Showing posts with label physical therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label physical therapy. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2009

Shoulder Surgery: 2 Month Update


When all this happened with my shoulder I was told that it would take at least 6 months to recovery. My initial impression was that those people were nuts, after all it was just shoulder! Now it has been 2 months since my surgery, and I am hoping and praying to be back to normal in 4 more months. My doctor has me going to Physical Therapy 3 times a month (2nd month of 3 times a week), as well as doing at home exercise at well.

To my shock, I am still in need of icing my shoulder daily, with a therapist telling me I need to ice 3-4 times a day. My progress has been excruciatingly slow, to the point to where I can only bench and curl 5 pounds. The most significant improvement has been in my ability to lift my arm over my head. This week my PT also told me I have officially regained full range of motion above my arm!

Concerning pain, it is somewhat of an anomaly. People always ask me if it hurts, and while the pain is not always substantial it is always present. It is sort of like a nagging cough that will not go away. There is never a moment in the day where I am not aware of something being wrong with my shoulder, but rarely is there a time where I need to stop and catch my breath from the pain. In fact, this week someone smacked me in the shoulder and I noticed it did not really hurt. The weirdest thing of the pain is that on a typical day it hurts more in the morning than in the evening, which is opposite to my past experiences with other injuries.

Maybe God wants to teach me long-suffering in this… and it that is the case He is a very good teacher.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Shoulder Surgery: 3 Week Update

Today I had my 3 week checkup and it went great. Dr. Conway, who I would strongly recommend, showed me the pictures of my shoulder from surgery, then showed me pictures from a textbook, and it was obvious it could not have gone better.

He wants me to start physical therapy ASAP, and I was fortunate enough to get in for my first appointment tomorrow at 1:00. I have at least 4 weeks of going 3 times a week, and then he will give me new instructions after that. In addition to that, he gave me at home therapy as well… fun stuff.

Here are the pictures from my surgery. This one is a picture of my shoulder ball, where he fixed the major divot.

This one is of my shredded labrum, where he reattached the tendons.

Christy and I could not be more pleased with Dr. Conway and the process thus far… unless it could have been avoided altogether!