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Once more under the knife, my friends...
... or maybe not.
So it's been nearly 8 months since my shoulder surgery, and while it was a success in terms of tightening my shoulder, it ended up a little *too* tight. I don't have full mobility back, even now, after 6 months of solid physical (painful) therapy. (Although the Vicodin is a nice perk. :) )
For the past month the surgeon has been waiting for me to make a decision on whether I'm going to authorize a new procedure. It's called a gentle manipulation. In fact, it's *so* gentle, they have to knock me out for it. (Full anesthesia again. :P ) These little adhesions gathered in the interstices of my shoulder tissues during the six weeks it was immobilized, and they keep it from moving where it should. Over time, and a lot of stretching, these adhesions tear free, bit by everlovin' bit. Which hurts. A lot. What they basically want to do is grab my arm, and *WRENCH* it around to break the rest of them up. It would hurt. A lot more. Hence, the knocking out. If it doesn't work, then stage two (while I'm under, so they prefer that I give the thumbs up before I go under... hmm...) is to go back in orthoscopically and *snip snip snip* at things until motion is freed. *What* things, precisely, is unclear to me. So I'm hesitant about that.
But.
My external rotation is 1/2 of what it needs to be, and I still can't reach my hand over my head without my shoulder blade gumming up and lifting my entire upper right torso oddly. Kind of puts the kibosh on that rock climbing thing I was really enjoying.
Today was physical therapy, and as the therapist and I are discussing it, we make the mutual decision to go ahead and schedule a surgery date. I don't really want to, but it's just not progressing. At all.
While we've been talking, she's been doing some gentle (no, really) pressing on my arm in various positions, and I mention to her that it feels really... odd today. Almost like it's floating. *spk* We keep working on it, kind of half-heartedly, *plk* and it's making the usual funny *ppt* noises. I mention that I'm really frustrated because in this one position before Xmas I'd had much more mobility *tkrk*, and tell her to go ahead and just push it and see what *gnk* happens. Push. Push. Push. *SPLQUIKL* Push. Push. Push... to the table. No pain. We both look at each other wide-eyed. *Something* went, we *both* heard it, (which is unusual), and it didn't hurt.
But I gained 25 degrees of extra motion in the next ten minutes.
I now have nearly full external rotation, and my shoulder blade stays right where it's supposed to be.
I guess I just needed to scare it properly. :)
So it's been nearly 8 months since my shoulder surgery, and while it was a success in terms of tightening my shoulder, it ended up a little *too* tight. I don't have full mobility back, even now, after 6 months of solid physical (painful) therapy. (Although the Vicodin is a nice perk. :) )
For the past month the surgeon has been waiting for me to make a decision on whether I'm going to authorize a new procedure. It's called a gentle manipulation. In fact, it's *so* gentle, they have to knock me out for it. (Full anesthesia again. :P ) These little adhesions gathered in the interstices of my shoulder tissues during the six weeks it was immobilized, and they keep it from moving where it should. Over time, and a lot of stretching, these adhesions tear free, bit by everlovin' bit. Which hurts. A lot. What they basically want to do is grab my arm, and *WRENCH* it around to break the rest of them up. It would hurt. A lot more. Hence, the knocking out. If it doesn't work, then stage two (while I'm under, so they prefer that I give the thumbs up before I go under... hmm...) is to go back in orthoscopically and *snip snip snip* at things until motion is freed. *What* things, precisely, is unclear to me. So I'm hesitant about that.
But.
My external rotation is 1/2 of what it needs to be, and I still can't reach my hand over my head without my shoulder blade gumming up and lifting my entire upper right torso oddly. Kind of puts the kibosh on that rock climbing thing I was really enjoying.
Today was physical therapy, and as the therapist and I are discussing it, we make the mutual decision to go ahead and schedule a surgery date. I don't really want to, but it's just not progressing. At all.
While we've been talking, she's been doing some gentle (no, really) pressing on my arm in various positions, and I mention to her that it feels really... odd today. Almost like it's floating. *spk* We keep working on it, kind of half-heartedly, *plk* and it's making the usual funny *ppt* noises. I mention that I'm really frustrated because in this one position before Xmas I'd had much more mobility *tkrk*, and tell her to go ahead and just push it and see what *gnk* happens. Push. Push. Push. *SPLQUIKL* Push. Push. Push... to the table. No pain. We both look at each other wide-eyed. *Something* went, we *both* heard it, (which is unusual), and it didn't hurt.
But I gained 25 degrees of extra motion in the next ten minutes.
I now have nearly full external rotation, and my shoulder blade stays right where it's supposed to be.
I guess I just needed to scare it properly. :)
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