Day 44 Post Op (6 weeks 2 days) - Sling Free Living

I have now been out of the sling for 4 1/2 days.  The ability to work (type on a laptop) is so much easier now, and just having my arm hang naturally, and swinging it naturally while I walk is helping to regain some ROM.

The downside is that my shoulder and my arm get tired and sore quite easily just from being out of the sling.  My muscles in my hand, wrist, forearm, biceps, shoulder, etc. have all gotten very weak.

Trying to regain ROM through PT (and daily activities) is challenging and kind of painful, but the gains do seem to be coming.  I have much better ROM now than when I was in the sling, but I still have miles to go.

My right hand is swollen and puffy, and I cannot make a tight fist.  It's as though blood was pooling in my hand for the past 6 weeks and it's not quite back to normal yet.

Also, I still have to sleep on my back, so I can usually only sleep until about 4 am.

Day 39 Post Op (5 weeks 4 days) - Follow Up with PA

Today I had my second follow up appt with the surgeon's office.  I met with the doc's PA and a student.

The good news is I can now wean myself from the sling!  It's pretty great to be out of the sling and able to use my arm/hand again.

The bad news is that the PA commented that my range of motion (ROM) is very poor - in the bottom 10% of where it should be at this point.  She said that I should have full ROM by now.  She had me spend some time with their physical therapist and he gave me some exercises to do, updated my PT protocol to give to my physical therapist, and updated the number of prescribed PT sessions from 2x/week to 3x/ week, with stretching exercises to be performed at home / work every hour.  

I don't know that I could have done anything differently to have gained more ROM, as I had my arm in a sling for the past 5 1/2 weeks with a little PT that just recently began.  I guess how aggressive you are during the first 6 weeks is a tradeoff betweeen strength of repair and ROM.  Don't know, but hopefully this just means that the repair is strong, and the ROM gains will come now.

According to the PA, I can now use my arm to do any active range of motion, as long as I don't lift, push, or pull anything.  I am not allowed use the arm to support my body weight, or to use it hold on on a train (or boat) that is being jostled.  The maximum I can safely lift is a cup of water or coffee.  I am not sure how I will remember not to use my arm for lifting/pushing/pulling for the next 8 weeks now that I am out of the sling and using my arm and hand.

It's shocking how weak I am.  I can't lift my arm out in front of me more than about 6 inches.  When I go to scratch my nose, my hand stops about 12 inches short of my face!

The PT is painful now.  Extending the ROM hurts.  But they say that the first three months is when the gains in ROM come, so I have the next 6 weeks to push it to get to full ROM.

I have a follow up with the doc in 4 weeks.  The PA wants me to see the doc (it will be the first time I see him since the day of surgery), likely to evaluate where I am with ROM and decide if he needs to do some sort of intervention before we wait too long.

Day 25 Post Op - Physical Therapy #1

The recovery has been going smoothly so far.  There is no pain - my arm is immobile and has been in the sling full time.  I am able to type with both hands as long as I  don't rotate my elbow, which has made it easier to get work done.  Also, I am able to drive, although I am not sure if it is legal to be driving with just one arm. Sleeping on my back propped up on pillows is still a hassle, and I am not allowed to carry anything more than 10 pounds in my left hand, which makes travel - or even bringing more than a laptop back and forth to work impossible.

Today I had my first PT session.  It was pretty painless.  The therapist did a lot of measuring - I assume it was to establish a baseline.  He gave me three exercises to do:  pendulum hangs - although I need to cradle my arm at the elbow to avoid putting the weight of my arm on the repair; assisted elbow bends from 90 degrees to as high as I can manage; and shoulder shrugs to counteract the hunching I have been doing since the surgery.

PT sessions will be 2x per week for about 3 months, with exercises done ~3x per day at home.