How long till you could swim?

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Mary

I know, I know, I should have paid more attention to when different people posted their return to swimming, but I didn't. :( :(

I'll get my own answer when I see the surgeon next week, but I'm anxious to know what others were told. I'm thinking that if I get a high and a low range, maybe I can negotiate a more favorable response from the surgeon. Truthfully, if I get a high and a low range, and I don't like his answer, I'll probably chose my own.

(Oops! Did I type that!)

Mary
 
my surgery was August 2005, I am swimming this summer!! we have an above ground pool (yea we are poor) but anyway my daughter can hear the valve clicking underwater......she thinks that is too cool!!
 
Dick was doing a back stroke about 9 weeks. His surgery was minimally invasive- don't know if that made a difference.
 
Personally, I think it's too soon for you to swim the English channel again, Mary. I think the record for doing so is eleven days. I waited 3-1/2 years, but that's way too long. You definitely need better advice than mine regarding concerns of the incision and of the pressure under water.
 
Mary,

I was swimming within 2 months. I avoided too much arm activity and used my legs more for propulsion but I cannot stay out of the water in the summertime. I have a pool in my yard because I find it to be the best exercise in the world.
 
Mary said:
I know, I know, I should have paid more attention to when different people posted their return to swimming, but I didn't. :( :(

I'll get my own answer when I see the surgeon next week, but I'm anxious to know what others were told. I'm thinking that if I get a high and a low range, maybe I can negotiate a more favorable response from the surgeon. Truthfully, if I get a high and a low range, and I don't like his answer, I'll probably chose my own.

(Oops! Did I type that!)

Mary

Mary -

I checked my rehab/training notebook. Surgery on 10 Jan, I took my first swim 31 March. I did intervals of 5-6 minutes for about 40 mins. I swam slowly, & had shortness of breath, but no sternum pain or anything like that.
 
I believe my doc said 12 weeks

I believe my doc said 12 weeks

before doing any type of sport that uses your upper body/arms. I remember them mentioning swimming, golfing, fishing?? I don't remember exactly, but I had my surgery 5/30/02 and didn't really "swim" until the following summer. I can float pretty well though...so I did manage to do that within a month or so after surgery.
 
Wow!
What a range! We have Dick doing backstroke at nine weeks and Jim swimming at 3 and a half years! :D :D :D

I think I will try to get the ok for 10 weeks; that seems to be a happy medium, if not the group average! Otherwise I'll wait until 12 weeks, and then do what I want!

Thanks!
Mary
 
Jim's op was in December 2003 and I think he was swimming about May 2004. But there was a bit of a hold-up with him first starting rehab and then getting a referral to the gym (it's half-price for cardiac patients and they've got a great pool) and he wasn't allowed to use the facilities until he'd seen their "specialist" instructor. I'd guess he'd have been fine swimming a month or two earlier if we'd been able.
 
How long till you could swim?

Never...Mama said for us to ..not go near the water..until we learned to swim.. :D :D :p :p :p :eek: ...Now, I can do a mean Dog paddle and love my noodles.. :D :D Bonnie
 
My doctor asked me to wait three months after my surgery to swim; I think it was actually closer to six months before I went in the water again. I think actually swimming (as opposed to floating or an easy dog paddle) at three months would have hurt something awful: my sternum was sore for almost nine months after my surgery.
The bigger restriction they gave me was to not expose my scar to the Florida sun for six months.
Mark
 
For a full split sternum, the base is probably about three months for proper healing of the bone. And then work your way into it.

If you can keep from using your arms in any power stroke way, you can go into the water earlier, like Gina did. But remember that flexing the sternum before it's healed is similar to flexing thin sheet metal. Seems okay for a while, then heats up and separates.

If it's an in-ground pool, you may also tend to push yourself up out of the water, or pull on a ladder as you climb, with the leverage fulcrum in both cases inadvertently being your sternum.

