had my last PT appt

Well, last week I had my last pt appt for a fx humerus shoulder fracture that happened when I fell off my bike last Labor Day.

I really expected to be 100% back to normal, but I am not. It seems that during the 6 week healing process and not moving my shoulder for that length of time the ball of shoulder gets sucked into the socket and through pt, exercise etc I am suppose to get a natural space there. I am still pretty much sucked in as this is the best way I can explain it as that is the way I understood it. I must continue to do my stretching exercises every day and I also do some weight exercises that I was doing at the pt office.

The areas of movement I still have trouble with is getting my arm behind me and getting it under my opposite arm pit. It does get further in both directions as time goes what I say miligram by miligram but I just expected to be 100% by now. My pt said that in time it can get there and that I may just need a break from pt right now. I am welcome back anytime if I would like to come back as I might to better after a little break.

I welcome any advice anyone from anyone familiar with this injury can offer. I wanted to sign up for a "flat" century in May to Montauk Point with my girlfriend, but I wonder if I am over extending myself and just go for the 66mile. I have not been outdoors on my road bike yet, since the accident but mainly due to weather and then commitments on the nicer days we have had. However, I do ride at least 50 miles a week on my trainer. In Nov. I took my mtn bike on the road for a 18 mile ride, I did not feel ready to take my road bike on the road yet, but really want to get over that hurdle soon.

Sorry, I seem to be putting alot of info/questions in one area here.

Ok, off to do my shoulder exercises.

~ JoAnn

{{{{{{{{{JoAnn}}}}}}}}} I'm sorry you're not as far along as you'd hoped to be in your recovery. Sometimes our bodies have a different time clock than we'd like. I hope you continue to improve and are back to normal and on the road 100% soon!
Mary

JoAnn -
I don't have anything to offer on the physical improvements front other than what you are already doing - continuing to exercise and improving slowly. I know that my accident was very different than yours, but I experienced the same frustation level that you are when it took me much longer than I expected and wanted to get back to my pre-accident riding shape. I had hoped to do a short tour 5 months after hitting the ground, but that was too soon for my body.

On the century front though, May is pretty early in the year. Although I know that many folks here rely on riding on the trainer to build up mileage, in my experience it's the miles on the road that help more in building up to a comfortable century. If it were me, I'd probably opt for the metric century in May and a full century a little further into the outdoor cycling season. (That's just one opinion though; I'm sure you'll have many people who feel that their trainer miles are enough...)

I'm sending more wishes for continued healing your way. I think that sometimes slower healing progress than we wish is our body's way of telling us to take our time.

--- Denise

HI Jo-n-NY. I'm still recovering from a similar injury I suffered in May. So yes, it really does take longer to heal and return your shoulder to something near it's full range of motion. I fractured my collarbone, but as I understand it, the problem in the shoulder joint is due to swelling from the injury and lack of motion while the injured bone heals. Scar tissue develops in the joint and prevents normal motion. The stretching you go through in PT breaks the scar tissue and continued exercise continues to break down the scar tissue and free the shoulder motion. I had 6 weeks in a sling and then 3 months of PT (initially weekly, then biweekly) and still do stretching and strengthening exercises. When I was in PT, I was spending 2-3 hours per day doing home exercises (heating the shoulder, stretching, and icing). Now I spend maybe 5-15 minutes per day. My current limitations are reaching straight over my head (it goes to ~80 degrees up fine, then makes 90 degrees with some pain), reaching behind my back, and reaching behind my opposite shoulder. I also have muscle aches in my upper arm, shoulder blade area, and side of neck/top of shoulder. And the shoulder makes lots of popping noises when I move it. I am a backpacker and so far have only been able to carry 20-25 pound packs (my collarbone has a big discontinuity right where a pack strap crosses but extra padding helps that). I started road biking again in September. Had to start with short rides so the shoulder muscles could learn to hold upper body weight again. I was doing 15-20 mile rides before winter came, sometimes with intermittent shoulder aches but no major problems.

I know how you feel about recovery taking much longer than anticipated. I was signed up for a 150 mile 2 day charity ride sceduled for 10 weeks after my accident. I clung to the hope of doing it for 8 weeks but there was no way. So be patient with yourself and lengthen your miles gradually. At this point I can't tell you if my recover will eventually be 100%. But 95% recovery is a heck of a lot better than some of the alternatives. So keep working and be thankful.

Thank you so much for your responses to my post.

Denise, in my heart of hearts I believe you are right. I think trying not to disappoint my girlfriend is getting the best of me. But there are 2 0r three centurys later in the year that my husband will be able to ride with us also, and it is probably better to wait until then to ride that distance.

DebW, what a consolation your reply was to me. Thank you so much. My pt did mention about the scar tissue developing and I just was getting nervouse that mine was not going to break down. My movement limitations are just like yours as is the pain in the upper arm muscle. I also has my first century planned 4 weeks after my fall happened. My little riding group ended up riding just a metric century which was my husbands longest ride anyway.

Mary thank you for your kind words also.

As long as there is that light at the end of the tunnel I will be a little less fustrated. Sometimes it mentally makes me feel better about things when hearing it from others. Thank you all so much. I do feel a little better now.

~ JoAnn