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Niggling injuries with S&S

Waking3094

Level 1 Valued Member
Wondering if others have experienced similar issues with shoulders, lower biceps and elbows with 1H swings?

I've got about 20 or so S&S sessions in the books with 24KG and noticing some soreness in my lower biceps at the elbow joint.

My right shoulder has some pain/soreness (front shoulder as I lift my arm to my ear). The shoulder could have been caused early on as I recall a TGU getting away from me a little bit with my shoulder not full packed.

Wondering though if 1H swings could be causing lower biceps issue and shoulder as I swing back, shoulder can internally rotate and my wrist will as well.

Technique? Should shoulders be kept close to parallel on back swing and minimal internal rotation of the wrist?
 
Waking3094 said:
Wondering if others have experienced similar issues with shoulders, lower biceps and elbows with 1H swings?

I've got about 20 or so S&S sessions in the books with 24KG and noticing some soreness in my lower biceps at the elbow joint.

My right shoulder has some pain/soreness (front shoulder as I lift my arm to my ear). The shoulder could have been caused early on as I recall a TGU getting away from me a little bit with my shoulder not full packed.

Wondering though if 1H swings could be causing lower biceps issue and shoulder as I swing back, shoulder can internally rotate and my wrist will as well.

Technique? Should shoulders be kept close to parallel on back swing and minimal internal rotation of the wrist?
Click to expand...
YES as I get older I have to limit the stress on my elbows. Its definitely a lower bicep type thing as the issue is from Pulling movements. No more KB Cleans for me. And no more heavy 1-arm Swings. 2-arm swings are fine as the 2 arms share the load. Also no pullups. For me its an age thing with my connective tissue getting less flexible.
 
I guess I'll be the first to suggest you post a video of your swing for a form check (if you are comfortable with it).

Without more details, here are just a couple thoughts. Bear in mind they are basically guesses (and most definitely not medical advice), since we can't see what exactly your swing look like.

A lot of people equate shoulder internal rotation with injury, but that's not really entirely accurate. Your shoulders need the ability to internally rotate. The question is whether your shoulder is doing something at a certain range of motion that could be causing your issue(s). I would tentatively agree that it's more likely something going awry during a TGU is what set the shoulder off, though swings might aggravate the issue. Impingement sorts of issues are linked more to the scapluae not moving well enough. A video of a TGU might also be helpful.

When you swing, is your elbow fully extended, or is there a slight bend? Are you "pulling" with the elbow joint (i.e. slightly bending it somewhere during your swing)? By "fully extended," I mean straight, not forcefully locked out.
 
I have faced a very similar issues. So this is not medical advice, I am just telling you my story ;)

The lower biceps thing - although not during one arm swing, but during snatch. Believe it or not, some isolation biceps work helped me. Did only 2-arm swings at that time.

Shoulders - this has been a long story, but it's noticeably better now. I added horizontal rowing, single bell overhead squat* and more halos to whatever routine I am currently on. Also iso contractions of lats during day provided some relief. TGU was not worsening my symptoms, but it was not making them better, definitely.

I have noticed that my shoulders generally can't handle higher volume of one arm swing combined with one arm clean&press - like kettlebell red zone. Unfortunately nothing for me.

If whatever shoulder issue is acute, I switch to KB AXE-like training (2 hand swing) for some time and spend the rest of your training time by improving shoulder health.

*: many people can't do them due to mobility limitations, but IMHO single bell overhead walking can have very similar benefits.
 
Thanks all for the tips and advice!

Here are front and side views of 1H swings with 24kg

TRIM 20240115 154744

TRIM 20240115 154903

I started S&S after a few years away from kettlebells and trained inconsistently with adjustable dumbbells.

I did start out with reacquainting myself with various exercises and used an 18kg for a few S&S sessions before jumping up to the 24kg

For some reason my form feels great in my head but when looking at myself now I see I got some work to do.

My elbow might be a little bent at the back swing as my wrist turns in, my shoulder is far from paralell,

Thanks for the feedback
 
Waking3094 said:
Wondering if others have experienced similar issues with shoulders, lower biceps and elbows with 1H swings?

I've got about 20 or so S&S sessions in the books with 24KG and noticing some soreness in my lower biceps at the elbow joint.

My right shoulder has some pain/soreness (front shoulder as I lift my arm to my ear). The shoulder could have been caused early on as I recall a TGU getting away from me a little bit with my shoulder not full packed.

Wondering though if 1H swings could be causing lower biceps issue and shoulder as I swing back, shoulder can internally rotate and my wrist will as well.

Technique? Should shoulders be kept close to parallel on back swing and minimal internal rotation of the wrist?
Click to expand...
This is what helped and is still helping me in many ways, including those issues that you are mentioning. Hang On! The Forgotten Anti-Gravity Exercise Everyone Should Start Doing | StrongFirst
 
My elbow/bicep issues from 1H swings were mainly due to poor technique while parking the bell… My arm was not straight so instead of a smooth controlled parking, I was yanking the bell. (Tough it was barely noticeable, the impact is serious and could hurt anyone young,old, strong, weak does not matter.
 
Also look at the TGU. I had elbow issues on my right side. I noticed after a lot of frustration that my wrist wasn’t totally straight when doing TGU on the right side. It cause golfers elbow pretty bad. It was easy to see at the start of the TGU when I was on my back.
 
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