Last Night's Session / New Exercises / Sleep

Last night's session was the toughest by far.  Besides my shoulder being sore I walked out of there sore in my back, hips, thighs and abs because I was tensing all of those muscles during the session.  Beth stretched the crap out of me and she added 1 new stretch that turned out to be pretty brutal.  Now I am trying not complaining about these stretches because I know they are all part of the process...but man did it suck.  It wasn't so much pain as it was an intense tightness in the shoulder...almost to the point that I began to wonder if my arm was just going to come right off.  And yo know what, that might have been a better option at the time.  Let me tell ya...I am glad it is over.

I did get 3 new exercises to do at home and I will add photos as soon as I can find them.  All 3 are done with red resistance bands.  For the first one I grab the band,  put my elbow at my side, extend my forearm out 90 degrees from my body then take 2 decent sized side steps to my right.  I do 1 set of 10 for this.

The next exercise is essentially the same.  The only difference is I turn my body around so that the bad comes across the front of my chest first and my steps are then taken to the left.  I then follow the same instructions and do 1 set of 10.

For the third exercise I grab each end of the band with each arm while my arms are extended outward.  I then pull back in a rowing motion until my elbows are even with my sides.  I don't want to go past that neutral plane in this exercise just yet.  For this I did 2 sets of 20.  These 3 exercises are now added to my home activity.  The only difference between the actually exercise and the photo is that I stand straight up.  I do not bend my legs.

As far as sleep goes it is still a struggle.  I have not slept all the way through the night since the surgery.  Last night was actually the first night I slept in my bed the entire night since Dec 15th.  That doesn't mean that I slept the entire night...it just means I was too lazy to get up and come downstairs.  It just seems like every move I make I feel in my shoulder and I just can't get comfortable in the first place.  Eventually I will get a full night sleep...eventually.

Tonight's Home Therapy Session

Things were going fine tonight until I came to the external rotation in abduction exercise.  I gave the shoulder a really good tweak in my second set of 10 and was unable to finish the exercise.  I rested the arm for a bit and tried my wall slides and that was pretty painful so I only wound up doing one set of 10 for this just to play it safe.  Hopefully it was just a god tweak and it will feel fine in an hour or so.  Icing it down right now and praying for a good nights sleep.

Nothing To Do With A SLAP Tear

Just wanted to take a moment to say this blog has been international for a few weeks now.  Below is a list of all countries viewing my blog:

Range Of Motion Measurements

Tonight was the 3rd time I had my Range Of Motion measurements taken since my surgery and by all accounts things are going great.  The measurements have been:

SHOULDER ABDUCTION

• Initial Visit - 95 degrees
• Jan 18th - 126 degrees w/help and 123 on my own
• Jan 25th - 143 degrees w/help and 131 on my own

SHOULDER FLEXION

• Initial - 115 degrees
• Jan 18th - 152 degrees w/ help and 127 on my own
•  Jan 25th - 155 degrees w/ help and 142 on my own

SHOULDER EXTENSION

• Initial Visit - Neutral
• Jan 18th - not tested
• Jan 25th - 83 degrees

SHOULDER INTERNAL ROTATION

• Initial Visit -@45 degrees - 87 degrees
• Jan 18th - @45 degrees - 87 degrees
•                 @ 90 degrees - 78 degrees
• Jan 25th - Not Tested

 SHOULDER EXTERNAL ROTATION

• Initial Visit - To Neutral
• Jan 18th - 78 degrees
• Jan 25th - 83 degrees
  

New Exercies Added Tonight - By Far The Most Painful

Now that surgery is done and I have almost 4 weeks of physical therapy under my belt I can pretty much move my arm with some mobility to the left, right, up and down.  The only place I cannot move it is behind my back.  To give you an example of how far I can move it imagine you are wearing a pair of jeans.  Now picture your belt loops on those jeans.  Looking at the left side of your jeans you probably have one loop in the front, the next one is on the left side then the next one is probably on the back side of your left hip.  That belt loop on the back side of your hip is how far I can reach behind my back...and that is with quite a bit of pain.

