Broken shoulder, 6 months later...
...is not so broken anymore.
Previously I discussed the first month or so of my recovery which involved the start of physio and a fair amount of pain.
The pain continued in a most displeasurable vein for about another 6 or 8 weeks, interrupting my sleep, as I started to get my shoulder back to having a range of motion for performing normal everyday tasks like driving, making a cup of tea, and getting dressed. Fortunately, after that, I'd got back enough movement and ability to take weight, that I could roll onto it while lieing down, and it wouldn't hurt any more than it did the rest of the time. Proper sleep finally came back, and life suddenly got a lot less miserable.
During this time, I was meeting with my physiosadisttherapist for about half an hour once every three weeks or so. They'd measure my range of movement with a cool-looking (to a geek like me) hinged protrator thingy, ask me how the exercises they'd given me last time were going, and tell me which ones to stop doing, and explain what new exercises would be useful for increasing my range of movement further, for me to do twice per day until the next meeting.
That was good, and I mostly did the exercises, so my movement improved. Also, the background ache in my shoulder continued to recede, only surfacing notably while I was actually doing my exercises. Sometimes if I pushed myself, I'd ache a bit for the rest of the day, but it was almost like a post-exercise been-worked-hard pain than an injury pain, and that was somehow more bearable.
Then about 8 weeks ago, my physio declared that I'd progressed enough, that they no longer needed to see me. My range of movement, which was about 80% (my estimate) of the way back to normal, was enough for me to do nearly all common tasks with virtually no impairment. If I continued with the exercises I had, I'd get back as much extra movement as I was willing to put in the effort for.
However, my shoulder and right arm were, as expected at this stage of recovery, quite weak, so I was referred to the "late stage upper limb clinic". This sounds a heck of a lot more ominous than it actually is, which is a gym area in the physio department of the hospital. They have a rowing machine, an arm bike, and some weights machines, and a bunch of less conventional exercises to do which I'm about 70% sure aren't only there to make you look silly. :-)
It was also around that time that I finally managed to get back on my bicycle again. It's a drop-handlebar road bike, so I've got a fair amount of weight on my arms/shoulders. With no suspension on the roads round here, it's tough, jarring work. But it's nice to be out again, when I can.
Anyway, I'm doing the upper limb clinic for an hour once per week. Going there has also persuaded me to join the local leisure centre, and get a resistance/weights program sorted out to do in their gym, which should help me progress faster. Recovering from an injury feels like a nice shield to have. Yes, I'm out of shape, and the weights I'm using are tiny, but I have a reason for that now! I may not feel like I belong in the gym, but at least I don't feel like I oughtn't to be there.
There are still some movements which are awkward or painful, but I feel like I'm getting really close to being able to bring one hand up behind my back, and reach the other down behind my head, and touch my fingers together again. I also think I might finally be up to going back down to the climbing wall this weekend. I chickened out last weekend, but I'm going to try and get out there and do a bunch of really easy, minimal-arm-strength-needed problems. Honestly!
Previously I discussed the first month or so of my recovery which involved the start of physio and a fair amount of pain.
The pain continued in a most displeasurable vein for about another 6 or 8 weeks, interrupting my sleep, as I started to get my shoulder back to having a range of motion for performing normal everyday tasks like driving, making a cup of tea, and getting dressed. Fortunately, after that, I'd got back enough movement and ability to take weight, that I could roll onto it while lieing down, and it wouldn't hurt any more than it did the rest of the time. Proper sleep finally came back, and life suddenly got a lot less miserable.
During this time, I was meeting with my physiosadisttherapist for about half an hour once every three weeks or so. They'd measure my range of movement with a cool-looking (to a geek like me) hinged protrator thingy, ask me how the exercises they'd given me last time were going, and tell me which ones to stop doing, and explain what new exercises would be useful for increasing my range of movement further, for me to do twice per day until the next meeting.
That was good, and I mostly did the exercises, so my movement improved. Also, the background ache in my shoulder continued to recede, only surfacing notably while I was actually doing my exercises. Sometimes if I pushed myself, I'd ache a bit for the rest of the day, but it was almost like a post-exercise been-worked-hard pain than an injury pain, and that was somehow more bearable.
Then about 8 weeks ago, my physio declared that I'd progressed enough, that they no longer needed to see me. My range of movement, which was about 80% (my estimate) of the way back to normal, was enough for me to do nearly all common tasks with virtually no impairment. If I continued with the exercises I had, I'd get back as much extra movement as I was willing to put in the effort for.
However, my shoulder and right arm were, as expected at this stage of recovery, quite weak, so I was referred to the "late stage upper limb clinic". This sounds a heck of a lot more ominous than it actually is, which is a gym area in the physio department of the hospital. They have a rowing machine, an arm bike, and some weights machines, and a bunch of less conventional exercises to do which I'm about 70% sure aren't only there to make you look silly. :-)
It was also around that time that I finally managed to get back on my bicycle again. It's a drop-handlebar road bike, so I've got a fair amount of weight on my arms/shoulders. With no suspension on the roads round here, it's tough, jarring work. But it's nice to be out again, when I can.
Anyway, I'm doing the upper limb clinic for an hour once per week. Going there has also persuaded me to join the local leisure centre, and get a resistance/weights program sorted out to do in their gym, which should help me progress faster. Recovering from an injury feels like a nice shield to have. Yes, I'm out of shape, and the weights I'm using are tiny, but I have a reason for that now! I may not feel like I belong in the gym, but at least I don't feel like I oughtn't to be there.
There are still some movements which are awkward or painful, but I feel like I'm getting really close to being able to bring one hand up behind my back, and reach the other down behind my head, and touch my fingers together again. I also think I might finally be up to going back down to the climbing wall this weekend. I chickened out last weekend, but I'm going to try and get out there and do a bunch of really easy, minimal-arm-strength-needed problems. Honestly!