Ever break a bone while swimming?

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:45:47 GMT

Broke my 5th metacarpal backstroking in a stupid pool with messed up flags that are like 20ft off the ground making it hard to judge the distance. I know a couple people who have broken fingers and noses. Nothing too crazy though.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:32:45 GMT

I haven't broken anything of my own, but I hit one of my teammates' hands with my paddle. My arms in freestyle are more like fly because they're so long (I'm 5'8" and my wingspan is 5'10"), so I hit people all the time when we're all crowded in. I've strained my Achilles tendon practicing turns, cuz I didn't get my whole foot on the wall. I got some bad stress fractures from ballet for nine years, and pushing off like that aggravates them.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

orca1946 — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:18:25 GMT

Last night at practice , a guy wearing a watch slammed into my hand ^ cut it open! Big bruise & an open cut 1/2 inch long, but not broken - I hope!

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

jethro — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:53:45 GMT

I thought I did. Touching the wall at the end of a 100 free, I jammed my left middle finger. It turned purple and I couldn't bend it for a few days. I still swam a couple of events afterwards. Plus, with that particular finger stuck extended the way it was, it didn't affect my driving either!

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

coffeegirl — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:57:25 GMT

My 15 year old broke her middle toe last week playing water polo. Probably kicked someone in the shin. Consequences of moving to the dark side LOL!

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:22:50 GMT

I haven't but I have known a teammate who broke her nose the same way, and another teammate who hit her hand on someone else's paddle and broke her finger. Feel better soon!

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

lucyj — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 08:59:00 GMT

Yes - left little finger on the head of an oncoming swimmer in the same lane. Happened just after a turn at 800Y in a 900Y swim. Finished the swim (so Coach wouldn't get mad). Coach's parting words as I left to get it x-rayed, "If it is broken, don't let them put a cast on it!" It was broken (green-stick fracture), had a splint put on it, and never missed a workout. A teammate broke his hand at Nationals one year, on a relay finish. Was so ticked off that he punched a wall later that night and broke the other hand.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 05:03:26 GMT

After taking 20 years off swimming I ruptured my disk between the lower two verterbrae in my neck while swimming butterfly. I think the problem was already waiting to happen and it just finished it off. It sounded like a gunshot when it happened and scared the tar out of me. I know its not a bone but I had to have the two verterbrae fused togehther so it kind of counts.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:48:04 GMT

I dislocated a finger when it got caught in a lane-line I have always been afraid of this. I feel like I have come close more than a few times.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:43:27 GMT

Lifeguards in SoCal used to have a big meet at the Coliseum pool every summer -- maybe they still do? Carpinteria State Beach (only 7 towers) was a powerhouse for a few summers in the mid sixties and won almost all events except for one, the dummy tow. That event was owned by the LA County guards. The dummy tow had a swimmer with a rope attached race 50 meters then clip onto a weighted 5 gallon metal can, then two burly teammates would pull him and the can back to the start. The pullers would alternate grabbing the rope at the pool edge then spinning and racing toward the chain link fence about 5 yards behind the blocks, where good technique dictated a half twist/crash and bounce off the fence at the exact moment the other puller stated his run. The swimmer dragging rope the whole way covered the first 50 meters in a little under 30 seconds but impressive displays of negative splitation by the top teams put the total time at a little over 50 seconds with the top speed achieved in the last few meters. We had a great sprinter named Jim Bailey (Santa Monica High) and he got down there first and it was neck and neck as our large and quick pullers had spent a lot of time practicing. But they should have practiced more under race conditions. Bailey was on his back doing a reverse butterfly arm action and literally skipping over the water when the race ended abruptly with his head loudly cracking into the wall! There were hundreds of spectators screaming throughout the race but it became instantly silent. Bailey slowly tilted his face skyward and there was a slight communal relief, perhaps he will live? A quick thinking teammate (lifeguards are good in a crunch), promptly cracked a beer and poured it over our fallen comrade's face and the roars of laughter healed him instantly. We were glad he didn't die and proud to have finished a close second to another amazing LA County team. :chug:

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:48:00 GMT

I dislocated a finger when it got caught in a lane-line as I came out of a turn. Ach! It really killed! I can't imagine what dislocating a shoulder feels like... I did the exact same thing. It was not pleasant. I thought I broke my heel. I smacked it on the gutter doing a flip turn in a 50 with goggles full of water. Just a bad bruise, but it hurt for several days.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:51:22 GMT

