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Had my third post op check up with the doc yesterday. I have to say that I am surprised at the results. Surprised, but very happy. After reading the progress note from my physical therapist and then checking range of motion and strength for himself, he declared me “good to go.” He has released me to completely return to normal activity. He even said I could return to the rock gym, not to climb vigorously yet, but if I wanted to try some non-aggressive moves, I could! At this point he feels that the tear is healed and it will take another “catastrophic” event to re-injure it.
I asked about weight lifting and I got the same response of, “go for it.” I do have to be careful because I don’t have full strength back in the rotator cuff muscles, so he would rather see me lift slowly at 50%, then push 100%. Form is the most important thing right now otherwise I’ll be training the muscles to compensate for a weak shoulder. He said that I don’t have to return to physical therapy if I didn’t want to, but I said I would like help getting back into an exercise program, so I’ve got another four weeks at twice a week. I think it’s best to build the strongest foundation that I can, and I don’t always keep to a well-structured plan at home. I have had a few more side effects from the experience this past few weeks. At the place where I have physical therapy I was seeing a few different physical therapists. I switched over to just one, a guy named Tim. I’m happy with this because he’s a bit more aggressive with the passive stretching and the past few weeks I have seen huge improvements in range of motion. What is the side effect of this? I’m exhausted. The pain really takes it out of you. There has been more than one occasion where I’ve gotten home from pt and dropped right into bed. The other side effect is that with increased use comes a few more aches and pains. I’ve got what looks to be mild tendonitis in my elbow. It’s probably just from increased use this past few weeks, but I have to ice it a few times a day. So besides the usual falling apart I’m doing quite well, I feel that a few more months and I’ll be back to normal. Or at least as normal as I get… Note: He also mentioned this website! He is very impressed with the information and discussion happening here. One thing he did say was he is concerned that it sounds like some visitors don’t fully understand their injury. So everyone needs to remember that it is their own personal responsibility to understand what their doctors are telling them. In a perfect world the doctor/patient connection would be 100%, but sometimes doctors don’t fully explain, and sometimes patients don’t completely understand. While it is up to the doctor to make sure you have the information, if you walk away with questions you haven’t asked then you are the one at a loss. If you don’t understand your doctor or feel uncomfortable asking questions, get another one. I know I have one I can recommend… |
