Shoulder

Have I mentioned my shoulder hurts?

Well, it does. I decided that it might be tendonitis and that the cure would be to ignore it.

Soooo .... that was six months ago.

It got worse, so I headed to see the GP this week. He pushed my arm all about and said,

"You have a torn rotator cuff ..."

(I've have a torn rotator cuff before, from an ill-advised reach into the car's back seat, but it went away with rest and relaxation.)

"... but since you've had this so long I'm afraid you'll need to go to physical therapy."

(I've been to physical therapy before for ... an unrelated issue. You remember.)

I began to laugh at my memory of my pelvic floor PT, and the doctor caught on and said, "Yes, make sure they stay in the shoulder area." He kills me.

Well, arm therapy started today, and it was painful yet interesting. It would seem I have rested and relaxed my way into a frozen shoulder. The "Ignore Your Body" dictum that has served me so well with my MS has been my undoing. So first, to thaw my shoulder (I don't know if that's what it's called) I am to:

1) Stretch it with pulleys
3) Stretch it with towels
4) Stretch it with broomsticks
5) Attach electrodes to it and zap it until it jumps like a lab frog
6) Stretch it with my other arm
7) Allegedly have an ultrasound waves shot at it. That was right before the ECT therapy so I don't quite remember it.

Thank GOD no one tried to electrically stimulate my frozen Kegel muscles.

 

Comments

[Big Dot]

Ouch. Sympathy. That's why my physio's been wrenching away at my right arm for the last couple of months, so my dislocated shoulder didn't end up frozen. But he did give me a good (and accurate) definition of a physiotherapist: someone who asks you a bunch of personal questions, makes you take your clothes off, and then hurts you.

[TheQueen]

Big Dot - And does it unapologetically.

[Tami]

...and you PAY THEM. Everything on me keeps breaking, I have a team on standby to put things back where they belong. All of it hurts. Thank goodness alcohol doesn't mess with my medication.

[TheQueen]

Tami - I keep thinking too late that I could take some extra strength aspirin before I do my exercises.