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Title: Limp swimming?


Benj - May 27, 2006 04:28 PM (GMT)
Writing some fic and wondering how likely House is to be able to swim with some/most of his quad missing?

As swimming isn't weight bearing will it have effect? I know when I did my ACL that swimming was a decent part of early rehab and obvious cardio-vascular benefit . I'm not so much thinking in terms of rehab as if he was decent before would that have changed?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated?

Auditrix - May 27, 2006 07:33 PM (GMT)
Not sure how well House would be able to swim -- his stroke might not be too effective.

It looks like he has the most trouble flexing his leg at the hip joint, and also has trouble straightening his leg at the knee. So I'd wonder about how effectively he could use his right leg as part of a stroke. Maybe he could do crawl or backstroke just kicking with his left leg and letting his right leg just trail along? Or maybe use some kind of float belt to help keep his right leg from dragging?

Walking around the wet pool would be a challenge in itself.

prplchknz - May 28, 2006 01:34 PM (GMT)
I don't know if this helps but this is what I found it sounds like to be his injury wouldn't affect his ability to much. infact it may have been reccomended for his rehab (which if I remember correctly he refused)

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/enc3/swimming
QUOTE
Swimming for exercise

Swimming is a good form of exercise  exercise quick summary:
The word exercise can mean the following:...

[For more info, click on this link]. Because the density  density quick summary:
Density (symbol: ρ - greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume....

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link] of the human body is approximately similar to water  water quick summary:
Water (from the anglo-saxon and low german language|low german węter) is a colourless, tasteless, and odourless substance that is essential to all...

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link], EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (the body is supported by the water and less stress is therefore placed on joints and bones. Furthermore, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (the resistance  hydrodynamics quick summary:
Hydrodynamics is fluid dynamics applied to liquids, such as water, alcohol, oil, and blood....

[For more info, click on this link] against movement depends heavily on the speed of the movement, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (allowing the fine tuning of the exercise according to ones ability. Therefore, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (swimming is frequently used as an exercise in rehabilitation after injuries or for the disabled  disability quick summary:
The term "disability", as it is applied to humans, refers to any condition that impedes the completion of daily tasks using traditional methods....

[Click link for more facts about this topic].

Swimming is an aerobic exercise  aerobic exercise quick summary:
Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise in which muscles draw on oxygen in the blood as well as fats and glucose, that increase cardiovascular enduran...

[For more info, click on this link] due to the relatively long exercise times, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (requiring a constant oxygen  oxygen quick summary:
| colspan="2" align="center" | nitrogen - oxygen - fluorine...

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link] supply to the muscles, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (except for short sprints where the muscles work anaerobically  anaerobic exercise quick summary:
Anaerobic exercise is complementary to aerobic exercise....

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link]. As with most aerobic exercise it is believed to reduce the harmful effects of stress  Stress (medicine) quick summary:
Stress (roughly the opposite of relaxation) is a medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause...

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link]. While aerobic exercises usually burn fat and help with losing weight, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (this effect is limited in swimming, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (even though being in cold water burns more food energy  food energy quick summary:
Food energy is the amount of energy in food....

[For more, click on this link] to maintain body temperature.

The reason that swimming does not significantly reduce weight is still poorly understood, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (but seems to be related to the better heat conduction of water. A number of reasons are suspected.
First, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (water cools the body much faster than air, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (and most researchers believe that subsequently the body aims to maintain a layer of fat under the skin  skin quick summary:
Dablink|this article is about skin in the biological sense....

[For more, click on this link] for insulation  insulation quick summary:
Insulation is sometimes confused with either weatherization or thermal mass, but is distinct from both....

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link].
Secondly, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (it is believed that appetite  appetite quick summary:
The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger....

[Follow this hyperlink for a summary of this subject] decreases as your body temperature increases, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (as for example during exercise. However, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (during swimming the body is cooled down almost instantly as the surrounding water is usually cooler than the body temperature, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (and some researchers believe that this may actually increase the appetite. This assumption is not yet proven by research.
Finally, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (some researchers also believe that the metabolism  metabolism quick summary:
Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος (metabolismos), the greek word for "change"), is the biochemical...

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link] of the body increases at higher body temperature, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (burning more food energy. Again, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (during swimming the body is cooled down by the surrounding water, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (reducing the metabolism, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (and subsequently the amount of food energy burnt. This assumption is also not yet proven by research.

