Being injured SUCKS!!

[Tacoma]

Yeah.. I hit mine just right, and ended up tearing pretty much eveyrthing out of my shoulder. So let's see:

5 wks to heal broken collarbone
6 wks PT for suspected torn labrum (wasn't.. )
6 wks in an immobilizer after surgery to reattach torn ligaments, muscle, and let the bone anchors knit into my bones
6 mos aggressive and painful PT to stretch out my shortened ligaments, which do NOT like to stretch. Roger can verify my "painful" claim. Thank you Lord, for all your gifts, but mostly for painkillers

1yr and 4mos later, I am mostly back to normal, but there are some angles that don't quite work yet, and may not again, and I am doing strength rehab still.


YMMV though, I tore stuff up, and was not the norm. If you have to have shoulder surgery, you're in for about a 6wk recovery minimum, and some uncomfortable rehab, so get your mind around that beforehand. We didn't know how jacked I was, so I was kind of unprepared for the long-term BS.

Also, I've dislocated my LEFT shoulder a couple times, and it's a mess-- should probably have had surgery on it. It pops out if I pull at certain angles, not good. So get it done if the doc says so, it's better than random issues.


EDIT: shoulder injuries are no joke. It's a complicated joint with a lot of torque put to it. Hard to get back to 100% if you really mess it up... Following through with a good PT is critical. My guy, who also did Roger's back therapy (see "Phatfoto, man of steel) was on point the whole time, and did a great job of letting me push super hard, but not letting me damage myself or threaten my recovery. It was super hard for me not to overdo it. I got a little stir-crazy, but you have to let things heal.

 

[pELYgroso]

thanks for that info Tacoma. I really hope that I don't need surgery but if the doc says that I do, I'll definitely go for it. My dad's shoulder popped out fairly regularly for 20+ years until he finally got surgery. I do NOT want that to be a constant worry!

Jack, why do you say to avoid the surgery? Wouldn't I want to get it fixed and onto the road of recovery as soon as possible if that's what's needed?

I'm already re-thinking a lot of my hobbies from this accident. Kind of realizing that I'm not innvincible and that my body is going to wear out! it's been a sobering experience already, and I'm only a week and a half into it!

 

[Tacoma]

Avoiding surgery if at all possible is preferable for a lot of reasons: the surgery they do is often subtractive, plus the recovery sucks. My little team of medicos did their best to keep me off the table.

But, if that's what is NEEDED, then by all means, proceed asap, because it's a long recovery no matter what. Hopefully you get lucky and DON"T need surgery though.

 

[Gravy]

Tacoma. Skateboarding. 3" Mini ramp at snogression. FREE. lets go.

 

[Tacoma]

3" Mini ramp at snogression. FREE. lets go.

I'll bring my fingerboard.

PM me details, I would be down with that

 

[JL Rockies]

When I jacked my right elbow, the initial diagnosis was my elbow was too far gone and would need surgery to repair. We the prospect of being the future owner of Express Shuttle on my mind, I sought a 2nd and 3rd oppinion and the last two Docs agrees that surgery would not guarantee range of motion and PT would be required anyway so I opted to slug it out in PT. My OT was a sadistic bastard but I went everyday for 60 days and in the end, I ended up better than if I went surgery. I didn't take any of the pain meds because I don't want to be under opiates; I believe in:
Son
Of a
B*tch
Everything's
Real

I did however save all the meds because I figure they have street value in case things got really bad.

 

[jackjoh]

The two posts above explain why to hold off as long as possible and explore all alternatives. Any time the body is cut with a knife it is major surgery with all that it entails. I am sure you have read the articles about hospitals being the worst place to catch diseases.