Friday, September 30, 2016

Repairing My Shoulder



I can tell a huge difference when I lift on my right side vs the left.  There must be something in my muscle structure causing this, right?  Also, my left hand is often going to sleep and all tingly.  My coworker was thinking this was carpal tunnel.  I finally broke down and went to a sports medicine doctor.  This one is closer to work (actually on my way to the farmer's market) so it's a little more accessible (and free parking) than the rest of the doctors I've seen over the years.

Last Wednesday I stopped at the office on my way back from the farmer's market and scheduled an appointment for Friday.  When I saw the doctor she did multiple manipulations of my left shoulder.  I also had her check the bump in case that was related.  I was surprised when she took me to another room that had a portable ultrasound machine.  She took a quick informal look at the bump.  The diagnosis?

Other specific joint derangements of unspecified shoulder, not elsewhere classified, Benign lipomatous neoplasm of other sites, Impingement syndrome of left shoulder


Once I was done with the doctor I went across the hall to physical therapy.  They were able to get me in with a therapist right away; I just had to wait a little for her to finish up with her current patient.  After all I was in no hurry to get back to work.  The therapist manipulated my shoulder some more.  She determined that I also have at least one kink in my ulnar nerve, causing my pinky and ring finger to go numb on occasion.  So with all that, instead of her normal 2 exercises to work on she gave me 7!

Tweet: Physical therapy - shoulder impingement & ulnar nerve kinks @lawrtw http://ctt.ec/634U8+

Yes, I tried to get creative on this picture.  Do you know how hard it is to use a stylus on a tablet to color in hair? LOL  I gave up trying to color the others.

Same as the first but using the opposite side of my arm.

This one makes me think of it as a modification on the Superman exercise.

The therapist didn't have me use a weight for this.

My fingers would go numb doing this exercise.  I like doing this one while brushing my teeth.

The therapist said that sometimes the median nerve is also affected when the ulnar is funky so she threw this one in too.

Looks like I'll be laying the smack down! LOL

Today I got to use the arm bike for the first time ever.  Both ways my hands went a little numb.  I noticed that forward pedaling (do you call it pedaling when it's your arms not your legs?) my right arm felt more dominant but backwards pedaling it was my left.  The therapist gave me 3 more exercises to do but with the therapy bands this time.

Have you ever noticed the difference in abilities to lift or carry things between your right and left sides?

Have you had a shoulder impingement?  If so, what did your treatment plan look like?

October Challenge

In the Brand New Me Healthy Living Community we will be walking and running through October. We are doing this to go along with the If Girls Ran The World campaign. This challenge will be a difficult one for me since I don't like walking in the rain and have no treadmill for indoors.  I hope the library has some Leslie Sansone walking DVDs I can pick up!


The Rules

  • Run or walk daily.
  • Choose what you are going to track over the month.
    • Time: Run/Walk for more time on Halloween vs. October 2nd.
    • Distance:  Run/Walk further on Halloween vs. October 2nd.
    • Speed:  Run/Walk a little faster on Halloween vs. October 2nd.
  • Share an image from your walk or run with your time/distance/speed noted in the post.
    • On Instagram, tagging me, and using the hashtags #BrandNewMe #IfGirlsRanTheWorld and #Walktober (if you're walking) or #Runtober (if you're running).
    • In the Brand New Me Healthy Living Community
  • At the end of the month prizes (TBD) will be awarded to the person with the most improvement in each tracked category.  This will be on the honor system.

Tweet: Join @lawrtw 4 #walktober #runtober w/ @ifgirlsrantheworld http://ctt.ec/Q_k23+

Linking up with

#MotivateMe Monday with Fitness Cheerleader, Running Rachel, & Run Mommy Run
Sunday Fitness & Food Linkup with Marathons & Motivation & IlkasBlog

10 comments :

  1. Too bad to hear about your shoulder. Hopefully it gets better soon!

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  2. Shoulder injuries and issues are so tough! I'm still dealing with one from a couple of years ago that has improved, but still isn't quite 100%. Best of luck in physical therapy and with all your treatment!

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  3. Last year right after Thanksgiving I was diagnosed with shoulder impingement in my right shoulder. It was easily one of the most painful experiences I've ever been through, including childbirth. I had a series of steroid injections. Luckily it hasn't flared up since then but I am definitely weaker in my right side. I hope it clears up soon and you're back to normal!

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  4. I've had some little muscles strains but nothing like what you describe. Hope you are on the way to finding out what the issue is and working on it. Feel better!

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  5. Cassi - I'm so sorry about your shoulder. Shoulder pain is one of the most painful things to go through. My husband had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago. So not easy. I hope the physical therapy will help you . Isn't it amazing how numbness in the finger and hands can be caused by our nerves in our shoulders? Feel better soon Cassi!

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  6. I run into right and left side differences with my clients all the time. So common! We tend to favor one side over the other, which leads to strength imbalances. Or we injur ourselves and it doesn't heal correctly. My right shoulder has an attitude problem. I think I hurt it years ago, but I never had it looked at.

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  7. Oh no! That sounds terrible. I hope all this PT helps you.

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  8. I am lucky enough to have never had any kind of shoulder injury. It doesn't sound fun at all though :( Hoping for a speedy recover for you!

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  9. Hoping all this stretching heals your shoulder!!

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  10. Wow! Hope you are back to wellness soon... Thanks for sharing the strengthening exercises :-)

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