Well tonight was the night that that I was introduced to the first exercise / stretch designed to improve my range of motion in that direction and let me tell you it was not fun.  It is a pulley exercise where I grab one pulley with my left arm and place that hand by the "back belt loop" area and grab the other pulley with my right hand in front of me and pull down with that hand.  What this does is cause the left hand to move up and back.  Let me just say that I was able to pull the pulley a couple of inches max.  The pain wasn't as bad as it could have been if I decided to really push it.  I took it easy because I have accidentally moved my arm in that direction before and the pain was excruciating.  That being said it was still a sharp pain with a certain tightness about it.  I did one set of 10 of these and each time I pulled down I would have to hold it for 3 seconds.  This is by far the toughest of all of the exercises I do on my own but not as tough as some of the stretches that Beth has to do to me.

Here is a photo of the exercise

 

Trying To Get Motivated

I am sitting here trying to get motivated to do my PT.  I didn't do it yesterday because I was very sore and it was hurting pretty good during Friday nights exercises.  So that means I really should do it today but it is still a little sore, I am tired and the Bears lost today.  Someone needs to give me a swift kick in the a$$.

Back To The Recliner

Well, it is 1am of night 4 of no immobilizer and I have decided to move back to the recliner.  I think I will be more inclined to get some sleep on here.  The shoulder is just to annoying to sleep on in the bed so hopefully I will be able to get a few hours down here.

Sleeping After Immobilizer Removal

On Wednesday I was so excited to finally get my immobilizer off...I mean I would be able to sleep in my bed for the first time in over a month.  Who wouldn't be excited?  Well that excitement ended after the first 5 minutes in bed.  Just because the immobilizer is gone doesn't mean I am going to be without pain and did I ever feel that pain.  The first trouble for me was trying to get comfortable.  I sleep on my left side which is the shoulder I had the operation on.  I decided to try and test it to see how much pressure I could put on it and it wasn't that much.  So after some manuvering I finally got comfortable...for 5-10 minutes at least.  Then every time I tried to shift positions my shoulder would feel it.  It wasn't really that painful but I noticed it enough to make it uncomfortable and hard to fall asleep.  A few times I did tweak it pretty bad though.  Last night was my 3rd night without the immobilizer and each night it has become just a little easier to fall asleep.  Hopefully withing a week or so it should be a lot better.

On a side note I am in therapy with a patient how had her surgery almost 7 months ago and she said just the other night she tweaked in pretty good in bed.  So it seems like the "tweaking" won't be ending anytime soon.

E-Stim...The Pleasure At The End Of Therapy

At the end of each therapy session I get hooked up to a machine and get Electrical Stimulation Therapy.  What is E-stim you ask?  Electrical stimulation units use an electrical current to simulate the same electrical impulses that are activated during normal exercise. By passively activating the muscle, the body responds in much the same way as during normal exercise. By placing a pair of electrodes (or 4 in my case) on the target muscle or muscle group, the unit can send electrical impulses through the skin to underlying nerves, stimulating the contraction and relaxation of the muscle in a rhythm similar to daily exercise. Electrical Stimulation can be used for two primary functions; strength training and muscle tone or pain control.

So basically E-stim is a nice pulsating massage on the muscles that were just stretched to hell by exercises and stretching by my physical therapist.  Combine this with a nice ice pack on the shoulder and it is a nice relaxing way to end a productive therapy session.

Tonight's Home Therapy

Tonight was the first night that I did the 2 new exercises plus the 9 others I have been doing and all told it took 50 minutes.  That includes 10 minutes of heating pad before and 10 minutes of ice after. 

Overall it went pretty smooth but there were two exercises that stood out as pretty painful.  The worst by far was the External Rotation In Abduction exercise. This one was so painful at times that I felt like stopping but I kept pushing through because stopping would not do any good.  A majority of the pain was centered in th etop front portion of my shoulder with some pain along the bicep tendon.

