Elbow Update
It is now one month since my surgery. I thought it was time for an update.
The scab tissue has all fallen off the incision site, and over the last week I've shed a whole bunch of layers of skin from the surrounding region. The area surrounding the incision is still slightly swollen, but it seems to be healing.
The outside of my elbow is somewhat numb. It's not completely without feeling (which I think means this is getting better), but it's definitely less sensitive to, say, scratching lightly with a fingernail than the opposite arm.
Flexibility in my elbow does seem to be improving, though at a slower rate than I'd hoped. I can now reach maximum extension (for me) with only minor pain. Flexion is worse; it looks like I can get to about 80°. I can touch my nose with only minor discomfort, and can put my hand on top of my head. Reaching the base of where my hair gathers at the back is a stretch, but doable. Reaching the nape of my neck is impossible. I don't think I have quite enough reach to start braiding my hair yet, unfortunately; I'm really looking forward to being able to take better care of it.
I'm noticing my shoulder seems to have also become extra-stiff at some point. I'll have to start working more actively on stretching it out as well as the elbow, and I think I'm healed enough to try to start up general exercises again.
The remaining pain and numbness make it tough to really think about whether this actually helped anything or not, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic that the surgery won't have any lasting negative effects.
This post submitted with two monkeys and no formatting to test if that has the result I'd hope; but I should probably switch to JerryWiki or learn and install Markdown.
Answer: monkeys don't have any apparent effect.
The scab tissue has all fallen off the incision site, and over the last week I've shed a whole bunch of layers of skin from the surrounding region. The area surrounding the incision is still slightly swollen, but it seems to be healing.
The outside of my elbow is somewhat numb. It's not completely without feeling (which I think means this is getting better), but it's definitely less sensitive to, say, scratching lightly with a fingernail than the opposite arm.
Flexibility in my elbow does seem to be improving, though at a slower rate than I'd hoped. I can now reach maximum extension (for me) with only minor pain. Flexion is worse; it looks like I can get to about 80°. I can touch my nose with only minor discomfort, and can put my hand on top of my head. Reaching the base of where my hair gathers at the back is a stretch, but doable. Reaching the nape of my neck is impossible. I don't think I have quite enough reach to start braiding my hair yet, unfortunately; I'm really looking forward to being able to take better care of it.
I'm noticing my shoulder seems to have also become extra-stiff at some point. I'll have to start working more actively on stretching it out as well as the elbow, and I think I'm healed enough to try to start up general exercises again.
The remaining pain and numbness make it tough to really think about whether this actually helped anything or not, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic that the surgery won't have any lasting negative effects.
This post submitted with two monkeys and no formatting to test if that has the result I'd hope; but I should probably switch to JerryWiki or learn and install Markdown.
Answer: monkeys don't have any apparent effect.