Just had cast put on hand for broken metacarpal.
Any training suggestions? Running advice? Dealing with perspiration/dampness in cast from exercising?
I am looking at about three weeks.
Going to have to cancel Rev 3 Quassy. Can I put my entry fee towards another Rev3 race?
Thank you!
When Davis Phinney broke his hand, he had his cast shaped around his brake lever so he could ride. Just sayin’.
I trained (swim/bike/run) with a cast a couple of years ago. My doc was a huge help. Couple of things come to mind:
Overall its not ideal but it keeps you going.
Best,
GS
Get this: http://www.castcooler.com/
I broke my scaphoid bone in my hand and had to train for/run a marathon with a cast on up to my elbow (in late summer no less). Running with the cast wasn’t really a problem except for the occasional rubbing on your side and salt buildup on the skin.
Unfortunately the cast would never dry out (a waterproof cast helps but would still take hours to dry). The non-waterproof one I got first would stay wet inside for days. I got the cast vacuum thing and it would have my cast dry in 5 minutes (and felt awesome). If you want, PM me your address. I might still have the cast cooler and I will just mail you mine (it is just rubber and plastic so no koodies).
Get some spray on anti perspirant to help with the drying and smell. It will get funky in there. Other than that, no advice. Be forewarned though, even after getting the cast off, I had to wait another 2 months to get on the bike before it was comfortable (I was in the cast 7 weeks and then split for another 4 weeks). I would swim after the cast came off, but it did hurt for a good 3 weeks.
Good luck.
Goretex cast liner. If the hospital doesn’t stock it buy it from goretex. Takes 1-2 days to get. No need for a hair dryer at all. Easiest cast I ever had. Swam, biked (on trainer), and ran with it. Showers were no problem.
Some will say its uncomfortable compared to a regular cast, but it’s barely different a d for the convenience of if, absolutely worth it.
Talk to your doctor. If s/he is okay with it, find waterproof cast padding so you can swim, shower, etc. I wouldn’t think running would be an issue (but don’t fall), but riding on the road is likely a bad idea. Again, talk to your doctor.
Thanks for the help!
I broke a metacarpal (ring finger) last year, so I feel your pain. There seem like some good suggestions on here. My advice is that even more important than getting in the training that you can with the cast on is avoiding the possibility of any impacts to your hand knocking you backwards in your recovery. I’d recommend staying out of the pool while the cast is on- too many people, lanelines, etc. Not sure what your treatment plan will be, but here’s how things went for me and what I did:
I ran a lot and did a ton of riding on the trainer. My hand couldn’t really sit around the shifter with the cast on, so I did most of my riding in aero with the broken hand kind of propped on the wrist of my good arm. Other times I could sit up if I propped the elbow of the broken side up on something tall (in my case, a balcony railing). I sweat a lot so I was worried about my arm getting gross and infected beneath a smelly cast. But it wasn’t that bad. Did I sweat? Yes. Did it smell? A little bit, but only noticeable if you were within ~ a foot of it.
The weeks went fairly quickly and the next step was a hard removable plastic splint that went from about mid-finger to mid-forearm. I started swimming again once I got that on, but only open water and on one side of other people so there was no chance of smacking it into anyone. The first week or two back in the water it was most comfortable to have the broken finger taped to one of the other two surrounding ones. At that point it was weak so it painfully flopped around a little bit if it was left on its own. During the splint phase I kept avoiding putting weight on my hand on the bike by remaining aero on the trainer, but at least that enables you to take the splint off while riding to let your arm breathe. The first week I kept the splint on to run (same floppy finger problem as swimming) but after that it was ok.
Starting the season with a broken hand didn’t seem to effect my end of season results much last year. You can definitely bounce back. Best of luck with your recovery!
I broke my wrist yesterday, saw the doc today thinking it was just a sprain. IMTX is Sat.
Anyhow, doc gave me a removable cast (exos). After a week I can remove it temp for hygiene, and to insert a sock on the inside to absorb sweat; replace sock as needed.
Gortex cast liner is you best bet. Did you doc pin it? If so, not a good idea to race and swim with a pin. If you had a closed reduction, that’s different, but breaking could be an issue at Rev3.
All sounds like sensible advice.
If all else fails though…
http://www.conradstoltz.com/a-funny-broken-arm-story-from-way-back/
I dont have much to add, other than a recommendation for this … http://www.xerosox.com/
I received second and third degree burns on my hand. With this, waterproof tape, and enough padded gauge, I was able to swim at masters just two weeks after the injury. It is also the single best waterproofing for showers. It acts as a small paddle though.