The second one that was pretty painful was the Sleeper Stretch which surprised me because that one is not usually that bad.  During these two exercises I started to really feel the muscle guarding again which has been pretty much in check since 2 Thursday's ago.  We will see how tomorrow's home stretching session goes.

Home Therapy Exercises Part II

Since I have my home exercises spread over several posts I am going to go ahead and compile them all here in one post.

CODMAN CURCUMDUCTION EXERCISES
Rest my right arm on a table, let my left arm hang down and rotate my hips clockwise 20 times and then counterclockwise 20 times

PULLEY EXERCISES - PASSIVE RANGE OF MOTION EXERCISES

The graphic to the left only shows two exercises but there are three I actually do.

 1.  With my elbows at my side and my palms turned in I pull up and down on the pulleys for 4 minutes.  This exercise puts some pressure on my shoulder but it isn't too bad.

 2.  With my arms extended out in front of me I pull up and down on the pulleys for 4 minutes (image not pictured).  This is the easiest of all 3 of these exercises.

 3.  With my arms out to my side I pull up and down on the pulleys for 4 minutes.  This exercise it the toughest of all three.  It could actually be quite painful sometimes.  

4.  SHOULDER INTERNAL ROTATION - Stand with your back toward the pulleys. Reach over your head with your good arm and grasp the handle.  Reach behind your back with your injured arm (as if trying to touch your spine with your thumb) and grasp the other handle. Pull down with your good arm. This should pull your injured arm farther up your back. I do 1 set of 10 and hold each one n place for 3 seconds.  This is the most painful of all of my home exercises by far. (Exercise added to my regime on 1/24 at the beginning of my 4th week of PT)

CANE EXERCISE ONE - EXTERNAL ROTATION IN ABDUCTION
While lying on my back I use the good arm to push the affected arm out the the side with the help of a cane. The affected arm stays relaxed all the time.  This is done in 3 sets of 10.  This exercise puts a lot of pressure on my shoulder and cause some pain every time I do this exercise.

CANE EXERCISE TWO - PASSIVE RANGE OF MOTION
While lying on my back I bend my arms 90 degrees, hold a cane over my chest and bring my arms back and to the left.  I do 3 sets of 10.  This is a pretty tame exercise and causes very little pain or tension in the shoulder.

CANE EXERCISE THREE - PASSIVE RANGE OF MOTION
Lying on my back I hold the cane straight out above my chest and bring it back as far as I can.  I do 3 sets of 10 for this exercise as well.  This is the easiest of all 3 cane exercises.

SLEEPER STRETCH - POSTERIOR CAPSULE / INTERNAL ROTATION STRETCHING
Lie directly on affected shoulder with head well supported by pillows.  Slide your arm up to 90 (level with collar bone) and bend your elbow to 90.  Bend your knees up to keep you stable lying on your side.
Place the hand of the unaffected side just below wrist of affected side and slowly push the forearm down towards the bed/ floor.  Make sure that you keep the elbow bent at 90 and you keep the upper arm level with the collar bone throughout the stretch.  Maintain the stretch for at least 30 seconds and it should be held at an intensity that you find mildly uncomfortable.

SHOULDER SLIDES
In this exercise I stand in front of a wall with the palm of my left hand against the wall and slide the left hand up until all the way extended.  While the arm is extended all the way I lean forward and hold for a few seconds.  I do 2 sets of ten each day at therapy and at home on days when I don't have therapy.

ISOMETRIC SHOULDER INTERNAL ROTATION
I stand with my left palm flat against a wall, push and hold for 3 seconds and release.  I do 3 sets of 10 for this exercise.  This is a pretty harmless exercise.

ISOMETRIC SHOULDER EXTERNAL ROTATION 
I stand with the back side of my left hand flat against a wall, push and hold for 3 seconds and release.  I do 3 sets of 10 for this exercise.  Again, this is a pretty harmless exercise.

