shoulder recovery & stationary pedaling

[Miranda]

Can you put any weight on the arm at all?
Is there a way to adjust the spin bike so you can rest on the handlebars?
Is the main problem when you have to do standing?

I broke my ball joint of my shoulder last year so have some idea about muscle issues as I also tore the muscles off the joint as well.

I managed to get on my windtrainer with a sling but felt very unbalanced. When I was out of the sling I rested my hand without too much weight on the handlebars. I also adjusted my bike to have a high angle stem to raise the handlebars.

I find my arm is most sore and tired when I have to lean on the arm so I often hang it downwards on the bike to give it a rest. I also found I couldn't do standing cycling and can only do little 2 second hits even now.

In spin class can you explain that you are not doing standing but when you call stand that the class should do so?

Also becareful about how much time you spend with your elbow bent. I have spent many months getting my elbow striaght again due to issues of having my arm in a sling for 6 weeks.

Thx for those thoughts. I'm sure the ortho doc has seen many patients like your elbow in his time of practicing that he likes to keep the mobility. I saw one of my other docs recently that does not specialize in this area, but personally had the same injury. He wore the sling for relief. But, made a point to remove it consistently throughout the day and put the limb through the full range of motion. Plus whatever else for rehab he had. And I also wondered the same thing about my balance on the bike. It's hard to recover when it's work. Surely there is some way to manage.

My AC joint is ok, but I was getting a lot of impingement of tendons around there due to rotator cuff problems (which started as a generic diagnosis of frozen shoulder). I don't know if this will be enough for you, but taping the supraspinatus muscle with Kinesio tape is the only way I've been able to ride my bike--holding my arm in that position, putting weight on it to stand out of the saddle.

It was always a lot easier to ride a spin bike when it was the most painful, though I did have to sit up more often. Not sure if that's a strong enough fix for you, but it might help.

Thinking back (at a different PT practice and area on my body) I had Kinesio taping done before. It does lend support. For my broken foot bone this summer I kept it taped w/just athletic support tape from the drug store. It was just enough for me to be able to ride. Another idea I will bring up with the PT. Thx.