Not at all Humerus

Final appointment with Mr Shoulder today. I got actual applause. The last time someone clapped when I just moved a limb in an approximately normal fashion was probably when I was baby and learning to walk. Although in some ways I suppose this process has been similar to that - having to re-learn how to move and build up the strength to be able to use my arm properly again. Generally he was thrilled with me, said I looked really well, and that I had done incredibly well. It was really great to hear, and to see him at this stage to close the whole episode off finally. He does not need to see me again. A bit sad in some ways - I guess you build up a dependent relationship on your consultant (if you get a good one, at least), and it's a wrench when they say they don't want to see you again! He tested my ROM - that was the part that generated the applause. Then examined my arms and upper back and said the muscle was mostly back (I think it's more than mostly, actually, as I ...

Back from 2 weeks in South Africa - sun and heat, and relaxing in National Parks, driving around looking at animals. And a little light running, and some swimming. So good news first - not only did I not put on weight, I actually lost a kilo. I also can now swim properly, which is a huge improvement, and I need to find a way to continue with that. I took my bands and did a lot of pilates, and lower body work. And stretching, and shoulder ROM exercises. So that was the good news. The bad is that I had a pretty damaging fall while running at Lemoenfontein and crashed down when my left toe caught on rocks. My left knee took the brunt, then my hands, then fell over sideways onto my right side, damaging my right shin and right hip. I was able to get up and keep running, more cautiously, with bleeding hands. The bruising is quite impressive, and my hands were pretty grazed - had to remove the skin over the top as the grit had got in deep and I had to get the gravel out. They have heale...

So much fun! Loving them, they are the best exercise I've found. Also, much more tiring than I expected, and it certainly gets my heart rate up and gets my whole body warmed up. I've been following the introductory videos from here    and it's not quite what I expected - the momentum pulls your arms away from your body and there is quite a strong pull, even at the slow speeds I'm using, so must be more when you get up to the speeds that guy can do. So far I haven't hit my head, which I expected to happen. In fact, I can't even see how you could hit your head now, as the clubs are kept quite far from it. I have clocked myself on the knees, and on the shoulder blade, however. I can feel a change in my back and shoulders already, with some muscle pain, and stretching, and LOTS of joint clicking at first, until the joints warm up and get into the swing of it. After a few short sessions, there is quite a lot of muscle pain in my left shoulder and left upper ba...

Thankfully the week is ending much better than it started. My arm is back to its usual not-great-but-not-that-bad movement. Physio wasn't necessarily convinced by my theory of adhesions, but I am more convinced than ever. I have no more pain around the deltoid insertion, the pain has now moved further down towards my elbow. So that makes sense to me - after the accident the muscles and tissue were swollen, bruised, and had all that blood from my shoulder draining down into them, and as the muscles are now getting worked and bigger, everything is getting stretched and the old stuck bits ripped. Now if I could only get my shoulder working better. It feels a little like a holding pattern now - the muscles are coming back, the pain is receding, but I'm still frustrated by lack of movement behind my back. Yesterday I went for a run, and my knee held up fine, and is also fine today. Bit stiff maybe, and a tiny bit of pain below my knee, where my shin joins in to it, but nothing m...

And not of the tricep variety. Monday wasn't good at all - my shoulder, or more my upper arm, had been incredibly painful all weekend, and Monday hadn't really improved it. Off to the physio, and the first thing he asked was to see my movement. Well. Not great. Sideways was ok, and back wasn't really any different, but lifting it in front of me would only get level with my shoulder, not above. There was a pause, where we both stared at my stupid arm, wondering what to say. I hadn't had a chance to warm up, so it was a bit stiff, and it had been so painful for the last few days. I couldn't figure out what caused it. I only added Lat Pulldowns and Incline Flys, and neither of us could see how those would have caused this. Adjusted the session to be manipulations, not down on the gym floor. They hurt quite a lot. And at one point something really went in my upper arm and the pain was really quite intense. And my least favourite scraper tool came out as well. Don...

I have now booked the final appointment (hopefully!) with Mr Shoulder. Still not sure it's entirely necessary, but I guess it must be nice sometimes to see a patient come back with good movement, good muscle tone, and a smile, particularly when you deal in shoulders so most patients are in a huge amount of pain and probably not much fun to deal with.  So January 15th is the deadline date, and I need to focus on getting the best movement I can get before then. And the best muscle definition, to show the muscle wastage is a thing of the past.  Oh, and a tan hopefully after the holiday. Which he won't care about, but will make my shoulder look better. Only 4 physio sessions left until I go on holiday, but I will be taking a second suitcase with my pillow (can't risk my neck and shoulder on unknown pillows), my mat, resistance bands, massage balls, and possibly foam roller. When I'm back in January, I'll try and get in two physio sessions at least before I see Mr Shou...