STANDING RESISTANCE BAND ROW
With my arms extended I grab the red resistance band with each hand and pull back in a rowing motion until my elbows are even with my side.  I do not go past neutral with this exercise.  I do 2 sets of 10 for this.

ISOMETRIC SHOULDER EXTERNAL ROTATION
I first grab the exercise band with my left hand as shown to the left and then take two side steps out to the left and then back.  I do 1 set of 10 for this exercise.

ISOMETRIC SHOULDER INTERNAL ROTATION 
I first grab the exercise band with my left hand as shown to the left and then take two side steps out to the right and then back.  I do 1 set of 10 for this exercise.

Thursday Therapy Recap

Tonight's session was pretty good.  It had some moments of pain but overall I can't complain.  Maybe it was because today was my first day without the immobilizer and I was using my left arm and shoulder for the first time in a month. 

Beth added 2 new exercises for me to do at home and at therapy.  They are called Interior and Exterior Isometric Shoulder Rotations.  Basically what I do is stand with my left palm flat against a wall, push and hold for 3 seconds and release.  I do 3 sets of 10 of these and then 3 sets of 10 with the back side of my left hand against the wall.  Not that painful at all...I just feel a little pressure in the shoulder. 

In addition to these exercises she added a new stretch which I think was scapulothoracic mobility.  Really hard to describe what it is but all I can say is that it was not painful at all.  It basically stretches and loosens the back side of your shoulder which has a tendency to stiffen up due to the time in the immobilizer.

What's Up Next For Physical Therapy?

For weeks 4-10 post operation I begin passive range-of-motion to full, as tolerated in all planes; begin passive posterior capsular and internal rotation stretching; begin passive and manual scapulothoracic mobility program; begin external rotation in abduction exercises; begin protected biceps and rotator cuff and scapular stabilizer strengthening.

What does all of this mean?  I have no idea...I took it right from my doctors rehab program handout he gave me but it sounds like it could be pretty painful but as long as it heals me in the end I am game for it.  In addition to all of this stuff I can start to use my arm for light activities of daily living.

Codman Circumduction Exercises

In a post titled "Home Exercises" I attempted to describe one of the exercises I have to do at home and did not do a great job at it so here is a better description.  The exercise is called the Codman Circumduction Exercise, or Pendulum Exercise.  And what is consists of is the following:  I bend forward 90 degrees at the waist, using a table for support then rock body in a circular pattern to move arm clockwise 20 times, then counterclockwise 20 times.
Here is an example of the exercise:

Immboilizer is GONE!!!!!

I just got back from my follow up with my surgeon and he gave me the all clear to remove the immobilizer!  So after 35 days I can finally sleep in my bed tonight.  Thank god!  I still have to wear the sling portion of the contraption when I go out for the next 2 weeks but I will take that any day of the week over wearing the entire thing.  My next follow up with Dr. Forsythe is in 6 weeks so until then it is just physical therapy.

As far as the rate of recovery goes they were very happy with where I am at this point.  Without help I can raise my arm to shoulder level and with help my doc was able to raise my arm almost straight up which is great news.  Let's hope the therapy keeps improving like this week after week.

Dr. Forsythe Visit Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is a big day.  I go back to Dr. Forsythe for a follow up and to hopefully get rid of the brace once and for all.  It will be nice to finally get to sleep in my bed.  It will have been 34 days since I last slept in my bed so I can not wait.  Not sure my wife is looking forward to having me back in bed though.  I will post an update tomorrow after the doctor visit.

Therapy Update

Went to PT yesterday and today and things are going great.  Last night Beth added 4 new exercises that I can do at home and a couple of more stretches.  It was a lot to take in one night but I keep telling myself that it will be all worth it in the end.  It was a pretty intense session and I was feeling it after.  Even this morning I woke up and was in a lot of pain but that pain subsided after about an hour.