I broke my foot this past December pushing off the wall. Wasn't really paying attention on an easy set and kicked the wall fracturing my middle metatarsals. Six weeks in a boot and just now getting back in the water. Takes some real coordination to pull off an injury like that.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 08:13:54 GMT

I broke a toe pushing off the wall.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:54:38 GMT

On the other hand, our air conditioning repairman just told us a story yesterday how he broke his ankle noodling... hit the side of the pool really hard while water running or some such thing.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

gigi — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:52:03 GMT

I dislocated a finger when it got caught in a lane-line as I came out of a turn. Ach! It really killed! I can't imagine what dislocating a shoulder feels like...

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

pendaluft — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:21:16 GMT

On the other hand, our air conditioning repairman just told us a story yesterday how he broke his ankle noodling... All injuries lead back to air conditioning it seems!

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 11:21:56 GMT

I dislocated a woman's shoulder in a collision 30 years ago. Three of my teammates have fractured someones hand in their younger days. One of the local master swimmers has fractured her hand during a practice. The former president of the USMS fractured his hand at the long course nationals at the Woodlands touching the wall. The former trainer of the national team has seen a fracture resulting from catching the lane lines. I think swimming injuries are more common than we think, but if you consider the number of laps swum every day they are rare.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

The Fortress — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:41:39 GMT

Dropped a monofin on my big toe a few years ago. Had a severe bloody gash, but the x-ray was negative. However, I've had chronic tendonitis, and possibly arthritis, there ever since. Many, many jammed fingers on finishes. Breaking doesn't seem like the biggest issue in swimming itself, but tendonitis is just as painful.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

swimshark — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:25:01 GMT

Wow. Reading all of these makes me cringe. So far the only thing I've done is dislocate my shoulder. I pushed off the wall during warm-up in a HS meet and someone came towards me. I only missed 1 meet.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

jim thornton — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:34:08 GMT

During a relay in high school, one of the thick skulled Kiesling brothers finished his leg in the race, and my brother jumped off the blocks, arms swimming outward. Mr. Kiesling unfortunately stuck his head up to see what his split was, and John's had crashed into the granite-like slab of bone covering his tender gray soup matter. The skull was fine, but my brother broke a metatarcil in his hand. At another meet, upon wearing an advanced speed suit for the 1000 i did not realize how much faster, and how many fewer strokes it would take to reach the wall, I had my eyes closed and misjudged it, jamming my wedding ring finer into the wall, narly preciippitatieng fraracture. and with it gafreneouhs. the dust y mould fog is irrediatel ggbt so deeplj relalazidng thatk iiiijmihoooooodjmieasdn sojethhg. yest it iiitttmmighghtwl6y

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Atlantic — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:48:23 GMT

I think Emily Silver from Cal broke her hand on a finish at the '08 Olympic Trials. I've smashed my face and hand (at the same time) during a backstroke finish. Didn't break anything, but I saw stars. Also misjudged a flip turn (on back) and slammed both heels into a gutter during a race (that hurt soooo bad). In high school, I was hit in the eye with paddles (while wearing sweedes). That was not fun.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

joshua — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:16:19 GMT

Thanks guys. You've given me fears I never had :badday:

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:47:29 GMT

I know of a Jr Natl caliber swimmer who hit the pool bottom and fractured a neck vertebra (fortunately no spinal cord injury, but did require surgery to fuse/stabilize the neck). I recall a tall very thin Masters swimmer who dislocated his shoulder diving from the blocks. His hands came apart when he entered the water and it was kind of a freak accident, no impact with ropes, swimmers, pool bottom, etc. He had very little muscle mass. We also had a kid with a brittle bone condition for a while. We couldn't guarantee him his own lane to avoid being kicked during practice or to give him more room away from the laneropes. The injuries described have all seemed to involve some contact/impact or a preexisting condition. I wonder if anyone ever broke a bone or had an avulsion injury just with a strong muscle contraction while swimming.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

orca1946 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:24:42 GMT

NO ! Pulled a few muscles , but never broke anything.

RE: Ever break a bone while swimming?

Former Member — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:17:58 GMT

Never saw anyone break a bone, but I saw a backstroker dislocate his shoulder on a turn during an NCAA division III national championships in the 1980s. He was helped from the pool in great pain.