tired legs. Most propulsion for front crawl comes from the arm action, and even that does not have to be fast.

Try your front crawl, placing less emphasis on the leg kick and more on the arms, but perform the stroke slowly. You may find you will go further without really trying.

You can also try swimming breaststroke but place less emphasis on the leg kick. Although this is technically incorrect, the fact that you are swimming and doing some exercise is more important. The goal is to keep fit, not qualify for the Olympics.

Breaststroke can place pressure on the lower back in two ways. Firstly the powerful whip action leg kick places a slight impact and compression on the lower spine. Secondly, the body position is at a slight angle rather than flat, like front crawl and backstroke, which places an unnatural arch at the lower back.

Both can be adjusted to take some pressure away from the lower back. Firstly kick with less power and use your arms more, as mentioned already. Secondly, make your body position flatter by swimming with your chin lower (maybe even face down) and extending your legs out further and higher behind you.

You do not have to eliminate breaststroke from your swimming. Maybe reduce the amount of breaststroke you swim and replace some of your lengths with my suggestions above.

My best-selling book The Complete Beginners Guide To Swimming contains over 80 separate swimming exercises to help all parts of basic swimming. You can download it, print out the parts you need and take them to your pool to try out. Click the link below for more information.

The Complete Beginners Guide To Swimming 

Professional guidance and support to help you through every stage of learning how to swim.

Discover everything you need from first entering the pool and building confidence to floating and breathing. Plus, 82 exercises to master the four basic swimming strokes.(click here for an instant preview) 

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Swimming After Back Surgery

I am resuming swimming after back surgery, and I need to get the kicking going. Years ago, I was comfortable with my kick and my front crawl. Now at age 75, and after back surgery, I am resuming swimming.

Good to hear that you are resuming swimming after back surgery. Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise and rehabilitation for back surgery, and front crawl is one of the safest strokes. It is also one of the most tiring!

Before you begin swimming, you must get the all-clear from your physician or back consultant.

The amount you can kick your legs will now be restricted due to the build-up of scar tissue and the general lack of flexibility from your surgery. It is important to build up slowly and maintain a comfortable tolerance level for your back.

The leg kick must have relaxed knee and ankle joints so that downbeat motion can provide some propulsion. Kicking whilst holding a float or kickboard will isolate your legs and make them work very hard. Swimming with fins on will help achieve a good relaxed action.

Keep in perspective why it is you are swimming front crawl. Is it for fitness reasons? Is it for rehabilitation? I'm guessing it is a combination of both. Whatever the reason, the leg kick for front crawl is not the most important thing here. Performing the whole stroke, arms, legs, and breathing will increase fitness and help rehabilitation. Remember that most propulsion for front crawl comes from the arm action, and long-distance endurance swimmers of front crawl do not use their legs at all for propulsion but only to balance the arm action.

One of my best-selling books How To Swim Front Crawl containpayments loads of exercises to help improve your technique and make your front crawl easier. It also contains some specific leg kick exercises. You can download it, print out the parts you need and take them to your pool to try out. Click the link below for more information.

How To Swim Front Crawl

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