Well, for this year anyway. Today I was back to see Mr Shoulder, and the physio. I went for a run this morning, and was feeling pretty good. Apparently it showed. I said he'd lied to me about pain after the surgery, that I didn't have any - he said most people did find it painful, I was an exception, but did promise that next time he operated on me he would make sure it hurt. Ha. I think it was more that I was just bad at articulating how painful it was before the surgery, so my pain benchmark may have been a lot higher than other people's.
He said he'd heard I'd been swimming, which threw me completely. How? The physio told him. Ah. Well. She only knows a tiny part of it, actually. I explained about the actual swimming, and difference it was making, and he seemed delighted. I also told him I was back to the level of running I was at before the accident, and he said I was going to do fine.
He showed me pictures of the inside of my shoulder, with a comparison of what a normal shoulder should look like (white, mostly). Mine was bright red and nasty looking, so at least that explains why it was so sodding painful. He had seen me arrive, swinging my bag, so didn't need to see my arm moving about, he was already happy with progress.
I asked about the lump on my hand, where the fracture healed - it keeps getting irritated. He tested a few spots around it, which weren't painful, then tested the lump, which was. It's inflammation, and there are 3 options: 1 - do nothing, and it will go away in 6-9 months; 2 - wear the delightful splint again; 3 - have an injection, which is apparently exquisitely painful (oh, you had me at injection, Mr Shoulder, it was never going to happen even before you mentioned pain).
I also asked about my left hand - when attempting something that requires my hand to be flat on the floor bent at 90 degrees, either my palm or my fingers can be flat, but not both. That's just ligaments being stiff after the immobilisation and will resolve the more I attempt it.
The Hashimoto's and stiff/frozen shoulder link he dismissed. Unless Hashimoto's caused me to break my shoulder, then no, it wasn't the cause of this.
I also asked about the little bit of stitch sticking out - that's just my body rejecting it, it will fall out on its own.
I got a handshake, and told to go away til January. Very happy with that. Well, in one way happy, in another way, slightly bereft. I feel like we've been in this together, and I always had an appointment coming up to focus on as a milestone, whereas now it's just me on my own without an expert who actually knows what he's doing.
Off to the physio after that. It was fine - my ROM has improved beyond all expectations since the last time, and she couldn't believe it. I told her about swimming, and she would still prefer me to do some land-based stretching as well, but other than that, she doesn't think there's anything more she can do for me, I'm doing better on my own. Well, yes, it does seem that way. So that was it, nothing done other than ROM measurements, and I came home.
I would still like to find a physio / personal trainer who knows what they are doing and get some real shoulder strengthening going, but that can wait for a few weeks. It's now all on me, to keep swimming, running, and exercising the joint. Well, me and google.
He said he'd heard I'd been swimming, which threw me completely. How? The physio told him. Ah. Well. She only knows a tiny part of it, actually. I explained about the actual swimming, and difference it was making, and he seemed delighted. I also told him I was back to the level of running I was at before the accident, and he said I was going to do fine.
He showed me pictures of the inside of my shoulder, with a comparison of what a normal shoulder should look like (white, mostly). Mine was bright red and nasty looking, so at least that explains why it was so sodding painful. He had seen me arrive, swinging my bag, so didn't need to see my arm moving about, he was already happy with progress.
I asked about the lump on my hand, where the fracture healed - it keeps getting irritated. He tested a few spots around it, which weren't painful, then tested the lump, which was. It's inflammation, and there are 3 options: 1 - do nothing, and it will go away in 6-9 months; 2 - wear the delightful splint again; 3 - have an injection, which is apparently exquisitely painful (oh, you had me at injection, Mr Shoulder, it was never going to happen even before you mentioned pain).
I also asked about my left hand - when attempting something that requires my hand to be flat on the floor bent at 90 degrees, either my palm or my fingers can be flat, but not both. That's just ligaments being stiff after the immobilisation and will resolve the more I attempt it.
The Hashimoto's and stiff/frozen shoulder link he dismissed. Unless Hashimoto's caused me to break my shoulder, then no, it wasn't the cause of this.
I also asked about the little bit of stitch sticking out - that's just my body rejecting it, it will fall out on its own.
I got a handshake, and told to go away til January. Very happy with that. Well, in one way happy, in another way, slightly bereft. I feel like we've been in this together, and I always had an appointment coming up to focus on as a milestone, whereas now it's just me on my own without an expert who actually knows what he's doing.
Off to the physio after that. It was fine - my ROM has improved beyond all expectations since the last time, and she couldn't believe it. I told her about swimming, and she would still prefer me to do some land-based stretching as well, but other than that, she doesn't think there's anything more she can do for me, I'm doing better on my own. Well, yes, it does seem that way. So that was it, nothing done other than ROM measurements, and I came home.
I would still like to find a physio / personal trainer who knows what they are doing and get some real shoulder strengthening going, but that can wait for a few weeks. It's now all on me, to keep swimming, running, and exercising the joint. Well, me and google.
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