Shoulder problems

[NbyNW]

+1 on Oakleaf's recommendations for your shoulder. I'm pretty sure my bodywork guy uses these techniques on me, as I see the books on his shelf.

I've had some shoulder problems myself in the past, so I can sympathize with the pain. Don't give up on it! It will take serious time and discipline on your part. Getting that mobility back may be hard work, painful, and boring, but you can do it.

Have you tried hot/cold, ibuprofen, etc., to help blood flow, reduce inflammation, etc?

Some things I was told to do for my past shoulder injuries (one was from dragonboat racing, the other was from using crutches & cane when I hurt my back):

alternate hot & cold therapy -- the cold reduces inflammation, the hot (or warm) helps get fresh circulation into the injured area

warm to hot bath or shower -- whatever you can tolerate -- to get the muscles warm. While you're in the bath take each end of a long bath mesh (sort of like a poof, except it's long and is looped or braided) to scrub your back. (You can use a small towel if you don't have a mesh thingy) Diagonally, right hand up, left hand down. Then switch. Then go straight across your back, upper, middle, lower. In addition to getting your back clean, it helps with surface circulation of your big shoulder muscles, and helps gently move through that range of motion. My Dr. had me doing this twice a day initially.

And what Kiwi Stoker said: use it or lose it. When I went back to work, one of my responsibilities was to empty out the office dishwasher first thing every morning. I hated it, but I swear that repetitive light lifting was probably one of the best things for my shoulder at the time.

It was probably a year to 18 months before I started to feel like the shoulder wasn't affecting my daily life . . . so be patient!

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Finally, a bit of a rant as to how you got hurt:

When I hurt my back a few years ago, I noticed that all the medical personnel who were moving me around -- EMT's, nurses, etc. -- were using very practiced techniques so as to not exacerbate my injuries and also to avoid injuring themselves. After all, they do this for a living and have to be able to assist people every day without hurting themselves.

I'm a pretty small person, but I got hurt in Guatemala, and some of the nurses there were even smaller than me. And they had to help me with getting in and out of bed, toilet, shower, all of it. They didn't have walkers crutches, or wheelchair for me to be able to help myself, so someone had to help me anytime I needed to get out of bed.

Given how short hospital stays are these days, and that most people's homes are not set up for mobility impairments due to illness or injury, it seems that family members should be coached on the same lifting techniques that the professionals use. Doesn't make sense to send somebody home so that the person taking care of them gets hurt. Thank goodness my sister is an EMT or I would not have been able to get into the house when I got out of the hospital!