I say if, because with all the swimming you do, a power stroke must be like second nature for you. You would have to fight yourself on that to be safe.

Best wishes,
 
Mary

Mary

Not to hi/jack your thread about the swimming part.....but I recall that the sun just wore me out that first summer. :( Just taking Kameron down to pool, sitting under shade..I felt drained when we came home....I know you have access to an inside pool..which would probably be better for you to start off in... :) ....Did anyone else notice the sun/heat your first few months..post-op?..Besides..I don't think I would have felt comfortable in a swimsuit (Not the scar)..just the tighness of it across my chest.Unless you want to go skinny-dipping? :p :p Bonnie
 
tobagotwo said:
For a full split sternum, the base is probably about three months for proper healing of the bone. And then work your way into it.

If you can keep from using your arms in any power stroke way, you can go into the water earlier, like Gina did. But remember that flexing the sternum before it's healed is similar to flexing thin sheet metal. Seems okay for a while, then heats up and separates.

If it's an in-ground pool, you may also tend to push yourself up out of the water, or pull on a ladder as you climb, with the leverage fulcrum in both cases inadvertently being your sternum.

I say if, because with all the swimming you do, a power stroke must be like second nature for you. You would have to fight yourself on that to be safe.

Best wishes,



Ok. I will see what the surgeon says, and then decide.

Phyllis,
I am really surprised that Dick was able to do backstroke so early after surgery. That is my stroke of choice, but it really pulls on my sternum.
I probably should stick to using my swim fins and a board if I go in earlier than recommended.
It looks like Labor Day may be my inaugural swim. :)

But then, tomorrow is another day! ;)
 
I am really surprised that Dick was able to do backstroke so early after surgery. That is my stroke of choice, but it really pulls on my sternum.

Mary,
Dick had minimally invasive- 3-4" of the sternum, so that might have made a big difference. He was swimming in a pool and I'm sure he was not pushing the back stroke as you might be doing. He did wear a t-shirt to protect from the sun as was mentioned in another reply. He never had any sternum pain from day 1 and also he's a hard man to hold down- was riding his bike also when we got to FL 8 weeks post-op! :(
 
pgruskin said:
Mary,
Dick had minimally invasive- 3-4" of the sternum, so that might have made a big difference. He was swimming in a pool and I'm sure he was not pushing the back stroke as you might be doing. He did wear a t-shirt to protect from the sun as was mentioned in another reply. He never had any sternum pain from day 1 and also he's a hard man to hold down- was riding his bike also when we got to FL 8 weeks post-op! :(

I had forgotten that Phyllis. You're probably right; it sounds like the minimally invasive procedures let people heal more quickly. Darn! I thought Dick held the secret for how I could get back more quickly! Now I know!!
Thanks for replying,
Mary
 
Happy Swimming

Happy Swimming

Have no expert advice on this -- I'm a landlubber when it comes to exercise. Just wanted to say how delightful it is to be reading of our Mary the aqua marathoner about to return to the water ... seems like just yesterday we were wishing her well on her surgery. :)

Go Mary! Look forward to a return of your aquatic avatars... ;)
 
The first 'Valver' to swim the "English Channel" now that's a thought Mary. The rest of us will have to follow you in the 'Valver Yacht' with our 'paint ball guns' and keep the VALVE POLICE away!! ;)
 
Mark Wagner said:
The first 'Valver' to swim the "English Channel" now that's a thought Mary. The rest of us will have to follow you in the 'Valver Yacht' with our 'paint ball guns' and keep the VALVE POLICE away!! ;)

Mark,
That sounds attractive enough to make me almost want to do it again! I say that I'm waiting patiently for the ok to hit the pool, but the truth is, this forced absence is starting to get old. I wish I lived near the ocean so I could at least walk in the surf. :D

Mary
 
Mary,

I did some laps today and was thinking of you. Regardless of what the doctor says, you'll have to "listen" to your body. Speaking of "listening", my valve click is very pronounced under water. What a hoot!
 
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