Tonight's session was even more brutal than yesterdays because it was "measuring day".  Measuring day is when my range of motion (ROM) is measured and compared to the previous measuring day.  I am happy to say that every single ROM improved by 8 to 17 degrees with the exception of 1 and that one stayed the same but it is still better than expected.  At the end of today's session I was able to lift my arm to eye level on my own with very little pain.  For my last ROM measurement last week I was barely able to raise the arm to shoulder level so that is great news.  So everything seems to be going as good as possible right now.

And an update on the muscle guarding issue that happened last Thursday.  While it was still present tonight it was not painful like it was last week.  Tonight it was more of a shaking of the arm than pain...almost like when you get a muscle spasm.  So it seems like it is getting better already.

New Exercises

On Monday night I had 4 new exercises added to my regime.  The first 2 were new exercises added with the cane and they are pictured below.

In this exercise I hold the cane at waist level then push the cane out with my good hand causing my left shoulder and arm to extend outward.  I do 3 sets of ten each day at therapy and at home on days when I don't have therapy.

In this exercise I hold the cane with bent arms over my chest and bend my arms back and to the left causing the shoulder to stretch.  I do 3 sets of ten each day at therapy and at home on days when I don't have therapy.

In this exercise I stand in front of a wall with the palm of my left hand against the wall and slide the left hand up until all the way extended.  While the arm is extended all the way I lean forward and hold for a few seconds.  I do 2 sets of ten each day at therapy and at home on days when I don't have therapy.

This is called the sleeper stretch.  I lay on the side of my injured shoulder, put my bad arm at a 90 degree angle with the table and with my good arm pull my bad arm forward as far as possible.  I do 3 of these each day and hold each one for 30 seconds.

Monday Morning Update

Happy Monday.  Well, I have survived the weekend but my shoulder has been pretty sore the entire time.  The majority of the soreness has been in the area where the muscle guarding took place at therapy last Thursday so I am hoping it is nothing major.  But I did tweak my shoulder a few times while sleeping this weekend so I am hoping I didn't do any damage.  Have therapy again tonight so we will see what Beth says about the pain then.

Feeling Better Today

Just a quick update here.  The shoulder is pretty much pain free today which is good considering that I thought I would be in pain.  Let's see how it feels after I do my home therapy today. 

Painful Therapy Session and Muscle Guarding

Well, tonight's therapy session was my roughest one by far.  Beth added a new exercise on the pulley system that caused a lot of pain.  Well, not so much pain as soreness.  Instead of pulling my arms straight up I hold my arms out to the side and pull that way.  It was amazing the pressure that it put on my shoulder but no pain no gain I guess.

The stretching session was exceptionally brutal tonight.  I damn near jumped of the table in pain for the first time during one of the stretches but the pain was not in my shoulder which I found weird.  I mentioned this to Beth and told her my pain was in my upper arm instead of my shoulder.  Beth said this is called "muscle guarding". 

Muscle Guarding Explained

Before a foot race, a runner gets into position, poised to take off with a burst of strength and speed the moment the starting pistol fires. The condition of this runner’s muscles at the time following getting into position and preceding the starting pistol firing is a prime example of “muscle guarding”.

Muscles can be held in a position of readiness to act much like when the body experiences the stress response (better known as the “fight or flight” syndrome). When this happens, the muscles are not in a state of relaxation at all, but rather partially contracted in preparation for some action needing to be taken (or, quite often, action that the brain simply perceives as needing to be taken).

Another familiar example is when a person treats a formerly injured but now healed muscle tenderly, even tentatively, out of fear of re-injuring it. This too is muscle guarding.

Because of such physical demands (as for an athlete or performer), fears (as for a patient recovering from an injury), or chronic stresses (as for most of the working class), a muscle can become accustomed to the guarded (semi-contracted) position and remain that way, as though that were its natural state. 

  

What Does Muscle Guarding Feel Like?

When a person’s body is muscle guarding, they experience soreness, tenderness, and pain around the affected area, as well as tension of the tendons. What’s worse, all of these symptoms only end up validating to the brain the appropriateness of the muscle guarding and reinforcing the need to continue doing so. 