Swimming exercises almost all muscle  muscle quick summary:
Muscle is a contractile form of tissue (biology)|tissue....

[Follow this hyperlink for a summary of this subject]s in the body. Usually, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (the arm  arm quick summary:
In anatomy, the arm is the upper limb of a bipedal mammal, specifically the segment between the shoulder and the elbow....

[For more, click on this link]s and upper body are exercised more than the leg  leg quick summary:
Leg has multiple meanings:...

[For more facts and a topic of this subject, click this link]s. In competitive swimming, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (excessive leg muscles can be seen as a disadvantage as they consume more oxygen, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (which would be needed for the muscles of the arms. However, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (this depends on the swimming style. While breaststroke  breaststroke quick summary:
Breaststroke is swum on the breast and is the most popular recreational swimming style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water...

[For more, click on this link] generates significant movement with the legs, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (front crawl  front crawl quick summary:
Front crawl is the fastest swimming style known, and therefore usually swum in freestyle competitions....

[For more info, click on this link] propels the body mainly with the arms.

Sometimes the swimming consists of swimming laps using a conventional stroke, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (such as the front crawl  front crawl quick summary:
Front crawl is the fastest swimming style known, and therefore usually swum in freestyle competitions....

[Click link for more facts about this topic]; other forms can include different forms of exercise performed in the water, EHandler: no quick summary. Follow link. (such as aqua aerobics.

prplchknz - May 28, 2006 01:51 PM (GMT)
my mom has fibro myalgia which i think has to do with muscel pain. she swims and claims that it actually helps her and if she didn't swim everyday she would be unable to do her job as a researcher.

I don't know if any of this helps you.

Armchair Elvis - May 30, 2006 12:26 PM (GMT)
Very interesting, Benj. I've wondered about this myself.... and also about what kind of swimmers House would wear: boardies? Speedos? Those funny tight short ones? :D

Fast swimming, like freestyle or butterfly or any kind of stroke? I don't think so. Swimming in the Ocean is out as well I'd say. What House's problem with swimming would be, I think, is that he has a basically useless limb that he still has to drag along as a dead weight. It'd be a strain. Aud is right about the wet pool, too. Walking down the wet stairs, getting in and out...

I'd say that he could perhaps swim about 25 metres... perhaps 50 (olympic length), but it'd be a struggle, and more like flailing than swimming. Then again, I am not an expert on this, and he could very well use some kind of floatie thing or something.

As for water therapy, well, I can imagine that for House. But you were talking about swimming, right? Good question.

As an aside, I was thinking a little while ago (as you do, ha ha ha), about what I thought would be the thing that would freak House out the most, and I figured that drowning would be pretty high up there on the list. Maybe that's just me.

Benj - June 5, 2006 03:06 PM (GMT)
Thanks that a big help and saved me from dreaming up an unlikely scenario. I had kind of hoped it wouldn't be a mjor problem but as it is I'll probably have to re-think. Much apreciated :)

tpel1 - June 7, 2006 07:55 PM (GMT)
Competitive speed swimming, no. But I think House could swim for excercise and relaxation. I'm no expert on the subject, but I've seen people with far more serious physical disabilities than House's do it -- cerebral palsy, missing limbs, etc. In the easiest scenario, he could float on his back and propel himself mostly with his arms. Since the left leg has more power than the right, kicking would tend to make him go in circles. But that's why God made circular pools :-)

As Auditrix and Armchair Elvis have noted, getting to/ from and into/out of the pool could be treacherous. Some pools are now designed to be handicapped accessible -- ramps, railings, textured rubber flooring, steps down into the pool rather than just ladders, even wheelchair lifts.

Whether House would be willing to do it is another matter. Honestly, I think the biggest barriers to him swimming would be inside his mind. As much as he doesn't care about other people's opinions, I think he would be uncomfortable letting others see him in such a vulnerable position -- even if he found swim trunks that covered the scar. Sadly, I think speedos are out of the question :-(

I think this could be a neat topic to explore in a fic, Benj. As long as you don't have House gliding along like a fish or bouncing off the diving board, I don't think you have to worry about it being too implausible.

sayuri - June 12, 2006 02:49 PM (GMT)
my friends brother uses a wheelchair and he can swim like a little fishy... it's kind of worrying as I have full use of my legs yet he's faster than me in the water :unsure: but I'm not sure. Probably.

If in doubt, use artistic lisence! :D




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