Shoulda Surgery

Pain level

Shooting up my neck, pain in the tricep, top of the pectoral, top of the scapula.

Sunday Sept 4th

I woke up at 2:30 and my deltoid was aching. It happened again around 6:00 am. I was fine until the A's game. I felt like I was stretching my shoulder and using the muscles around it too much. There was a point where I felt like I was pulling my shoulder apart and it popped a little out and in. I felt something like that when I got home. Now, I'm just icing my arm and feeling lousy about not resting it.

Saturday September 3rd

Wednesday I reluctantly went back to work. Wednesday after work I was exhausted but I managed to do the work. Thursday turned out to be better, I actually drove to Santa Rosa to watch my boys compete at the Junior College wrestle offs. I definitely was exhausted after that. Friday I completed work without a hitch but felt I made a dumb mistake by inviting my best friend over. He brought a bottle of my favorite, (bulliet bourbon). The drink made me wrestless all night and I think that has affected my shoulder negatively.

I feel like I may be doing to much, but I don't see how it could be otherwise. I am quickly gainin strength back, however I am developing an awareness of the pain in my arm. Specifically I feel like my deltoid muscles have a pinched nerve that is doling out pain as well as making the palm of my hand numb. Will this go away? I feel like if I could just move my arm into the proper position I could alleviate this pain and numbness. It isn't intense, it is just bothersome. I see the doctor on thursday next week to discuss.
One of the better things to report is I have figured out how to wear the sling so that it feels like it is supporting my arm. Before, I felt like the sling was a little useless. Now it can be really comfortable when working. When I have the sling on, I hold weight in my affected hand / arm... I think that it is not ok, but I just can't help myself. it is just much easier to do these small tasks with both hands.

Hopefully this weekend will take a turn for the better. Rest, rest and more rest. But tomorrow I'm going to the A's game with my wife for our Anniversary! I should be fine:)

Surgery and Post surgery

Thursday I went in around 4 and came out around 7-7:30. Thursday night was rough as the anesthesia wore off and the Norco set in, 2 AM was the height of the pain. I was better Friday and Saturday. I went off the Norco on Saturday night and had a fitful sleep. Sunday Afternoon I went to the classroom and did some typing in preparation for the Sub. I had originally intended on going in on Monday, but didn't make it. Sunday night was by far my best sleep and left me feeling great all Monday. I think I did too much monday as I walked around with my strap of the sling off. It felt comfortable to just press the block against my ribs withouth the strap, so I did it. Plus the sling does not feel as supportive as I thought it would. I went to bed that night without confining my arm to the sling and I woke up around 1:30 with major pain in my shoulder radiating down the side of my armpit down to my bicep. It felt like I was being injected ny a needle over and over. I feel like in addition to the work I had done with my arm on monday along with wandering night arm, I had hurt my muscles. It took an hour for vicodin to set in along with an ice pack for me to get any relief. It hurt badly. Tuesday and I'm taking it easy again, knowing I AM going to work tomorrow.

Separated Shoulder Grade 3

Shoulder Strength

Four Exercises to Strengthen the Muscles of Your Rotator Cuff

Remember that the exercises described on the next two pages, which help strengthen the muscles of your shoulder (especially the rotator cuff), should not cause you pain. If the exercise hurts, use a smaller weight and stop exercising when the pain begins.

Perform each exercise slowly: lift your arm to a slow count of three and lower your arm to a slow count of six.

Look at the pictures with each exercise so you can follow the right position. Warm up before adding weights: stretch your arms and shoulders and do pendulum exercises (bend from the waist, arms hanging down; keeping arm and shoulder muscles relaxed, move arms slowly back and forth).

Keep repeating each exercise until your arm is tired. Use a light enough weight that you don't get tired until you've done the exercise about 20 to 30 times. Increase the weight a little each week (but never so much that the weight causes pain): start with 2 ounces the first week, move up to 4 ounces the second week, 8 ounces the next week, and so on.

If you do all four exercises three to five times a week, your rotator cuff muscles will become stronger and you'll regain normal strength in your shoulder. Each time you finish doing all four exercises, put an ice pack on your shoulder for 20 minutes. It's best to use a plastic bag with ice cubes in it, or a bag of frozen peas, not gel packs.

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Exercise 1.

Start by lying on your stomach on a table or a bed. Put your left arm out at shoulder level with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and your hand down. Keep your elbow bent and slowly raise your left hand. Stop when your hand is level with your shoulder. Lower the hand slowly. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your right arm

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Exercise 2.

Lie on your right side with a rolled-up towel under your right armpit. Stretch your right arm above your head. Keep your left arm at your side with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and the forearm resting against your chest, palm down. Roll your left shoulder out, raising the left forearm until it's level with your shoulder. (Hint: this is like the backhand swing in tennis.) Lower the arm slowly. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your right arm.

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Exercise 3.

Lie on your right side. Keep your left arm along the upper side of your body. Bend your right elbow to 90 degrees. Keep the right forearm resting on the table. Now roll your right shoulder in, raising your right forearm up to your chest. (Hint: this is like the forehand swing in tennis.) Lower the forearm slowly. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your other arm.

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Exercise 4.

In a standing position, start with your right arm halfway between the front and the side of your body, thumb down. Raise your right arm until almost level (about a 45 degree angle). (Hint: this is like emptying a can.) Don't lift beyond the point of pain. Slowly lower your arm. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your other arm.

Hawai'ian weight lifting routine

Sonoma Mtn Workout 6.6.11

1 lap
3x Pull ups
1 lap
Burn push ups w/ med ball + abs
15 w/ball in left 15 w/ball in right
25 sits with ball on head
15 diamonds on ball
20 leg lifts holding ball on ground overhead
10 push ups switching hands
40 russians with ball
1 lap
Med ball against the wall alternate med ball snaps
30 seconds 20 seconds 10 seconds
1 lap
Footwork attack left ft forward square attack right ft forward square change levels on attack. Fast, then sprint.
1 lap.