Consequences of Continued Muscle Guarding

A common consequence of muscle guarding is muscle fatigue, not only of the muscle in question but those supporting and opposing muscles forced to compensate for the muscle being guarded.

Another possible repercussion of muscle guarding is the inappropriate and potentially harmful hair-trigger firing of some of the body’s reflexes.

The irony about muscle guarding is that the innate intelligence of the body has the muscles in question “believing” that they must be guarded so in order to protect the full body from possible further harm. As it turns out, though, this muscle guarding is more likely to cause further potential harm than that which the body is aiming to prevent by muscle guarding.

At its core, muscle guarding is an effort by the body to defend itself against a perceived threat (whether remembered, anticipated, or actually present). But when no threat is present and the muscle guarding persists, then the behavior has the opposite effect, promoting more problems than it aims to resolve.

Well, it is now 2+ hours after therapy and even though I am still sore it does seem to be getting a little better.  I am going to throw the heating pad on it and take a couple of more pain killers an hope that I am feeling better tomorrow morning.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

*muscle guarding info taken from http://www.rennwellness.com*

Home Exercises

In addition to the exercises and stretching I do at PT 3 days a week there are home exercises I have to do the other 4 days of the week.  They consist of the following:

1.  Bend over and put my right hand (my good arm) on a flat surface and let my injured arm hang straight down.  I then rotate my hips / body in a clockwise motion 20 times and then in a counter-clockwise motion another 20 times.  What this does is loosens up the shoulder without actually using the shoulder to loosen it up...if that makes any sense.  The motion of the rotation of my body is gentle enough to loosen it up.  If I was to just rotate my shoulder it could cause damage to it. (I have found out that this is called the Codman Circumduction Exercise and an actual complete description of the exercise can be found by clicking here.)

2.  Laying on my back, I take a golf club and hold it like I am doing a bench press.  I then push it up until both arms are fully extended and then slowly start moving my arms back towards my head.  I move them until I feel a slight stretching pain in my bad shoulder and hold it there for a few seconds then bring it back forward and then down to my chest.  I do 3 sets of 10 three times a day.

3.  Still laying on my back I take the golf club and grip it like I am bench pressing.  Instead of pushing the golf club up to the point my arms are extended I keep my arms bent (golf club about 2-3" off of my chest) and just move my arms from side to side while keeping my elbows at my side.  I also do 3 sets of 10 three times a day.

For now that is all I do at home but next Thursday starts the more aggressive PT so we will see what gets added to my daily list.

Back To Square One

Well, just as I expected...I had that great night of sleep Thursday night only because I was to the point of physical exhaustion.  Last night I had maybe 2.5 total hours of sleep and tonight (Sat) doesn't look much better.  It is now midnight and I have been trying to fall asleep for an hour with no luck.  Only 1.75 weeks left of this brace.

Finally Got Some Sleep

Yesterday was a breaking point for me.  I had a lot going on personally with my mother who is in a nursing home and that combined with my severe lack of sleep had me at the cusp of a mental / physical break down.  By the time I got back from therapy last night I was a walking corpse.  I took 2 Unisom and was passed out in my recliner before my wife went to bed a 10:00.  She said she woke my up to say good night but I don't even remember that.  I slept solidly until about 3am when I woke up long enough to look at the time and went back to sleep until 6am.  So today I feel great!  My only fear now is that I am rested it is going to start all over again tonight and last until I am to the point of total physical exhaustion again.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this is not the case.

Lack Of Sleep Has Finally Got To Me

This was not a side effect I was expecting when I had the surgery but the lack of sleep has finally caught up with me and I do not like it.  My fuse is very very short today and it seems like anything will set me off.  Two more weeks from tonight until I get this immobilizer off.

What Does Therapy Consist Of At First?

