This is a follow-up from the Sept 25 post about my shoulder injury.
I just
got out of a physical therapy evaluation. I can see why people may not get PT
for this injury (Stage II shoulder separation). They said that ligaments mostly
heal on their own, and there is not much PT can do to specifically aid that
process. Thus, my PT goals are to straighten posture a bit, strengthen
supporting shoulder/back/trap muscles, and flexibility. Pain level should be the
guide as to what I do / don’t do, and I should stop doing whatever I’m doing if
pain kicks in.
Of
course, my first question was when I could start skating again. He said exactly
same thing the orthopedic doctor said, “Ideally, not until shoulder movement is
pain-free during full range of motion. But if you started before then, shoulder
pads could help avoid a set-back/reinjury if I were to fall on it again before it’s
fully healed. And even doing that should wait awhile.”
My
biggest short-term fear is falling forward on shoulder again (e.g. those bails
when you get pitched forward and hit the ground). Skating right now isn’t a
good idea. Skating without some kind of protection up there (esp. now) is unquestionably
a really, really bad idea. There is no question that on the tail end of
recovery, I’ll be skating for a bit in hockey shoulder pads, no matter how odd
that may seem. I actually embrace it. Battle armor is punk. Plus, I think
skateboarding is at it’s best when it’s challenging any type of status quo.
But,
the real question is the short-term issue. In six days I am headed to Austin,
TX for a week. The purpose of the trip is, you guessed it, skateboarding.
Timing is horrible. I’ve never skated a real ditch before, and this was going
to be the first time. So, what do I do?
I’m
not sure yet. Essentially it’s going to be a (calculated??) risk assessment.
Go, but don’t skate? Do some very mellow rolling around without any shoulder
protection? Wear shoulder pads, and still take it easy, but maybe not quite as
easy? I really don’t know. Where I am going to draw those lines is totally
unknown right now…but I’m absolutely still going.
I havn't skated in over two now, and it's really starting to get me bummed out.
Thanks for sharing this type of information, it really is useful to read good physical therapy blogs, especially when you're going to treatment and you want to know that the person doing the treatment is clear on what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that people don't know how impactful undergoing physical therapy is, about a couple of months ago, a friend of mine had a shoulder injury, but he skipped the therapies. Now he is suffering from back pain and occasional numbness. I'll definitely share this info with him and hope you guys keep on sharing some more!
Also, a really good website that has informed him on physical therapies is Preferred Rehab, you should check it out!