Medical complications of an aquatic innovation

Abstract

The sport of swimming has been affected by the innovations of technology with the evolution of the swimsuit. The health benefits of swimming are numerous and are well documented in the scientific literature. As swimming is a low-impact sport, injuries are relatively uncommon. As a direct result of the new swimsuits, team physicians have identified the emergence of a new trend in injury in the aquatic athlete. Extensive blistering and ulceration of the finger tips and distal interphalangeal joints in addition to ecchymoses of the lower limb are now common in the aquatic athlete wearing the new swimsuits. Team physicians working with elite swimmers should be aware of this phenomenon and institute preventive measures.

Purpura du sportif

“…Portées de façon extrêmement serré, elles éliminaient les poches d'air et amélioraient indéniablement l'aquadynamisme. Cependant, elles ont rapidement été source de désagrément, notamment pendant les championnats du monde 2009 de natation en Italie [18]. En effet, difficiles à mettre et fragiles, elles étaient responsables de phlyctènes et d'érosions des doigts handicapantes avant la course ainsi que d'ecchymoses multiples des jambes par pincement de la combinaison sur la peau [18].…”

High-Speed Swimsuits and Their Historical Development in Competitive Swimming

“…Technological innovations have revolutionized the competitive swimwear industry (Mountjoy et al, 2009). Since the 1930s, baggy cotton swimsuits developed into smaller and tighter-fitting sizes, with the use of materials such as silk that absorbed less water than traditional woolen ones.…”

“…This was followed by the "Aquablade" (Atlanta '96), which was used by 77% of the winners of the said Olympiad (Parnell, 2008). Then, the Adidas full-body swimsuit in 1998 (Mountjoy et al, 2009) and the Speedo sharkskin "Fastskin" in 1999 (Drašinac et al, 2015), the latter proving to be a real revolution in Sydney 2000 (Farlex, 2000;Craik, 2005). Moreover, this swimsuit was the result of the joining of little grooves in "V" shape that reduced among 6 and 8% the total resistance.…”

Effect of wearing a swimsuit on hydrodynamic drag of swimmer

“…Friction drag seems to be largely influenced by the use of swimsuits; however, it represents only 10-15% of total drag (Mollendorf et al 2004;Bixler et al 2007). Added to that, these new swimsuits are very thigh fitting, thus compacting the body, eliminating air pockets (Mountjoy et al 2009) and improving the swimming coordination (Chollet et al 2010). Nevertheless, further research under this field is required to better understand the importance of swimsuits on the hydrodynamics enhancement.…”