How do you put on a bra one-handed?

This is info I could really use. Proving once more that I should have been on a bike rather than on foot, I tripped on a sidewalk, fell, and broke my left arm. I'm mostly right-handed. All my bras are typical back closures and I cannot get away with going without support (or at least containment). I cannot use my left arm at all. (I had surgery on it day before yesterday.)

Surely there are techniques for putting a bra on one-handed, and knowing what they are will improve my recovery immeasurably! Thanks in advance.

Wow, that's quite the challenge. I find them challenging with TWO hands. Maybe a sports bra? Good luck!

Good practical question. Having a front closure bra might make a tiny bit easier ...but still it sounds painful and complicated. :confused:

Knowing me, I just wouldn't wear one for awhile, if it was only for a few months. I'm small ...

I would probably try a front clasp and see if one is easier than the other. Seems like both would be a pain.

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)

I was curious, so I tried it.

Cups in back, clasps in front - I found it hard to get the clasp parts lined up correctly for me to close. I don't know how much mobility you have in your arm, but I found looping my "broken" arm into the shoulder strap helped me to steady it as I closed the hook and eye closures. They were tough to do with my non dominant hand. Then you have to unloop the strap and twist the bra around do you have the cups where they should be. :D Using one hand to get both straps on was pretty doable.

If you decide to get pull over bras - I mainly wear Patagonia's Barely bras. I'm either a 36A or a 30 C, so I have some of each type that TE sells. The ones for C/D cups definitely have more coverage and support. But I still tend to wear the ones for A/Bs 'cause they are just a little more comfy.

Good luck!

Veronica

I just got over a similar problem :) I could use my right arm only if I kept it bent and at waist height. So I would hook the bra around my waist, in the front, and then use the good arm to turn it around and pull straps up. Not easy, but I couldn't lift the bad arm over my head to put a sports bra on. Also couldn't wear pullover shirts for a couple weeks. Even if I could get them on, taking them off without lifting my arm was impossible.

I would think that clasping the bra around your chest or waist would be the hardest part with limited mobility in your arm. Would it help to clasp the bra while it's off your body and step into it, pulling it over your legs and hips up to your chest, then put your arms through the straps?

This seems like a clever solution. I don't know if they sell them in the US but I wonder if you could rig something similar up using an old metal coat hanger.

Hook it before you put it on, step into it and wrestle it into place from your feet up.

Bummer about your arm. How hard did you fall??

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Originally Posted by tulip

Hook it before you put it on, step into it and wrestle it into place from your feet up.

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That makes all the sense in the world!

One can only hope by stepping into a hooked-together bra at waistline and pulling it up, that there is enough stretch .. but sounds like a good thing to try. Not sure I would start pulling up the bra from feet level --it assumes the whole hip isn't too much bigger than the bust circumference.

um... how can you step into a hooked together bra and just pull it up from the waistline? ;)



(urgh, that just reminded me of the gory tv show I watched yesterday...)

Can't speak for her, but my butt is waaaaayyy too big to pull my bra over it one-handed. :p

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Originally Posted by lph

um... how can you step into a hooked together bra and just pull it up from the waistline? ;)



(urgh, that just reminded me of the gory tv show I watched yesterday...)

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Got my grammar wrong. I meant hooking the bra at waist level since the injured arm usually cannot be lifted upward very far. I have a small butt and I can't even imagine trying to pull up without super strength my (small circumference) bra over my hips. Unless it's a very stretchy bra ...or um, looser (older) bra.

Just makes me sweat abit thinking about it.

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

What an entertaining thread this has been.

Oh you poor thing and yes, even more annoying when you were not on your bike!

Wish I could offer some good ideas but never been in that situation.

Personally I would say 'burn your bra', well just for the time being, that's what I did when I broke my back. :eek:

Take care and heal quickly.

Many many thanks for the healing wishes; I appreciate them very much.

Below are instructions from the Department of Rehabilitation Services, The Ohio State University Medical Center; my best friend found their PDF, with diagrams (which are very helpful), and sent it to me. Might have been self-preservation on her part, since she was was one who had to help me dress when I left the hospital!

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Putting on a Bra with One Hand
If you have an injury or stroke and are not able to use one hand, follow these steps to put on a bra. It is easiest to do this while sitting down.

1. Fasten the ends of the bra.
2. Pick up the bra in your strong hand with the straps at the top and put it over your head. Be sure the straps are at the top or the bra will end up being inside out.
3. Slide your strong hand inside the bra and push your arm up through the bra.
4. With your strong hand, pull the bra down over your weak arm. Lift your weak hand to pull it out of the bra. Your bra will be around your body near your waist.
5. Adjust the bra as needed with your strong hand so the cups are in front of your body and the straps are at the top.
6. Use your strong hand and lift your weak hand into the strap on the weak side.
7. Pull the strap up on that arm.
8. Put your stronger arm into the other strap and pull it up on that arm.
9. Adjust the bra and the straps as needed.

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This worked for me. Too bad there weren't instructions for taking the thing off, too, as my usual methods did not work. I cannot, I learned, undo the bra I had on with one hand; just cannot do it, at least while it is still on.

So I had to try something else. I thought I'd pull one strap down (through my shirt sleeve) so I could pull my arm through it. That resulted eventually in my having one girl hanging out and the strap completely entangled with the sleeve, to the point of not being able to move either. So I moved the other side of the bra, which eventually had me bare-chested, still entangled on my dominant side, and wondering whether I was going to have to leave the house like that -- boobs swinging freely in the chill night air -- to find a neighbor to untangle me (and my shirt).

