Butterfly problems?

Question

I really have trouble swimming fly. I have not chosen to swim an IM yet because of my struggle with swimming fly. I have had 4 spine surgeries, and will possibly having another one. I have a scarring condition (called Keloid Scarring) which causes extra scar tissue, and awful looking scars, and becasue of this I have tons of scar tissue which doesn't allow me to move very freely while doing dolphin kicks. My coach told me that this could possible be my problem, and that is why I struggle just even swimming 25 yards. Any suggestions to help my butterfly? Thanks. I'm 14 years old.

I mainly only have the scarring around my spine, and it is the undulating movement that seems to have more effect on why fly is so hard for me.

Answer 1

Because Keloids can become binding and limit mobility and because the fly kick and body movement are different from the other strokes I agree that you may be experiencing difficulty due to your scarring. However, it may be a combination of technique and the Keloids.

Since your coach has evaluated your technique and cannot seem to do anything to improve it, have you thought about treating the Keloids? Though surgical treatment is the most effective option it is also the riskiest. I know that you can "break up" the scar tissue through presusre therapy and depending on where the scars are you may benefit from this. If you've already tried all fo these treatments, you may just not be the best butterflier and the IM may never be "your" event.

By working hard and testing your options you will find either a solution or a concrete roadblock. If you are not the best butterflier, don't take on. You've still got 3 other strokes to focus on. Also, you may need to look into adaptive drilling for the fly that will accomodate your physical setbakcs. Ask your physical therapist for some drills, skills or stretches that may help you kick butterfly. The PT team may be able to give you some range of motion activity that will help your body compensate for its lack of mobility and flexion. Ask your coahc for upper-body focused exercised to improve your fly pull so that you are not so dependent on your legs. Though your form may not be the best you will be able to swim easier.

Good luck and stick with it!!!

Answer 2

I am sorry to say this but if Keloid Scarring did affect your swimming then it would effect on all of your strokes and it currently is not. It means the scarring has no influence on your butterfly so then it means you're swimming it wrong. I suggest to you to first do a few butterfly kicks in stream-line position, then see how it goes if you can do up to well umm... about 13 butterfly kicks and I mean big ones, in one breath your case is fine it means you can swim butterfly. Butterfly is a pretty tiring stroke and I get tired about the same time as you, I don't know how many yards equals a meter or how many meters equals a yard but I think it's more or less the same. I can hardly swim 25meters, it's pretty tiring and sometimes my coach tells me to swim 100 meters so I swim 100 meters but then don't try and sprint the first 25 meters, it just makes it so tiring start off slow and use all your energy on the last 25 meters. Well, this technique really has helped me, so I can swim 100meters of butterfly now though the problem comes when I finish swimming it, usually I can hardly lift my arms up at the end of the thing so I slow down in the end, I hope you don't make the same mistake as me. Butterfly is a tiring stroke for everyone so don't worry, I'm 12 years old, but never mind that just use my technique and also remember to check that you're doing your butterfly correctly some people breath like maybe every stroke so you get tired more quickly practice holding your breath. Some get tired because they can't actually lift their legs up to do the kick and in the end their too tired and most of the energy is from the arms and then you can't lift your arms up so you can't swim on anymore. To fix this try and use your hips when you do the kick, these people only use theor legs it usually is the hip motion. Well good luck in any case and if you have more swimming questions you can e-mail me, it's in my profile.

Answer 3

With respect to your coach, I disagree that Keloid scarring would have much more of an effect on fly than your other strokes.
-Timeing is a standard probelm with fly. Are you breathing as both hands reach thigh level, about to leave the water? Sometimes people breathe too early in their stroke.
-Building strength with front crawl sprints helps a lot to build up fly muscles.
-The dolphin kick should actually be done with the whole body, so practice it by useing your stomach and hips as well as the whole length of the leg.
Now, the most important advice last. Try fly while wearing flippers/fins. It will give you a feel for how good fly should feel,give you the power to experiment with your technique, but mostly it just feels great. it does give you a lot of extra power though so be careful not to tear anything, like hamstrings, by getting carried away. Good Luck!

Answer 4

nicely, before everything, supply up being worried. that may not gonna help something. i for my section locate myself appearing worse at swim meets whilst i'm worried. two hundred butterfly, however? i might probable die if i attempted to swim two hundred butterfly. i'm able to extremely do a hundred.. i'm getting so out of breath by utilising the time I end the 0.33 lap, the final lap, i'm basically suffering to get to the wall devoid of loss of life. i admire butterfly and that i wanna get greater perfect at it, besides the indisputable fact that it continuously leaves me so exhausted. i'm able to do 50 butterfly.. yet there is not such an journey in the meets, so it is pointless. Is that each and every physique you will possibly be able to desire to do on the time trial? reason if not, i don't think of you acquire something to tension approximately. Why do you inevitably might desire to be sturdy at each and every stroke to be on varsity? that is a few bullshit in the event that they don't help you get on varsity basically reason you won't be in a position to do two hundred butterfly. Is your team quite sturdy or something? reason at my college we did not even have tryouts for the team, all of us that signed up truthfully have been given on the college team. as a count number of actuality we don't also have a JV team.