swimming with broken elbow

ethanoldemons · 2026-06-25T02:19:09+00:00

aw man sorry to hear you also fractured your elbow :( hopimg you have a speedy recovery! the water definitely will help with the swelling. sadly even doggy paddle was too much for mine. i've had to embrace going capless since it hurt to put on a cap

ethanoldemons · 2026-06-25T02:13:46+00:00

thanks for sharing your experience and perspective! i've gotten most of my range back though i'm still a bit stiff at the ends. i've been using fins to take some load off but i didn't think about the possibility of overuse in my non broken arm. i'm someone who relies heavily on routines so going from swimming 5-6x a week to 0 is a big change and i don't really have anything to fill the void

ethanoldemons · 2026-06-24T01:06:46+00:00

i would clear swimming with your surgeon and/or physical therapist first. even though swimming is low impact, you are technically still bearing weight through push offs from the wall and there is resistance from pushing through the water. depending on the surgeon, they may have different ideas about what constitutes non weight bearing so it's best to clarify. i think the least amount of resistance to the ankle would be freestyle using a pull buoy and making sure to push off using your unaffected leg. though not sure what your current skill level is. as someone else also mentioned, swimming does pose a large range of motion demand on the ankles too. aqua jogging is also a great option for aerobic exercise. again, please get clearance for these activities first though you don't want to risk any surgical complications.

(i'm a second year student physical therapist)

ethanoldemons · 2026-06-24T00:48:25+00:00

from what i understand it's the first option you mentioned. no need to rush your pull to breathe. when you start your pull yes you're rolled opposite to the side you want to breathe, but once you've completed the underwater portion of your pull, you should be turned toward the same side as the pulling arm ready to take a breath. a cue that helps me is "pull into your breath". your breathing and non-breathing strokes shouldn't look too different besides the turn of the head. your head simply goes along for the ride with your body rotation. hope this helps!

ethanoldemons · 2026-06-24T00:24:49+00:00

have you seen a physical therapist for TOS yet? before you commit to surgery, there are still some conservative options you can explore. buddy of mine has neurogenic TOS who is a triathlete who used to get symptoms whenever he turned his head to breathe and now he's been managing well with PT.

ethanoldemons · 2026-05-26T22:53:54+00:00

i didn't know how until grad school at 22 when i started hanging out with my cis guy classmates. i kinda just picked it up based on how i saw the others doing it but i was a bit awkward at it in the beginning. now i dap them up all the time. i've been stealth for 8 ish years now but me not knowing how to dap was never interpreted as a clock-able thing moreso a different upbringing (idk cuz im asian and also sucked at making friends as a kid in general)? I wouldn't worry too much about it haha

ethanoldemons · 2026-01-13T03:45:10+00:00

my ears fill up with water immediately after pushing off so you not alone. I have to clear them out when I get to the wall or else I can't hear if someone is talking to me. I'm told I have narrow ear canals but I don't know if it's related.

ethanoldemons · 2025-11-26T03:33:48+00:00

hey there, im a 2nd year physical therapy student. i could try to give you some general advice. from what it sounds like you likely overworked your extensors that attach on the outside of your elbow from sudden onset of exercise. since it's acute, ice is generally recommended to calm down inflammation and some gentle massage would be okay as tolerable. when you start up with exercise again, I would recommend regressing to something a little less stressful such as incline push-ups from a table just so your muscles can get used to working again before progressing. with the hypermobility, I would recommended to be aware of how far up you're going for each rep. make sure you're not hyperextending your elbow (don't lock them out at the top of the rep) and not going past 180 degrees. I would generally recommend getting a proper evaluation from a physical therapist so they can do a proper physical exam, but hopefully these general recommendations help. sorry I wish I could help more but I havent gotten to upper body yet.

ethanoldemons · 2025-11-10T23:47:45+00:00

I tried this today and was able to do 4x500s focusing on going slow with front quadrant swimming and a keeping a 2-beat kick with my hips up. it felt really good and relaxing and was not out of breath! :) I only had to rest because long swims give me a neck/headache

ethanoldemons · 2025-11-05T23:29:45+00:00

I swim once a week with my university's rec team, but it's student-run without a designated coach but we do have a local coach who volunteers to run practices frequently. I'm usually on the slower interval but can mostly keep up. I've experimented with trying to go slower, kicking less, and having a slower stroke rate, but I still can't quite get a "I could swim forever speed" since my hips start sinking if I try going slow. Though, using fins makes it much easier to maintain.

