Injury Prevention Strategies for Open Water Swimmers: A Guide for Coaches and Physiotherapists

Open water swimmers face unique injury risks due to high stroke volumes, unpredictable environments and prolonged spinal loading. For strength and conditioning coaches and sports physiotherapists, targeted prevention strategies are critical to support athlete resilience and performance. This article explores evidence-based approaches to reduce shoulder overload, manage spinal stress, improve cervical control during sighting and optimise training load management in elite open water swimmers.