Who would have believed that one year after my shoulder fracture I would be mountain climbing? The good news is that’s exactly what happened!
In our recent trip to Caritas, Alabama, George and I joined hundreds of others in climbing a mountain to a Marian grotto carved into the side of a mountain. Near the top the climb was so steep that we had to pull the weight of our bodies up the slope using ropes. Thanks be to God, all the weight training, physical therapy, and stretching paid off! My shoulder did just fine. The only body parts that ached the next day were my thighs.
If today you are in the throes of pain and discouragement from a shoulder fracture, take heart! Keep stretching and moving your shoulder according to doctor’s orders, and know that healing and strength will come.
Thanks for the encouragement. I’m six weeks into recovery from a four-part proximal humerus fracture, still in the sling, no surgery–but impatient for normal life. This helps!
I had open reduction and internal fixation for proximal humerus eleven day ago.not started physio on upper arm yet. Look forward to recovery like you. Will I be able to pick cabin luggage and keep it in overhead compartments of plane in a year??
Jenny, I am so sorry you are going through this. I did not break the ball of my shoulder off, but rather shattered it with four separate pieces that required surgery to place a rod through the center of the arm and screws to hold the pieces in place. I was told that it “may” never be the same, but, like you, I wanted it to get as good as it could.
My advice would be to definitely do as many physical therapy visits as your insurance plan allows. Once I started physical therapy, I could see improvement week by week. Your therapist might also have some suggestions for sleeping positions, etc., because of your back limitations.
Make up your mind to do the home exercises prescribed to you as well, and make them a priority in your life. My pt told me the more time I could devote to the pulley at home, the faster I would see improvement.
Good luck to you . . . it does take a long time, longer than I thought it would at first . . . but you will get there!
Gail
I have been on seisure meds for 42 years. I haven’t had a seisure in 24 years. My doctor thought it would be a good idea to take me off my seisure meds because I did go 24 years without one. Well i had a seisure while i was in bed asleep. Isleep on my right shoulder. Well I broke the shoulder ball off and disloacated it also. 5 hours of surgery a plate and screws. Now i’m 5 weeks and 3 days into recovery. THE doctor gave me the go ahead 2 days ago to start phy. therp. The doctor did tell me that because of how I broke it that my shoulder it would never be the same. I was told no showers. Well I did cheat. from the time i came home from the hospital my husband helped me take a shower every 2 days.The amount of pain was really bad. I have a bad back so at times my back hurt worse than my shoulder. I couldnt sleep setting up because of my back. I was told years ago not to sleep on my back or my left side because of my back. I know this is going to be a long road. I want my shoulder the best it can be. So i will do what it takes to make it the best it can be. I need all the help I can get so please email me back to let me know what else I can do to make it better. good luck to all who have done this bad thing to them selfs. sorry about the way i typed this. have to use the wrong hand now. jenny
I have been doing that very thing! I joined a gym after finishing physical therapy so I could continue to work on the arm (plus the rest of my body.) I find it easier to hang from the pull-up machine than hanging from a door at home. I hope I get the same great results that you did. It surely is a long journey with these shoulders, but I have learned a lot along the way. Interesting how these things work in our lives.
Blessings,
Gail
I worked for a long time to try to get the shoulder to straighten out overhead. What finally got it straight was grabbing the high bars and hanging from the pull-up machine at Planet Fitness. Probably seems extreme, but I was determined! It wasn’t dangerous at all because I could step onto the landing anytime I wanted, and it actually felt good to stretch the joint the rest of the way. 🙂
Blessings to you!
Kathy
Wow, that is terrific! I am now 10 months into my fracture, and am not quite as recovered as you are. Still working on strength and range of motion, but I have high hopes I will still make more progress.
Gail