How do you put on a bra one-handed?

Thanks for all the good ideas; much appreciated!

Just to clarify, my dominant hand is okay. I can't run out to buy new bras, so have to make a back clasp one work, and I really cannot go without.

I fell quite hard, breaking both forearm bones; one of them was described by a surgeon as "shattered" and "in pieces." It was also grossly misplaced, making it immediately evident something bad had happened to the arm. (I sat on the sidewalk assessing matters before moving/letting anyone help me.) My face also met the pavement, and though it might make others turn in horror (nothing new there!), the real damage is to my arm. The surgery I had on Friday was the installation of a (permanent) metal plate and eight screws holding the wrist together.

owee, owlice, that sounds painful and scary!

When I broke my shoulder I did the front hook then spin thing. I could use my fingers fine on that arm (and the Drs encouraged me to do that) and they were at my waist.

Owlice, is your hand still able to move? If your thumb and fingers are mostly encased you have my sympathies!

Ouch! Nothing to add in terms of advice, just sending my wishes for quick and complete healing!

lph, pain management was initially a challenge, believe me. It took a pain management specialist to get a handle on things, and I'm very grateful for his excellent work.

Kiwi, I should think a broken shoulder would be even harder to deal with!

My hand cannot move now. I can wiggle the fingers/thumb and need to often to keep the swelling down, but otherwise, things are quite tightly contained for now. I'll get a new cast in a couple of weeks that will likely be somewhat less restrictive.

Oowwwwwww. I don't have anything to add except more wishes for fast and proper healing!

You poor thing! That sounds incredibly painful.

I think if you lie down with the bra under you, cups down, you may have more leverage, and you won't be fighting gravity.

I have no problem shimmying a clasped bra up from my feet--like a sports bra with no clasps. I didn't think that it might be a problem. They stretch. Do you have a sports bra without clasps?

Owlish and Owlice--I get you two confused. I thought Owlie broke her arm. Well, I'm glad you didn't, OWLIE. So sorry for your fall, OWLICE.

If you can,use a clothespin to hold the two sides together in front,then once it is held together it should be easier to then attach the hooks and remove the clothespin.

Another temporary strategy is Velcro. If you are concerned that the Velcro won't stay together, once you have it velcroed, a small safety pin can be fastened with one hand

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Originally Posted by ridenread

If you can,use a clothespin to hold the two sides together in front,then once it is held together it should be easier to then attach the hooks and remove the clothespin.

Another temporary strategy is Velcro. If you are concerned that the Velcro won't stay together, once you have it velcroed, a small safety pin can be fastened with one hand

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Pins and Velcro! Brilliant!

So sorry to hear about your mishap! Hope it all heals as best it can in the end.

When I crashed my roadie with the dog, my shoulder acl joint was permanently separated.

I could not get anything on that was pull over on / off. I wore zip up hoodies, button down blouses, and nightgowns with large head openings (like a slip, and got in feet first and pulled up with good side).

And the bra was an issue too. For sports bra I did zip front racerback. I took the arm hole with the bad arm going in first, let it swing / hang down behind my back, and used the good arm to get itself thru the other arm hole. To hook it I leaned against the wall / bathroom door jam to hold the fabric in place in one cup, kinda like gentle vertical mammogram smashing... then I used the good hand to hook it, or zip it, since it was steadied on the other side by body weight.

I'm a 34D and the few bras that I can wear are so expensive. So I understand about not running out and getting new bras. I don't know if this would work, but it's cheap and hooks in the front so linky fwiw... http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...=1332720221906

My zip up front sports bra was a CWX I bought off TE here. Oh, one other idea is a cami tank top with a built in shelf bra, or sports top. You could get it up from the feet. Or take the bottom of the top, thread the bad arm thru, use good arm to pull it over your head and onto your torso (garment it then sorta around your mid section), thread bad arm thru using good hand, then stretch good side arm hole thru. Obviously the top needs to be stretchy.

Good Luck!

EDIT ADD: Also, if you have a Good Will charity type store near you that might be a way to find some inexpensive garments that work easier to get on, i.e. zip up etc. I just re-donate when done. Sure you don't feel like running around shopping but if you have anyone to help you that might be an errand for them to take care of. And I was lucky, I did have my daughter to help with dressing part of the time. I know she was a bit mortified lol, but I was hugely grateful!

Oakleaf, I hadn't seen your message when I'd typed mine; my apologies. (I often doze off as I type because of the meds; took hours for me to get an email off to my manager today!)

Thanks for good wishes, all.

One thing that I have been able to wear that has been helpful is a TE full zip road jersey. Needs washing now (ho, boy, does it ever!), but it was easy to slip on over the (huge, heavy) cast AND comes with handy pockets for carrying things. Comfy, too.

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

When I've had to do i, I put the clasp on the front , and then scooted the garmet around until the cups were at the front.
Breaking your dominat must not be fun! I've only broken my non-dominat hand (so far)

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This is how I learned as a girl how to put a bra on, it sounds like you are going to have pain regardless how you do it but this might be the most simple approach. I don't think a sports bra would help, those things seem to require contortions to don! I've had both a broken arm and shoulder (same arm, different occasions), it just isn't easy to deal with bras.

I hope the recovery goes well and without hitch - and may the pain management continue to serve you well as long as it is needed.

I don't have any helpful advice but I wanted to offer my sympathy. That sounds just dreadful! I'm recovering from foot surgery (damage to my ligaments but required screws into my joint bones) and I now know first hand how incredibly painful bone injuries are... Hang in there!


Oh, and there is ZERO chance that any of my bras (even the sports ones) would pull over my rear/hips from the bottom up. While they stretch, they don't stretch that much (29 rib cage, 39 hip)!

Been in this situation 4 times - road accident, mastectomy, tractor accident and cancer recurrence in chest wall

At first I did the "hooking at waist level and scooting round" thing which I have always done since 13 - never been able to "do it from the back"

Best solution tho' was in 2009 to buy 2 of those sport tops with the built in shelf. Which also had the advantage of being wicking fabric (very important when you have peeling radiation burns on 25% of your upper-chest in 35 -40 deg C temps). It held my silicon prosthesis well so I reckon it would be even better for a Natural Tit. They wash so easily, dry really quickly and don't stain from medical creams

Good luck