So, I broke my right ring finger today when my bike slipped on something. I broke the bone clean through, and it’s going to require a pin inserted on monday to fix. Of course, my first priority is keeping my tri training on track (well, aside from healing quickly). Running and cycling should be no problem – running is ok and I can bike on my trainer fine until I can hold handlebars and squeeze brakes well enough.
So, what about swimming? Does anyone have any ideas on how I could maintain swimming fitness until I can swim again? Has anyone ever broken a finger? How long did it take until you could swim again?
I’m not sure 1 week is enough time for a break like this to heal to the point where the forces of swimming and pulling water wouldn’t cause it to snap again. Do you know of people who’ve swam 1 week after a broken finger?
Ever break a carrot in half? That’s what I did to my finger.
Tape it up with a little finger split and you’ll be fine…it’ll feel weird swimming that way, and even weirder once you go back to without it taped up, but should work great.
Make sure it is set properly, but if that’s not an issue, you should be able to get back in the water pretty quickly. I wouldn’t recommend racing, due to the potential for getting it banged up. I broke my right index 15 years or so ago, but it was a spiral break and I pushed it and came back too soon before it set straight and it took a while before I got full use and flexibility again (1-2 years). I was just stubborn and was the swimmer for a relay me and some friends were doing. Make sure you’re ok to use the brakes normally if you are planning on riding outside, though. No sense pushing it if you can still ride the trainer.
back in the club swimming days, a broken finger or toe would never keep someone out of the pool. Just tape one of those braces tightly around it, and tape your hand together, or tape everything to a paddle.
If you break a larger bone, just get a waterproof cast. The beauty of low impact sports : )
Umm… If this fracture requires a pin it’s more serious than most broken fingers/toes (the ones everyone kept swimming with). And if your bag leaks you’d risk a nasty infection, as those pins work well as wicks. Meanwhile, if you’re in a cast or splint even running will make it stink to high hell. And even if running is not a problem, falling certainly would be.
Talk to your doctor. Push a little about what you can and can’t do. Be prepared to stay out of the pool for several weeks.
That’s what I’m starting to think. Everyone telling me to just keep going probably thinks it’s like a little boo boo. This is what I’m contending with:
Hey- you sound like you know what you’re talking about. Maybe you can answer this: Is waiting 4 or 5 days until surgery ok? My finger is going U-shaped and the doctors are like, we have an opening on Monday – we’ll see you then!
This is agony, man. I’ll get viccodin tomorrow, though! Wheee!
Yeah, 4-5 days will be fine. You won’t form enough bone callus in a few days to prohibit reduction. I’m also assuming that this will be done percutaneous (i.e. no incision). Just a little IV cocktail, reduce the fx, drive the K-wire, check on C-arm (fluoroscopy), bend the pin, cut, cap - done!
Oh, and it’s spelled Vicodin; works better with beer
As long as they give me some strong drugs! When I went to the E.R., my finger was curling down and over and they made me straighten it for the x-ray. Ouch…
So last Tuesday, I had surgery where they drilled some titanium screws into my finger pretty much exactly as you described it. Fun! And, after 6 days of having it all wrapped up and such, I got the wrappings off (today). The doctor told me to start flexing the finger (each joint individually) and showed me how. The thing is, flexing the finger beyond a very small range (as I saw while he was bending my finger) causes the absolute worst pain I have ever experienced in my life right below and on the right side of my ring finger’s proximal interphalangeal joint. He said it was fine. But, good god, this is pain beyond what I have ever experienced. Breaking my finger was maybe a 5 or 6. What I’m feeling now is maybe a 9.
Is this normal? The pain of seeing my training goals slip away is bad enough without a finger that feels like it’s stuck in a blender.
