Hmm, after all the great feedback and working very hard (and succeeding!) for last three weeks to get my sad brain to shut up and my body to get into the pool, I fell and broke my hand. :shakeshead:
So now my question is, has anyone ever swum in a waterproof cast (doctor said it was a possibility once I'm a little bit healed)? I've asked a few people and have been advised against it, in that they say these casts begin to reek quite quickly (I'm assuming that at least for a few weeks I won't be able to take it on/off).
Perhaps this will be my opportunity to cross-train extensively.... Take up ballet again.... Shoot! is all I can say. Four to eight weeks of cast-ville.
Advice re waterproof casts? (I did search here but nothing popped up.)
isobel
OH - ME!! ME!! I've had TWO!
I swam 2004 SCM Zones with one (right arm, short arm cast) and then 2005 LC Nationals with another one (left arm, full arm cast).
they're a pain in the ass to dry off, but if you've got some hand-dryers at your facility, spend some time there to help the process along. i thought the waterproofness was well worth it. I did a lot of kicking and it was after those injuries that my legs really kicked in (pun intended) on my distance swims. I started swimming about 3 weeks after the casts were first put on. Swimming will put a strain on your shoulder so be careful, don't try to go too fast at first, and work a lot on your technique. You'll notice with the limited range of motion of your arm some areas for correction in your stroke.
lastly, I will mention that unless your doctor instructs you that swimming will cause death, I think it is very beneficial to the healing process. In the first instance, I was in the water, kicking, 3 weeks after the break, and by week 6, was swimming about 80% effort and 80% normal yardage. I did a couple meets after that, and the cast was off in 13 weeks. With cast #2, I was in the water 3x during the first 4 weeks with the full arm cast (warmup and 2 races at nationals), then took it really easy getting back in the swim of things. That injury, which was the exact same style of break to the same bone on the other arm, had me in a cast for 16 weeks, and when the weather gets bad, that is the wrist that hurts. My point here is that I think being in the water helped the bloodflow needed to heal my broken bones. Since I was doing a lot of swimming with injury #1, there was a lot more activity in the bloodstream and I think that one healed quicker and better because of the swimming. :cane::toohurt:
OH - ME!! ME!! I've had TWO!
I swam 2004 SCM Zones with one (right arm, short arm cast) and then 2005 LC Nationals with another one (left arm, full arm cast).
they're a pain in the ass to dry off, but if you've got some hand-dryers at your facility, spend some time there to help the process along. i thought the waterproofness was well worth it. I did a lot of kicking and it was after those injuries that my legs really kicked in (pun intended) on my distance swims. I started swimming about 3 weeks after the casts were first put on. Swimming will put a strain on your shoulder so be careful, don't try to go too fast at first, and work a lot on your technique. You'll notice with the limited range of motion of your arm some areas for correction in your stroke.
lastly, I will mention that unless your doctor instructs you that swimming will cause death, I think it is very beneficial to the healing process. In the first instance, I was in the water, kicking, 3 weeks after the break, and by week 6, was swimming about 80% effort and 80% normal yardage. I did a couple meets after that, and the cast was off in 13 weeks. With cast #2, I was in the water 3x during the first 4 weeks with the full arm cast (warmup and 2 races at nationals), then took it really easy getting back in the swim of things. That injury, which was the exact same style of break to the same bone on the other arm, had me in a cast for 16 weeks, and when the weather gets bad, that is the wrist that hurts. My point here is that I think being in the water helped the bloodflow needed to heal my broken bones. Since I was doing a lot of swimming with injury #1, there was a lot more activity in the bloodstream and I think that one healed quicker and better because of the swimming. :cane::toohurt:
