Lemons to lemonade! Training w/ a fractured arm

Related a bit to this thread: https://forum.marathonswimmers.org/discussion/721/

For the last few weeks (~8 or so), my training has been pretty seriously impacted by an "argument" that I had with gravity.... and lost. In a nutshell..... one fall -- 5 in juries (sprained ankle, bruised him, bruised & scraped back, sprained wrist, and a compression fracture of the radial head ---- all on my right side). The severity of my fracture was as mild as it could be,.... yeah, I Googled that type of injury, and the photos of what COULD have happened..... scary. I did not need surgery, nor casting/splinting, just significant restrictions on movements and activities and a sling when out in public. I did get restricted to no more than 10 minutes per hour on the computer/mouse (lololololol), but I was able to adapt my working and teaching. My department also tasked a student worker to be my scribe for grading purposes.

Until two weeks ago, I was permitted to swim ONLY kicking. No arms. Plus, hands on spotting when exiting the pool, using a ladder, NOT pushing up from the side.

So, my plan of a long swim this winter in Mobile Bay? OUT. ( I was close to cancelling it anyway, but this was the nail in that coffin). Entering my local Master's meet (held around Valentine's day)... questionable, depending on how well I heal.

I chatted with my coach, and we adapted goals...well, actually just cancelled event-based goals until I'm cleared at 100%. BUT, decided to use this time to work on kicking mechanics.

My injury was in early October. Since then, I've done about 31,000+ yards of kicking (The last two weeks I've been permitted to use my arms, but only as recovery/warmup/cooldown at a super easy effort, and no more than 1000 yd/m per workout).

Between my coaches, we worked first on shaping my kick. We worked on feeling the glutes engage properly, feeling the hamstrings.... keeping my feet UNDER the water to avoid kicking air. Then, we worked on endurance.... because at first, I couldn't maintain a good shape for very long.

My in-town coach set a goal for me of "by the time [you're] cleared to be 100% swimming effort, you should break 1:00 on an all-out 50 kick. The first effort I had at that task: 1:15. It seemed like a HUGE thing to drop more than 15 seconds off of a 50. I was not entirely sure that it would be possible. After all, the recovery time of my injury is 6-8 weeks (in general). That seemed like an awful short timeline.

So, I switched my workout times from my morning ones (to get more sleep) to the evening ones, and Sunday afternoons. I made sure that my in-town coaches knew what the plan was for me that day, so that they could watch for form as well as help interpret workouts -- or make suggestions for modifications to keep things easy to track in terms of counting and interest.

I "embraced the suck" of working on Breast stroke kick -- and found joy in watching progress as I started to actually feel not just a legal motion in my legs, but actual propulsion. I've had to settle for a long time on a "legal" breast stroke in swim meets.... I'm definitely not a natural breast stroker. lol

I "embraced the suck" of working hard on the shape of FL kick as well.... and worked to feel alllllll of the abs engage when kicking FL on my back w/ fins.

And, I maintained most of my aerobic capacity by using short rests, increasing numbers of repeats, and increased efforts when kicking FR, BK, and on my side. I love my snorkel!

Two weeks ago, I broke 1:00 for that 50.... .I did three 50s in a row, at :58. I contemplated puking in the gutter. JOY!
My FL kick is getting better, although I don't have great endurance there quite yet.
I wake up sore the next day after workouts, knowing that I didn't loaf, and that the workout from the evening before was beneficial.

I say this because quite frankly.... I'm excited that I was able to still make progress during a time that might easily be seen as "ruined". And, because I'm also identifying that there are swimming skills many OW swimmers avoid (using a kick) that can still contribute to successful OW events. Yeah, we don't necessarily have a "sprinty" kick during our longer events. But, having a strong kick available for in the tank can help when rounding buoys, passing other swimmers, working to beat a current/tide, dealing with frisky water conditions, and just overall confidence.

Overall, I was completely out of the water for about 10 days, immediately after the fall. Being back in the water felt really good. And, as an added bonus, none of my students got undeserved "F" grades due to a lack of me being exposed to chlorine. :)

I go to my second PT appointment tomorrow, and am hoping that we'll start working toward more weight bearing so that I'll be ready to exit the pool w/out needing the ladder.... and will be able to start adding more pressure/effort to my arm-based swimming.

Thanks for sticking with me through a long post.

ViveBene

Comments

  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    I also rehabbed a radial head fracture this fall! I am now 16 weeks post fall and 94% back to normal. Happy healing!

  • @abbygirlrose said:
    I also rehabbed a radial head fracture this fall! I am now 16 weeks post fall and 94% back to normal. Happy healing!

    How did you fall?
    How severe was yours? Were you immobilized at all for it, or need surgery?

    I just got my updated "boundary" list from my PT today.
    We're starting "baby levels" of loading the arm for the next few weeks, and through the holidays.

    I'm now permitted sculling, drills, easy touch-turns, and will start "leaning" on table/counter height surfaces.

    Plus, should use the next 4 weeks to work up to a solid 1000 yds of true swimming, and can up the effort to cruise, from just easy.

  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    I fell off a bike while commuting! I will message you Xray pic. I was in a sling for 2 weeks and able to start swimming at around 6 weeks. I successfully did a deck up out of the pool yesterday. It sounds like your PT is much more specific than mine about what you are allowed to do...

  • Yes…….he’s helping me stay smart about returning to “play”. It would be easy at this point to do too much, so it’s good to have that specificity.

    @abbygirlrose said:
    I fell off a bike while commuting! I will message you Xray pic. I was in a sling for 2 weeks and able to start swimming at around 6 weeks. I successfully did a deck up out of the pool yesterday. It sounds like your PT is much more specific than mine about what you are allowed to do...

    abbygirlrose
  • Thanks, @Sara_Wolf . Rotator cuff tendon repair coming up, maybe biceps tenodesis. 9 months to front crawl. I've been wondering what to do - and how not to go crazy.

    Sara_Wolf
  • @ViveBene said:
    Thanks, @Sara_Wolf . Rotator cuff tendon repair coming up, maybe biceps tenodesis. 9 months to front crawl. I've been wondering what to do - and how not to go crazy.

    Glad this is helpful. I strongly recommend working with a swim coach who can help craft your swimming workouts, if possible. Also, if you can join up with a Master's Swim team for your workouts, that can be super helpful, too. You'd have a coach on deck to watch your efforts, and help you shape your kick.

    The "must have" equipment that I used during my kicking workouts:
    Snorkel (and nose plug)
    Fins
    Counting aid (because I can't keep track of repeats beyond 3!)

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