It has been a bit over four weeks since my shoulder surgery. The nasty black and blue is fading from my arm and shoulder area and my mobility is slowly coming back. The muscles are going to need a lot of physio, as I cannot place my left hand comfortable on my hip or the top of my head. Swimming is still a way off, but I’ve been running and riding the bike on the trainer with no pain (still short distances, but gradually building up).

Today is Wednesday, Monday I went back to the doctor for a check-up at which point he gave me the go-ahead to start in-depth physio. I had my first session yesterday. It felt like my arm was going to get torn off! But the stretching was good, I know they must push things beyond the point of comfort and I am ok with that. But while it was happening… it was a painful 15-20 minutes, and after that they used some machines to add electric stimulation to the joint and the muscles.  

They gave me a set of exercises to complete each day to continue the stretching. When I left the doctor’s office Monday, he told me to “just move”, so that is the goal, to keep moving as much as possible. More riding, more running, and more time in the pool doing my modified doggy paddle. I tried to do a regular freestyle stroke, but the arm isn’t there yet. But I’ll keep trying.

I go back to the physio Monday, and then again Wednesday. After that we will move to one day a week, with a set of exercises to do each day between the sessions. Hopefully the nights will get easier as well, and my need for painkillers will diminish as time goes by. Meanwhile, “movement” is the name of the game.