I may have broken my foot today. If not an "avulsion fracture," it’s definitely some kind of deep bone bruise. Very painful. I hope I can still dive, push off, and kick. I’ve been icing it all day, but a red bruise the size of a quarter is blossoming in the affected spot--i.e., on the top of the foot, about half way along a line that stretches between the outside ankle bone and little toe, an inch in from my foot's outside edge.
I did this carrying a bag of garbage outside, slipping on a step, catching myself somewhat violently in midair. Avulsion, as I understand it, is when a tendon, which is stronger than bone, contracts so forcefully it yanks on the bone. I hope I did not snap a boney piece off, but it does seem awfully ironic that A) I just learned about these injuries while interviewing a Baltimore Raven who suffered them twice, and B) yesterday I gave a swimming teammate, who had dropped a cooking pan on the same part of her foot, a hard time about slacking off in practice. Instant Karma's gonna getcha, indeed.
Has anyone had this kind of foot injury? We have our Y regionals next weekend, followed by Y nationals in a couple more weeks. I will probably go to a doctor, but is it possible to swim with a broken (or just very sore foot), and if so, any advice for starts and pushoffs and kicking?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Thanks--I hope you're correct! BTW, did you get to see any of the NCAAs? I used to live in St. Paul and swam a couple meets in that pool.
I think they must have been using a different kind of special water, given the speed those guys were going. 18.76? Not sure if it was more viscous (heavy water) or less viscous (steam?), but that time doesn't seem possible to achieve in the normal water I've experienced!
Jim, one time when I was pushing off the wall for my next set I set my feet too high on the wall to the point where my right foot slipped and as my legs were still in the pushing motion I hit the same spot tht you injured on the edge of the pool.The weird thing is that it hurt but just for e minute or so, I stretched it slightly and actually finished my work-out...But the trouble came later at work...I have to walk a lot at work and I was ok in the beginning of the shift but then closer to the end of it my foot started hurting like hell.It was so bad I got pale and had to sit down with a glass of water for a few minutes.I could not step on it at all.So I got home, iced it up very well, rubbed some sports cream in and you wil not believe it - it was fine the next day.I mean, I felt just slight pain, but overall it was great.And that is it!Judging by the pain I had that very day I thought I might have broken it or something, too, but it was only badly bruised.So I hope you have the same thing, no fractures or anything...
Originally posted by jim thornton
I hope I did not snap a boney piece off, but it does seem awfully ironic that A) I just learned about these injuries while interviewing a Baltimore Raven who suffered them twice, and B) yesterday I gave a swimming teammate, who had dropped a cooking pan on the same part of her foot, a hard time about slacking off in practice.
Instant Karma's Gonna Getcha!
Nah. Poor Jim. As the aforementioned teammate (that "cooking pan, was actually a 70 gallon stock pot - empty, thank God) I do have a great empathy for our injured party....though my injuries, small in nature and large in aggravation for swimming, have been a trial lately.
Back me up here when I say that especially with swimming, the seemingly smallest injuries can cause a havoc in the pool. Take, for instance, Jim's foot and my foot. Even if walking doesn't prove to be a problem, the delicate art of kicking, foot stretched and pointed, can be almost impossible, and forget pushing off the wall!
About a month ago, I was unfortunate enough to break a metacarpal bone in my left hand - while not incredibly painful to write or do most normal activities, the act of trying to swim backstroke, and do a backstroke start, or even grip anything weighty proved to be a struggle. I think people in the sport of swimming are more prone to catastrophic injuries that seem relatively harmless to the rest of the world. I've seen football players suffer through games with fractured wrists, and torn ACL's who would laugh me out of the park for telling them about how horrible it felt to swim with the broken bone in my hand.
As for Jim's instant negative Karma, I sincerely hope his giving me a hard time didn't really have anything to do with his foot, especially since we're leaving for regionals this weekend, and he's worked so hard to get his shoulder injury under control. Poor Jim.
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate accident Jim!....And I hope that it won't be any kind of deterrent for your regional and National competitions coming up........We are all wishing you a speedy recovery here at the Borkowski household!......(also sometimes referred to as the Ski-tribe).
Newmastersswimmer
I had an avulsion fracture in my wrist last winter after I fell snowboarding. I didn't know it was fractured until about a week after I did it, I just thought my wrist was really sore. I could hardly write or do anything, but after wearing a brace for about a week, then it felt fine. Little things still hurt, but for the most part I could work through it. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!
~Kyra
I had a green fracture of my ankle, it was discovered by a Xray. I steped in a pot hole. The hospital doctor wrapped it in a bandage and the next day I swam a 110 yards at the B E Games. It was surely painful, two days latter ankle wrapped and a shot of novacaine swam the 880 relay. Don't fool with it see a doctor get Xrays. I had ankle problems for years after that.
George Park www.swimdownhill.com
I had that happen to me when I was playing rugby. There really wasn't anything a doctor could do for me except give me motrin. I decided to get an ankle brace with magnets on it and that actually helped alot. As for diving off the blocks, I would suggest that you use a track start ( one foot has the toes over the edge) and push off using mostly your good foot.
Great news! Foot is on the mend! I don't quite understand it, but after icing the affected area off and of for a couple days, the pain has all but disappeared. Ordinarily sports injuries take me considerably longer to shrug off, but for whatever reason, Neptune and the other swimming gods appear to have smiled upon my humble metatarsal this time!
Thanks for the advice. I think Mr. Hooked on Swimming predicted the outcome best.