So I started gnawing on the shirt to try to free myself. Had I had the energy for it, there would have been cursing involved, but I didn't so there wasn't.

A brief vision of my half-naked body being found days from then flashed through my head. I gnawed harder, then started pulling at my shirt with my teeth in an attempt to break the tangle... didn't help. Pulled the front of the shirt up and over my head to free my head... didn't help. Pulled the shirt front and back over my head so it was all in front of me and tried to free the broken arm from the stranglehold... didn't help.

I put my head back through neck of shirt and turned my attention again to the sleeve-and-bra-strap knot. Straining my head backwards with the shirt cloth between my teeth and resisting the strong urge to damn the pain and grab something with my broken left arm (not that I could have), I managed to move one bit of tangle with my dominant hand, then a little more. Taking a fresh bite to take advantage of the newly-released fabric, I pulled back with my teeth again and clawed frantically at the knot with my good hand, gradually getting more and more of the tangle to come undone until there was enough room to allow me to free my arm of the shirt-and-bra-strap.

After that, it was relatively short work to get everything off me, finish untangling it, and put my shirt back on.

Next time -- should I ever leave the house again, I mean, while still in a cast -- I will not assume I can take off my bra without exposing myself (as I can normally) and will make sure to close the blinds before I attempt to free the boobies.

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Originally Posted by owlice

Many many thanks for the healing wishes; I appreciate them very much.

Below are instructions from the Department of Rehabilitation Services, The Ohio State University Medical Center; my best friend found their PDF, with diagrams (which are very helpful), and sent it to me. Might have been self-preservation on her part, since she was was one who had to help me dress when I left the hospital!



This worked for me. Too bad there weren't instructions for taking the thing off, too, as my usual methods did not work. I cannot, I learned, undo the bra I had on with one hand; just cannot do it, at least while it is still on.

So I had to try something else. I thought I'd pull one strap down (through my shirt sleeve) so I could pull my arm through it. That resulted eventually in my having one girl hanging out and the strap completely entangled with the sleeve, to the point of not being able to move either. So I moved the other side of the bra, which eventually had me bare-chested, still entangled on my dominant side, and wondering whether I was going to have to leave the house like that -- boobs swinging freely in the chill night air -- to find a neighbor to untangle me (and my shirt).

So I started gnawing on the shirt to try to free myself. Had I had the energy for it, there would have been cursing involved, but I didn't so there wasn't.

A brief vision of my half-naked body being found days from then flashed through my head. I gnawed harder, then started pulling at my shirt with my teeth in an attempt to break the tangle... didn't help. Pulled the front of the shirt up and over my head to free my head... didn't help. Pulled the shirt front and back over my head so it was all in front of me and tried to free the broken arm from the stranglehold... didn't help.

I put my head back through neck of shirt and turned my attention again to the sleeve-and-bra-strap knot. Straining my head backwards with the shirt cloth between my teeth and resisting the strong urge to damn the pain and grab something with my broken left arm (not that I could have), I managed to move one bit of tangle with my dominant hand, then a little more. Taking a fresh bite to take advantage of the newly-released fabric, I pulled back with my teeth again and clawed frantically at the knot with my good hand, gradually getting more and more of the tangle to come undone until there was enough room to allow me to free my arm of the shirt-and-bra-strap.

After that, it was relatively short work to get everything off me, finish untangling it, and put my shirt back on.

Next time -- should I ever leave the house again, I mean, while still in a cast -- I will not assume I can take off my bra without exposing myself (as I can normally) and will make sure to close the blinds before I attempt to free the boobies.

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I am so sorry that you had to go though this, but thank you so much for sharing it! I needed the laugh and I admit that you had me laughing hysterically through your entire description!

When I severely sun-burnt my shoulders in HS (I was badly blistered and my mom had to cut my nightgown off me!) I got away with wearing stretchy, fitted tank tops under my clothes. I'm not huge on top and those things (which are much easier to maneuver than bras) were just enough support to be presentable in public. Maybe something like that would work for the time being?

GLC, glad to have entertained you; I've since tried mostly reversing the process outlined in the PDF, and that worked ever so much better (from the standpoint of getting undressed). No teeth involved!! The only difference in the reversal is, once both straps are off, spinning the bra around and undoing it while it's still on rather than trying to pull it off over one's head.

I wish you a speedy recovery from your foot surgery! Quick healing to you!

This is an oxymoron people. If you are not big enough to have problems with the way some of these are solved - live without it for awhile. If it's a "what the heck???", try to find a drawer or small doorknob, I have 2 fractured wrists, one casted and I live alone. Step into the fastened bra, pull up as much with one hand till it hits the waist, then I shimmy to the knob - stick the cast through the armhole, and sink low to let the knob pull it up. Hey you just have to look around the house and repurpose everything, Underarm treatments have me bugged. Shaving, lotion, deodorant...
Good luck to you all, it isn't fun, but it's a long road without turns!!!:)

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Originally Posted by owlice

This is info I could really use. Proving once more that I should have been on a bike rather than on foot, I tripped on a sidewalk, fell, and broke my left arm. I'm mostly right-handed. All my bras are typical back closures and I cannot get away with going without support (or at least containment). I cannot use my left arm at all. (I had surgery on it day before yesterday.)

Surely there are techniques for putting a bra on one-handed, and knowing what they are will improve my recovery immeasurably! Thanks in advance.

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