Armed for Victory

By the time you read this, I will finally have completed physical therapy following my October 1, 2024 rotator cuff and adhesive capsulitis (that’s “frozen shoulder” to non-medical nerds) surgery.

In other words, five months post-surgery, I am now free to not go to physical therapy. But that doesn't mean I will not be performing therapy on my own. Probably for the rest of my years.

Why does it take so long? When is it completely healed? Why do you still have to do exercises?

The End…Sort of

My therapists have been wonderful, with the primary one, E, not just giving me things to do, but actually listening to my responses to certain movements and exercises, and coming up with solutions to keep me progressing in my recovery.

For example, years ago, I separated my shoulder while lifting weights. I was at home and tried to do one more rep of bench press when I started to lose strength on the right side (the same side that was recently operated on). I could have done the logical thing, which was let the weight bar slide off my chest to the side and drop to the ground. But, I am stubborn, and also feared that letting the weight bar slide could lead to it colliding with the television behind me. So, I pushed the bar up and immediately felt my shoulder pop out of joint a bit. In fact, the acromioclavicular (AC) joint looks like one of those “pop up thermometers” on a turkey. It sticks up. Always has, always will. Of course, because I am me, I never got any medical treatment for this, knowing there was nothing to be done.

Which brings me back to my current recovery from rotator cuff surgery. Some movements and exercises irritate my AC joint, but do not bother me where the surgery was done. Same shoulder, same side, just slightly different place.

So physical therapist E worked with me to ensure that I did things that helped strengthen my shoulder without aggravating my AC joint. Pushups are not verboten, but they are not essential. Flies seem to be fine, so far at very light weights, as is bench press, also with light weights.

The lesson here is that every single person’s recovery journey is unique, and is also impacted by their overall health, prior injury history, and, yes, age.

Rearmament

I can report that my overall fitness is improving greatly. I’m back to doing side planks and front planks, and able to do nearly everything I did before I got hurt.

Plus, I can wash my back in the shower without using a loofa attached to a stick. Never thought I’d get there, range of motion-wise.

Much of this is because I attacked PT with a vengeance, listened to my doctor and my therapist, and also did exercises on my own time. As with most things in life, you may be limited in what results you can achieve, but you can push the boundaries with some guidance.

One other side effect of all this has been that I’ve gotten about as strong in the lower body as I’ve been in years. I’ve really focused on building strength and power in my cycling. Being able to do squats holding weights in both hands has been a huge help the last few months. Granted, at my gym, I’m among the smallest, oldest, and weakest members. But I know what my body can handle and how to push limits without risking injury.

The End of the Arm(s) Race…Or Just the Beginning

My shoulders are always going to need work to keep them strong. Both shoulders; both the right one that I had fixed and the left one that I hope to never have to get fixed. So I perform all sorts of very unexciting and boring-looking exercises, using bands, small dumbbells, and other apparatus. It’s not glamorous, and it doesn’t necessarily result in muscles you can see. But if it means I stay healthy and functional, I happily add those to my routine.

The goal now is to get back to competitive time trialing on my bike, with the season starting in April. In the meantime, here’s to opening bottles of wine without a problem and washing my back without assistance!

Takeaways

• Physical therapy can be tedious, but also a challenge to be faced.
• A good therapist will modify a PT routine to fit the anatomy, injury history, and health of the individual.
• The end of PT does not necessarily mean the end of doing PT exercises.

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