Monday, October 17, 2011

Broken....

So today, to start off my vacation, I had to get up early to head down to physical therapy. 

Who doesnt like to still get up early on vacation... & like to have a little physical torture?

I'm in so much pain lately... still... that it didnt even matter.  I went with hopes that there would be some answers.

I get there only to get hit first with the reminder that health insurance totally bites.  Reviewing how much I have to pay out of pocket is the hardest punch in the gut for me.  Why not?  I'm used to people telling me, "You're insurance doesnt cover ______, so you'll owe $____ (More money then I have laying around as spare change)"....

The physical therapist asked me all kinds of questions. Does it hurt to raise my arm?  Does it hurt to lift anything over 5 lbs?  Does it hurt to dress yourself?  Does it hurt to do simple things, like write?  ....

... the answer is YES to all of the above.

So he starts pushing, poking & pulling.

Next thing I know, he has me raise my arm... (insert POP POP POP in my shoulder when I raise my arm)

He then starts poking on my shoulder blade in my back.  Has me stand up again & then grabs, yes GRABS my shoulder blade & tells me to raise my arm.  Pain?  Not nearly as bad as it was... I can almost say it wasnt there at all!!! What the heck?  Is this dude a magician or something?

He told me he doesnt think I have tendonitis in my arm afterall... he thinks there may have been a touch of it at one point, & that it may come & go, but that isnt whats causing the severe pain in this arm.

What is?  I cant even begin to tell you... it was like a 20-syllable word that sounded like a foreign language curse word.

So I ask him, "can you dummy that down for me?  What do I tell people when they ask me because I'm not even going to ATTEMPT to repeat that word"

He said, "Your mechanics in your shoulder are completely out of whack"....ok... dummy-ed down...

But that means that somewhere along the line, the shoulder blade & my rotator cuff have gotten off track & its made the muscles weak & it has them stretched & pulled in the wrong directions.. in the front of the arm & the back where the shoulder blade is. 

I thought he may be crazy at first because it hurts in my WHOLE ARM & my back & my shoulder blade has never been an issue.  He then went on to tell me that the rotator cuff reflects pain to where the bicep reaches the rotator cuff... & that pain "refers" down to the bicep, down to the forearm, & even as far down to the fingers... & he pointed to exactly where all my pain is.

He explained that is why heat/ ice/ Alleve/ anything for inflammation isnt helping - because its not really inflammed.  He used the word "impinged" & said its about building up the muscles again.

So, there's good news in that.  They were saying that if the tendons werent getting better, then we could be looking at surgery... but now its not an issue. 

But its still going to be awhile... he said that the muscle is pulling on the rotator cuff & that its going to take awhile to do these exercise he's shown me & for the body to adapt.  Because when I left today, the pain wasnt bad at all... even felt better.  But he said, "your body will adapt back to what its been used to - which is broken" ... "broken"... what a word... so its going to take months of repetitive exercises to train the shoulder to get back to where it needs to be.

... he was right too - the pain was back within the hour... even WORSE - which he told me it would be as I am trying to strengthen these mucles.

So - that's where I'm at... still in pain... but at least feeling like I have some answers...

but still broken....


12 comments:

  1. Hope your shoulder starts feeling better soon!! Shoulder pain is no fun. I have had pain in my upper arm (not shoulder) for over a year and they can't figure out what is wrong. It comes and goes now, and right now it is gone, so that's good!

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  2. Think of the PT specialist like an auto mechanic. You're not "broken" you just need a tune up! :)

    Hang in there!

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  3. I'm so sorry you are feeling broken...but I'm going to hold onto the part of this that is good news. No surgery. Fixable though exercise. Answers.

    Praying for you!

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  4. Oh, honey, I'm so sorry your hurting, but so glad you finally have some answers! Keep fighting the good fight...you can do this!

    Oh, and try to enjoy your staycation...October really is the best time for one!

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  5. Bless your heart...so sorry for what you're going through! Did you know that Brittany has declared her major to be physical therapy? Sure hope she knows what she's getting herself into. Hope you get some relief soon!

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  6. So sorry you are hurting but at least you have answers and can begin the healing journey. I will be praying for you and for relief!

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  7. Yuck! I hate you're in so much pain, but I'm encouraged that you won't be looking at surgery. Remind me, have you ever been to a chiropractor? Cause that sounds like what he would check first.

    Glad you're getting answers :)

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  8. Ugh! This is exactly why I'm not getting old. I don't know how you people do it.
    Take care of yourself.
    m.

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  9. I'm so sorry you're still in pain, but I couldn't help but rejoice a little because now you KNOW what is going on and can start to mend it! PTL!

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  10. Well, that's good and bad. You still have months to go but this is better than surgery, I think. What did he think caused it?

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  11. RJ, YUCK!!! But Praise the Lord that no surgery is needed. Hang in there girl, repetitive exercise on something that hurts is SO hard, but it does help in the long run, but it does take a lot of patience.

    I love you friend ~~ Dawn

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