Hi. 21 Male out of California here. I fractured my lowest vertibra which leads to some leg numbness. Excersize has been helping to lower it, two things I can do now are hockey and I'm trying to swim for excersize but am having trouble. I started doing 1hr a day of freestyle, but the numbness in my legs can last for the entire next day. I'm looking for a swim stroke that is entirely arms. I've tried those leg pad things they never seem to be comfortable, do I put the larger side towards the surface or underwater? And if anyone has had surgery for sciate nerve I'd love to hear about it, I want to get back into soccer and seems near impossible :/. Well thanks for any help.
I returned to swimming 9 years ago mainly for lower back rehab. My experience is this:
-Kickboards......BAD!
-Freestyle....GOOD provided you keep your head and neck aligned when you breathe (roll, don't lift)
-Pull Buoys... not necessary, if you keep your head down, your legs shouldn't drag (kicking or not)
-ART and ROLFING....GOOD (hurts but grin and bear it)
-Also try to engage the lower abdominals for everything!
I couldn't agree more with this post. Pull buoys hurt my back when I tried them. Concentrate on core development and alignment. It prevents nerve aggravation in my back.
Backstroke is not hard on my back, but a backstroke start is. If you do backstroke in an IM, you don't have a backstroke start, but you have to do fly and that bothers my lower back. Too bad because I like it. I am picking *** as my second stroke. If I concentrate on core alignment and don't let my form go bad, it is OK on my back. I think the trick is to not overpower your kick. I feel it is a good stroke to give my shoulders a break from free. You use chest of course, but the ROM is different from free and I think it is a nice alternative.
If you broke your back and have leg numbness, you need to follow the direction of doctors. If you are not a conditioned swimmer, your form can fall apart in a one hour swim and this can lead to problems. Take it slow. How long ago was your back injury?
I returned to swimming 9 years ago mainly for lower back rehab. My experience is this:
-Kickboards......BAD!
-Freestyle....GOOD provided you keep your head and neck aligned when you breathe (roll, don't lift)
-Pull Buoys... not necessary, if you keep your head down, your legs shouldn't drag (kicking or not)
-ART and ROLFING....GOOD (hurts but grin and bear it)
-Also try to engage the lower abdominals for everything!
I couldn't agree more with this post. Pull buoys hurt my back when I tried them. Concentrate on core development and alignment. It prevents nerve aggravation in my back.
Backstroke is not hard on my back, but a backstroke start is. If you do backstroke in an IM, you don't have a backstroke start, but you have to do fly and that bothers my lower back. Too bad because I like it. I am picking *** as my second stroke. If I concentrate on core alignment and don't let my form go bad, it is OK on my back. I think the trick is to not overpower your kick. I feel it is a good stroke to give my shoulders a break from free. You use chest of course, but the ROM is different from free and I think it is a nice alternative.
If you broke your back and have leg numbness, you need to follow the direction of doctors. If you are not a conditioned swimmer, your form can fall apart in a one hour swim and this can lead to problems. Take it slow. How long ago was your back injury?
