Therapy

Everyone told me that after shoulder surgery, physical therapy really sucks.  They were neither kidding nor exaggerating.

It’s really bad.

The glenoid labrum, the part of my shoulder that they repaired, is usually pretty flexible and moves a bit when the shoulder moves.  But when the labrum has ben re-attached, it doesn’t flex very well.  It becomes stiff and often has a bit of scar tissue in it as well.

The shoulder doesn’t have a whole lot of room in it, so unless everything is working together just perfectly, the shoulder doesn’t move very well.  That’s what causes the diminished range of motion that I am experiencing right now.

So here’s a typical physical therapy session right now:

We start out with ultrasound therapy.  Lotion/gel is applied to my shoulder and the PT assistant uses the ultrasound wand to shoot high frequency (above the range of human hearing for sure) sound waves into my shoulder.  This helps reduce any swelling present, helps promote healing through improved blood flow, and it gently massages soft tissues deep inside my shoulder while it softens scar tissue.

Next is e-stym, or electrical stimulation therapy.  The PT assistant puts electrodes on my shoulder and adds a heat pad to my shoulder.  Then I sit while my shoulder is stimulated by electricity.  This helps “exercise” the muscles that aren’t being used a lot right now because my shoulder doesn’t work right.

Then it’s time for me to do my stretches/exercises.  So far, I’ve learned three stretches using a pulley attached to the ceiling and a rope with two handles.  Then I do four more stretches using a cane to help stretch and extend my shoulder.

These.

Are.

Painful.

But once I’m done with my own painful stretches, the physical therapist goes to work.  I lay on my back and he pushes my shoulder past the point of pain, helping slowly increase the range of motion.  This is the most painful part of physical therapy.  It sucks.  Big time.

After only two sessions, I already am enjoying an increased range of motion.  I have a long way to go.  A LONG way.  Before too long, they’ll also teach me more exercises that will be used to strengthen the atrophied muscles in my shoulder.

I’ll probably have close to 20 therapy sessions before the end of the year, and up to 20 more next year to get my shoulder back to normal again.

I can’t wait until they’re over, because there’s no nice way of putting it.  It’s painful, time consuming, and absolutely no fun at all.