My therapy sessions last about an hour right now and consist of the following:

• 5-10 minutes with a heat pack on the shoulder
• An exercise where I put my right hand on a table, bend over with my left arm hanging straight down and rotate my hips clockwise for 2 sets of 10 and then counter-clockwise for 2 sets of 10.  This moves the whole body including the shoulder without actually rotating the shoulder joint.  Pretty painless exercise.
• Sit on a rolling chair with both hands in front of me on a table.  I then push back with my feet, leaving my hands on the table, until my arms are fully extended.  I do 3 sets of 10 and again a pretty painless exercise
• Now comes the "fun" part.  For about 20-30 minutes Beth performs the range of motion exercises on my shoulder.  She moves it in multiple directions to loosen it up and break down the scar tissue.  This is by far the most painful part of the session.  The pain is not so much pain as it is just a really super tight feeling in my shoulder which just happens to be painful on some stretches.  I know that doesn't make sense but it is the best way to describe it. 
• After the range of motion exercises I go and work out with pulleys for 4 minutes.  It consists of me pulling down on the pulleys with my right arm causing my left arm to rise to just above shoulder height.  Then I let gravity take my left arm back down while controlling the decent with my right arm.
• After this my shoulder gets iced down while receiving my electro-shock therapy for 15 minutes.  The electro-shock therapy (that's what I call it) consist of 4 patches stuck on my shoulder that are attached to a machine that sends electronic pulses to my shoulder creating the feeling of a massage. 

Hopefully that paints a decent picture of what therapy is like in the beginning.  As the routine changes I will post an update.

Things Feeling Much Better Today

After last night's therapy session I was fearing the worst for today but the shoulder actually felt great and I had very little pain.  That shocked the hell out of me!  I guess all of the pain last night was worth it.

Tonight's session wen really well.  I am limited in the range of motion exercises I can do but in just my 3rd therapy session since surgery there has been great improvement in those few exercises.  I have improved my arm movement by 15 degrees.  That may not seem like a big deal bu according to Beth that is really good an my overall movement for my first week of therapy is above average.  So things are starting off in the right direction so let's just hope that this continues.

Tonight's PT = Ouch!

Well, the joy of a smooth PT session last Thursday night came to a screeching halt tonight.  Tonight's session was a rough one.  Even though my flexibility was still there the pain was pretty intense.  We did all the same stretches as we did on Thursday and added my first exercise on the pulley system but it was the stretches that killed me.  The shoulder seemed very stiff and I was getting a shooting pain down to my elbow as Beth stretched my shoulder out but the pain will be all worth it in the end (that's what I keep telling myself to get through this.  LOL)

As of right now though I am feeling pretty good.  The shoulder is feeling better now than it has it the past 3 days so something good came out of the therapy.  Then again it may only be feeling better because of the pain meds and the electro-stimulus treatment I had after the session.

Finally, in case you were wondering, this is how my session went today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRFkCIQAjBU&feature=related

Just Curious

I was looking at my "stats" and noticed that in addition to people from the U.S. reading this blog there are people from India, France, Great Britain, Slovakia and Croatia reading this blog.  Leave a comment letting me know your name and where you are reading this from if you feel like it.

Shoulder Pain

Well, I has been 3 full days since my first PT session and the shoulder is just as sore, if no a little more sore today than any day since.  I wasn't expecting that but we will see what Beth thinks about it tomorrow night.  The next 2 days are going to be the real test...back-to-back nights of therapy.  Hopefully I come out of it with as little pain as possible.

Oh yeah, I took 2 Unisom...let's see if it helps me get more than 3 hours total of sleep tonight.

Pain Has Set In

Hopefully everyone had a happy and safe New Year's Eve.  Well, it took 2 days but the shoulder is finally sore from the PT session on Thursday.  I fully expected this seeing that whenever I do something that I haven''t done in a ling time the pain and soreness usually sets in 2 days after the fact.  I knew I wouldn't get out of that first session pain free.  The pain isn't horrible though, it is just like a dull throbbing sensation.  It is the lack of sleep that is still killing me.  January 19th can;t come fast enough...until then I will be living on a few hours of sleep a day.