My physical therapist recommended that I try the side stroke. The idea was to get my legs to go back behind my spine which is a necessary movement as I contemplate the idea of walking. In the pool I found out that I was completely unable to do the side stroke. First, I could not remember quite what my arms were supposed to do. Usually most of the work in the side stroke is done by the legs and the arms actually follow. In my current state, while I can move my legs, I do not have a lot of control. It is extremely difficult to have a movement which starts in the legs and carries the arms along.
I began to try something simpler. I attempted a flutter kick. In the flutter kick the legs move in opposite directions. For me, this is an extremely difficult thing to do. It took a lot of practice to move my legs in opposite directions. As you will see in the video below, I am twisting my hips a lot in order to assist my legs in moving.
Up until now whenever I swim, my legs are following the movements of my arms and most of the work is done my my arms. I have begun attempting to swim with my legs only and my arms doing relatively little work. It is actually easier to swim using the flutter kick in this matter. When my legs are coordinated using a front kick they really want the action of the arms to start the entire movement.
My swimming using the flutter kick is extremely slow but eventually I am able to get from one end of the pool to the other using my legs with my hands doing fairly little at my side. The video below illustrates swimming with the flutter kick. Clearly there is a long way to go but it is the first time since my accident that I have been able to move a significant distance using only the power of my legs.
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