Shoulder Rehab – Almost there!

Today I find myself wanting to skip my shoulder rehab work. Not because I can’t stand it anymore, but because I have other demands on my time and I feel good about the progress I’ve made. My mind is telling itself that it’s not that big of a deal if I skip today because I am definitely getting close to full recovery, and if I skip a day it’s not really going to make much of a difference.

The problem with that however, while it may very well be true, is that this is how habits are formed. Since my rotator cuff is no longer holding me back it gets easier and easier to ignore treating it until it just becomes forgotten. I need to make this a daily habit, just as I have my neck mobility. Once it is, then I can skip a day here or there because I won’t forget to do it the next day. So now I must force myself to do it, so that the habit which forms is one of daily maintenance, not letting it slip by the wayside. So without further ado….

I just did 1 ALR stretch and kneeling ALR with 3lb, 1 LR stretch and lying LR with 3lb. I pushed a little further with the stretches. I have to be at 95% ROM (range of motion) on my injured side compared to my healthy side when achieving pain level 5 (at least with scapula flexed back and down), and I held it for 40 seconds this time. I also did 25 reps with the dumbbells.

Shoulder Rehab – Making Progress

The last couple of days I have taken a break from rehabbing, I had a serious issue with my foot. I woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain right across the bridge of my foot, right in the center. It hurt to move, the pain was preventing me from going back to sleep, so I zoned in and out of consciousness for the remainder of the night. When I got up to get ready for work I could put almost zero pressure on my foot, and barely made it to my closet to get the cane I keep there. Even with the cane, getting to the garage where I keep a pair of crutches was almost undoable. (I keep crutches in the garage because when you live life full tilt, you sometimes find yourself in need of them. They are in the garage because I learned the hard way that the attic is not a practical place to keep them should you suddenly need them.) The only thing I can think that may have caused the problem was either sleeping with my foot hyperextended for too long thereby straining the ligaments or tendons, or some kind of insect bite. I didn’t see anything that would indicate an insect bite though. The pain was comparable to a hairline fracture.

I am also out of Move Free, but have been adding collagen protein to my coffee this week.

Yesterday I only did one stretch and no weights, and the day before I did nothing. Today I didn’t notice any setbacks though. My foot is recovering pretty rapidly, yesterday I was able to trade in the crutches and come in to work using only the cane. Today I am using nothing, but I am still limping.

It really feels like I am making great progress with my rehab now. I’m still working in the “level 5” pain range, but I’m getting more ROM. I performed 2 sets each of ALR and LR stretch, 1st set is done with scapula rotated back and down, 2nd set with serrates flexed.

1 set ea. of ALR and LR exercise, 20 reps with 3 pounds. Note: I am doing both shoulders.

Shoulder Rehab – Making Progress

Over the weekend I did a dead hang from a pull-up bar with scapula activated (pulled back and down). Didn’t time myself, just did it as a test so I hung as long as I could keep very strict form. This morning my adducted lateral rotation stretch didn’t hurt as bad, and when I activated my scapula I was able to get more range of motion without any additional pain. For the exercise I upped the weight to somewhere in the 3-5 pound range, I used my lunch bag so I’m not sure about the actual weight. It has a bowl, a can of soup and a glass jar in it.

My side lateral rotation stretch didn’t hurt as bad either, but I wasn’t able to get more range of motion out of it. Instead of my usual isometric contraction I used the purple band so I could start working on strengthening my range of motion.

I only did 1 set of each exercise, and I worked both shoulders.