Ever break a bone while swimming?

I didn't think it was possible, certainly not likely but I did it. I don't mean slipping on the deck and breaking an arm. I mean "while swimming". Two nights ago, going into my backstroke turn in the middle of my 200IM, I realized too late that the backstroke flags had been taken down. I arched my neck to look upside down toward the wall to guage the distance, BAM, I slammed face first into the wall. I came up with a pretty small gash on my nose and cut on my forehead. It wasn't so much painful as startling and certainly embarrassing. Once the bleeding stopped, I thought I should go see about getting it stitched at our local, friendly ER. While in the waiting room, I realized my face hurt...ALOT, so they did an x-ray and sure enough a broken nose. I've never broken a bone in my life (knock on wood). I quit running 18 months ago b/c I had become so injury prone in my late 30's/early 40's. It's not so bad though, as broken bones go. I'll be back in the pool in a few days once my stitches are gone. The bone will take 4-6 weeks to heal but that shouldn't keep me out of the pool. Just curious if I'm unique in this regard.
Parents
  • I have never broken a bone all by myself. Someone slugged me in the face in an OW race in 1998 and broke my nose for me, however. When my former coach was a teen, someone threw a kickboard at her just as she was diving in. The kickboard and her head managed to connect just right and she broke a vertebra in her neck (no permanent injury, though). I gave myself a concussion once about five or six years ago by daydreaming and missing the flags and backstroking right into the wall. Fortunately, I was slacking and the concussion was minor. I was disoriented and sort of dizzy for a while and I had a low-grade headache for a few days.
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  • I have never broken a bone all by myself. Someone slugged me in the face in an OW race in 1998 and broke my nose for me, however. When my former coach was a teen, someone threw a kickboard at her just as she was diving in. The kickboard and her head managed to connect just right and she broke a vertebra in her neck (no permanent injury, though). I gave myself a concussion once about five or six years ago by daydreaming and missing the flags and backstroking right into the wall. Fortunately, I was slacking and the concussion was minor. I was disoriented and sort of dizzy for a while and I had a low-grade headache for a few days.
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