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Showing posts from May, 2021

Shoulder Surgery Recovery: Wrapping Up Week 5

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Physio Update: Yesterday, I had my third physical therapy session . I’m happy with my progress so far—increasing my range of motion slowly with the pulley and table slides! Dr. Dan added some dowel exercises (I use an old shower curtain rod at home). The exercise looks like a bench press, but my non-op arm is doing all the lifting and the op-shoulder is along for the ride. At home, I like to do a set of 20 pulley pull-ups, 20 pulley punches, 10 floor dowel bench presses, 20 table slides, and 20 scapula squeezes followed by a set of 30 body weight squats and 10 lunges (front + back, each side). I try to do three full sets at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with one set here and there throughout the day. Here is an image of my shoulder flexion progress from day one of physical therapy to now (14 days of progress): Exercise Update: I think the lunges, squats, and banded side steps help with blood flow and getting my heart rate up/allowing me better range of motion. I think I overdid the bik

Shoulder Surgery Recovery: Weeks 3-5

Week 3 was interesting. Although I felt ready in week 2 to start moving about, walking and biking, I think I pushed it a bit too hard (I had a great 7 mile walk with a few sub-13:00 miles in there/fast walk for me and some interval bike rides), and week 3-4 was exhausting. I felt like I hit a wall. Everything was hard. Staying awake for 8 hours was tiring. I napped a lot. I was teleworking, but my mind still felt clouded while reading, and writing e-mails with one hand felt incredibly frustrating. I couldn’t get in a routine. I felt like everything was bothering me—from having my house re-arranged by my boyfriend, to not having appetite, to not being able to cook my own food. I normally woke up at 5am before surgery, but I was waking up at 7am or later and still feeling tired. I had some aches that I took Tylenol for, and I iced a little. What felt like deep bone pain was still lingering. Sleeping wasn’t as easy, since I was now off the oxycodone (which knocks me out). Week 3 was blah