Keeping Dexcom G6 attached during Aikido or other close-contact arts

[cloudhand]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and tried searching for this but didn't see an answer, so my apologies if it's already been answered.
I started using Dexcom G6 a few months ago and wore it on the back of either shoulder for best possible Bluetooth tracking while swimming a mile 3 x week when the pools were open during the pandemic. It worked remarkably well for that.

But now that most of us where I live are vaccinated, our Aikido dojo has opened and I just had the G6 come detached last class, so have moved it to my abdomen (prioritising Aikido over swimming safety - not an easy choice but...).

So, my question for any of you Aikidoka or Judoka, or other close-contact martial arts or sports folks, is: how do you keep your G6 attached and where on your body do you place it? Many thanks in advance for any help here, or if you know of another group I should ask, please let me know.

Alex

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @cloudhand I wear mine on the underside of my arm, so literally flex your arm and then ping it to the back, I then run my finger around the adhesive a few times and have never had one fall off or become detached in any way, in fact they are getting painful to remove as the adhesive seems to work so well, I run every other day and get a bit sweaty but not on the backs of my arms, am sure the sweat doesn't help so finding a less sweaty location may help ? I would also use tegaderm plasters if swimming or doing something more strenuous like martial arts, just take care removing the plasters as will peel off the sensor if not careful.

 

[Nexus6]

No actual experience with the meter, but did Tae Kwon Do for many years, so I would be tempted to wrap some sort of cloth around it, and perhaps a wrap or two of duct tape or some other heavy-duty wrap athletic support elastic. We took some heavy blows and abuse. Just think some trial and error.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and tried searching for this but didn't see an answer, so my apologies if it's already been answered.
I started using Dexcom G6 a few months ago and wore it on the back of either shoulder for best possible Bluetooth tracking while swimming a mile 3 x week when the pools were open during the pandemic. It worked remarkably well for that.

But now that most of us where I live are vaccinated, our Aikido dojo has opened and I just had the G6 come detached last class, so have moved it to my abdomen (prioritising Aikido over swimming safety - not an easy choice but...).

So, my question for any of you Aikidoka or Judoka, or other close-contact martial arts or sports folks, is: how do you keep your G6 attached and where on your body do you place it? Many thanks in advance for any help here, or if you know of another group I should ask, please let me know.

Alex

Hi Alex,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm going to tag in @Mbaker . Who I believe is well into martial arts. & uses a sensor.
Hopefully, he can help.

 

[Mbaker]

This is a tough one, I do Karate alone these days whilst walking and as a warm up for resistance training. I think there is a market for a protective outer shell for sports applications using cgm's. I have lost several cgm's in the standard advertised position, so have tried inner thigh and fleshy part of near the elbow and bicep, which allowed for the use of weight lifting elbow protectors.

I would be tempted to try inner lower thigh near the knee with a knee / thigh covering.

 

[MangosteenElbow]

While not a combat sport participant, an idea for you came to me after I lost another DexCom G5 sensor on the weekend due to the Opsite Flexifilm failing.

I usually get a long time from sites on the upper buttocks, replacing the Opsite film before it loses its stickiness, with bit of cross strips (over the unit) for extra security. While I need that for fairly vigorous and haphazard sporting activities, it's not quite good enough for me (so I am interested in other sites that could be stable for long periods) and it wouldn't be viable for combat sports.

If long term sites on an arm work for you, have you considered compression sleeves?
There are loose and tight pre made compression sleeves for arms and legs. Maybe even a calf sleeve could be cut to size for your upper arm.
You could experiment with compression tape, wrapping it to your liking and securing it with safety pins (not those little hooks, which could easily be dislodged).

By the way, are there any rules of your sport about wearing bandages in competition?
Would opponents target bandaged areas?

 

[cloudhand]

Hi Alex,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm going to tag in @Mbaker . Who I believe is well into martial arts. & uses a sensor.
Hopefully, he can help.

Thank you!

 

[cloudhand]

While not a combat sport participant, an idea for you came to me after I lost another DexCom G5 sensor on the weekend due to the Opsite Flexifilm failing.

I usually get a long time from sites on the upper buttocks, replacing the Opsite film before it loses its stickiness, with bit of cross strips (over the unit) for extra security. While I need that for fairly vigorous and haphazard sporting activities, it's not quite good enough for me (so I am interested in other sites that could be stable for long periods) and it wouldn't be viable for combat sports.

If long term sites on an arm work for you, have you considered compression sleeves?
There are loose and tight pre made compression sleeves for arms and legs. Maybe even a calf sleeve could be cut to size for your upper arm.
You could experiment with compression tape, wrapping it to your liking and securing it with safety pins (not those little hooks, which could easily be dislodged).

By the way, are there any rules of your sport about wearing bandages in competition?
Would opponents target bandaged areas?

Thanks for the ideas - I'll give these some thought. Aikido doesn't have competitions like Judo where you score for performance, so no rules about what you wear and no targeting vulnerable areas, but there's a lot of body-to-body contact and grabbing the gi (uniform) especially around the arms/upper arms/shoulders - plus we roll all the time, in many different variations, so having the G6 where you might roll on it and shear it slightly one way or the other leads to easy dislodgment of the little G6 insert into the skin..

 

[cloudhand]

This is a tough one, I do Karate alone these days whilst walking and as a warm up for resistance training. I think there is a market for a protective outer shell for sports applications using cgm's. I have lost several cgm's in the standard advertised position, so have tried inner thigh and fleshy part of near the elbow and bicep, which allowed for the use of weight lifting elbow protectors.

I would be tempted to try inner lower thigh near the knee with a knee / thigh covering.

Thank you.

 

[cloudhand]

No actual experience with the meter, but did Tae Kwon Do for many years, so I would be tempted to wrap some sort of cloth around it, and perhaps a wrap or two of duct tape or some other heavy-duty wrap athletic support elastic. We took some heavy blows and abuse. Just think some trial and error.

Thanks.

 

[cloudhand]

Hello @cloudhand I wear mine on the underside of my arm, so literally flex your arm and then ping it to the back, I then run my finger around the adhesive a few times and have never had one fall off or become detached in any way, in fact they are getting painful to remove as the adhesive seems to work so well, I run every other day and get a bit sweaty but not on the backs of my arms, am sure the sweat doesn't help so finding a less sweaty location may help ? I would also use tegaderm plasters if swimming or doing something more strenuous like martial arts, just take care removing the plasters as will peel off the sensor if not careful.

Thank you.