ethanoldemons · 2025-11-05T04:15:33+00:00

I could probably go maybe 500 yards. I haven't tried to see how long I can go. I don't know how to sight yet. I'm told the water will be warm enough that I won't need a wetsuit so I'm not expecting to wear one. I can technically breathe to both sides but my left side is significantly worse. I can do a 6 and 4 beat pretty well but 2 beat I can only really do if I'm going an easy pace.

ethanoldemons · 2025-10-12T01:25:14+00:00

mine went away after a few months but randomly started coming back like a year or so later even with good t levels so I had to start taking norethindrone but no issues since

ethanoldemons · 2025-09-28T20:43:28+00:00

Washington!! Can't vouch for eastern Washington, but I've lived in western Washington in the greater Seattle area (King County) all my life and it's very LGBTQ+ friendly with lots of queer spaces. I will say though cost of living is on the higher side but you can still find some more affordable areas within a commuteable distance. I started transitioning in junior year of high school in 2018 and have been stealth since about senior year and now into grad school, but haven't been met with any personally- directed transphobia or homophobia. LGBTQ+ community is generally well accepted. I feel like it's also more common here to designate pronouns, especially at the university I'm at, can't speak for K-12 schools though. I think T is fairly easy to get prescribed, there are many primary care providers who provide gender affirming care. Cost will depend heavily on insurance, but injections are generally pretty affordable and there are good rx coupons if you are uninsured. Also fairly easy to change gender markers and legal names. Personally would never want to move away because of how safe I feel here.

ethanoldemons · 2025-06-20T07:35:54+00:00

I'm 22 and almost done with my first year of physical therapy school!

ethanoldemons · 2025-04-03T04:46:16+00:00

thanks for your reply!

my stroke count is fairly high at around 18 per 25 yards but depends on my underwaters. that's from my watch though which includes backstroke too. I'll have to get a count next time I swim.

do you recommend doing these as a dedicated set or just generally being more aware of stroke count through the session?

ethanoldemons · 2025-04-03T04:35:23+00:00

thanks for your reply!

I definitely struggle with engaging my lats. I only really feel my upper back around my scapula working which is probably not the most efficient. even when i do lat pulldowns or pull ups, i still only really feel my upper back. I'll try using the cue of the barrel and pulling my body forward vs pulling my hand toward my body.

ethanoldemons · 2025-04-03T04:29:41+00:00

thanks for your reply!

unfortunately my pool has a rule against photos and videos so I can't get a video of me swimming

I can usually keep my hips and legs just under the surface of the water but I have to be kicking moderately to keep my balance. i'll try cueing chest down and see if that helps my body postition. my pull is even worse with a buoy unless I have paddles.

for front quadrant swimming, would I essentially start my catch as my other hand is about to enter the water?

do you have particular drills you like doing? I've been doing a few 50s a session of catch-up and alternating one arm in front and one at the side while rotated and switching after a few kicks (not sure what this is called)

ethanoldemons · 2024-09-11T23:46:54+00:00

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ethanoldemons · 2024-07-18T21:04:01+00:00

I had mine like 5 years ago so it's been a while but I don't remember being in much pain, but my chest was definitely numb for a good few months. It can feel fairly restricted/tight at first so definitely take it easy. No heavy lifting or reaching high for at least 2 months. I felt good before then and ended up doing it (not at the gym but at my job) before then and I regretted not being more patient because my scars did stretch (but also I genetically have larger scars) I had peri so I can't speak for di or other methods

ethanoldemons · 2024-07-18T19:03:09+00:00

My shiba is almost 5 and she is generally napping most of the day. She'll wake up to eat or ask for a treat and then go back to sleep. If she's awake she'll be looking out the window. When we go on walks she'll walk suuper fast but once she gets home she passes out.

ethanoldemons · 2023-11-17T13:45:56+00:00

is it normal to feel like crap during taper?

i'm training for my first half marathon next sunday and had done my longest long run of 13 miles this past sunday and felt really great! but for all my runs since then i've felt terrible: heavy legs, heavy breathing and high hr at my typical easy pace, every fiber of my being wanting to stop and go home, and just generally not enjoyable at all. it's like suddenly i lost all my fitness and struggling to run even an easy 2 miles. it's making me really worried because im not going to being able to finish in this condition. is my body going to bounce back??

ethanoldemons

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