I will soon have shoulder surgery. Any advice?

Discussion in 'Injuries' started by Gollum, Aug 29, 2007.

  1. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Two weeks hence I should be coming around from my first ever general anaesthetic. The keyhole surgery will repair a cartilage tear in my right shoulder (the labrum), which has been causing me chronic pain for over a year; at the same time, the surgeon may shave away some bone to increase the space around my supraspinatus tendon, to protect against possible future impingement.

    I'm expecting to have my arm immobilised in a sling for about two-four weeks, and thereafter to be off badminton completely for two-three months. My post-surgery recovery will be managed by a physiotherapist whom the surgeon chooses.

    I will be able to continue coaching without using my right hand, but I don't yet know whether I will be allowed to demonstrate or play with my left hand. Obviously I will follow the medical advice to the letter, rather than risk damaging my shoulder by premature activity.

    Perhaps some of you have experienced similar operations. I'd appreciate any advice you can give me. Apart from the shoulder recuperation, I'll be faced with such basic problems as how to wash and dress myself (I hope I will be able to do most of this without help). At the moment, I'm thinking of buttoned shirts (not T-shirts), slip-on trousers (tracksuits), and strip-washing with a basin.

    (And by the way, this will be yet another cause for delay in completing the grips guide revision. Sorry. I will get there eventually. I also may be absent from BC, because one-handed typing is maddeningly slow.)
     
  2. -Silver-

    -Silver- Regular Member

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    no advice, but i wish u a speedy recovery, so u can get back onto the court and smash the birdie. :D
     
  3. drifit

    drifit newbie

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    they really stated that in a letter?
    hopefully this surgery will not affect your badminton in future.
    do this surgery affect your fingers? why only able to type one-handed?
    coaching with single-hand..... imagining now...:cool:
     
  4. morewood

    morewood Regular Member

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    Bordem and pain from your imobilised arm will be the problems I forsee, I know from when I had my left arm in a sling last year. Getting dressed and washed you you should manage one handed, a few oversized shirts may be a good idea though.

    Physio wise you will exerience pain and frustration about how little you can do, I recal grip strength testing was part of my recovery program and when it hurts to touch anything grabbing hold and squeezing as hard as you can hurts like hell.
     
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  5. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Thanks. :) It will be a tedious wait, but it's worth it to end the pain.

    I hope and expect that it will affect my badminton: I should be able to play more vigorously and confidently once my shoulder is fixed. :)

    My arm will be immobilised in a sling. That's the whole point of using a sling: so you don't move the arm. ;)

    It's not difficult; I've done it before, when I was resting my shoulder. Feeding is tricky (especially multi-feeds), but you can get the students to do that.

    I can do most demonstrations with my left hand. Heck, I can even beat most of my students when playing left-handed. :D

    I can even coach with no hands if I must.

    Thanks, that's helpful advice.

    For the boredom, I may absorb myself in work: writing. Still, the slowness of typing one-handed or writing with my left hand will be annoying. I'm also planning to take some time out to study and play chess.

    Your caution about physio is salutary. I'll really need to steel myself for it. :( I suspect I'll have moments of doubt where, when I get pain, I'll wonder whether the surgery really worked.
     
    #5 Gollum, Aug 29, 2007
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2007
  6. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    Are you familiar with the different Dvorak keyboard configurations? The QWERTY keyboard configuration was devised to minimize mechanical jamming in typewriters, not for typing ability.

    The dvorak keyboard arranges commonly used characters and character sequences together in the middle to improve typing efficiency. The most commonly known version is the 2 handed version, but left hand and right hand versions do exist. Look around in your computer settings to make the change.

    Oh, and make sure you eat plenty of food (especially fish oil) and get plenty of rest. Your body needs all that it can get for recovery.
     
  7. kenshin_kendoka

    kenshin_kendoka Regular Member

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    I dislocated my right elbow early this year (i'm right handed!!!) from falling during rock climbing. So for a while i learned to be ambidextrous. Anyway, i did not do any surgery for it (thank goodness). Just do physical therapy. I found that sometimes after getting my whole range of motion, I will bump my right elbow to god knows where, since not used to the whole range of motion.

    Pretty much to get better faster, when it's time to do the physical therapy, do the exercises diligently.

    According to the therapist that I was working with for my elbow, after you did not use your muscle for a while, your muscle "forgot". So physio helps your muscle remembers.
     
  8. badmad

    badmad Regular Member

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    one thing I want to say is that physiotherapy is equally important as surgery. after the surgery, you would probably have a week before PT starts. When i was operated for my ACL tear, doctors asked me to lift/move my knee a little bit. and i ignored it.

    I had tough time with the physiotherapy sessions. :(
     
  9. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    that sucks. but i wish you a quick recovery Gollum.
     
  10. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    Mike, I pray you make a speedy recovery. :)
     
  11. Pete LSD

    Pete LSD Regular Member

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    Same here, God speed with your recovery. BTW, what type of articular cartilage repair did the ortho surgeon performed on your shoulder? Was it abrasion or microfracture, or MACI?
     
  12. wood_22_chuck

    wood_22_chuck Regular Member

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    Speedy recovery, Gollum. I suspect, even one-handed, your posts'll outshine the dozens other "Which racket, what bag, which tension, etc" posts out there.

    -dave
     
  13. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    Wish you a speedy recovery. Pray that you will heal faster. Take good care of yourself and eat healthy.
     
  14. ae86trueno

    ae86trueno Regular Member

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    Sorry not able to give any advice.. but wish you to recover fast and able to play badminton again. All the best and God Bless you, I'm sure He will look after you.

    Rgds,
    Andrew
     
  15. drifit

    drifit newbie

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    do less drifting... hahahahha:D:D:D
    to Gollum,
    get more rest after surgery, you will recover at the soonest.
    quite boring without you at here...:(
     
  16. Linus

    Linus Regular Member

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    Dont have any medical advise for you unfortunately. But hope you will recover as soon as possible and be able to play again!
     
  17. Oldhand

    Oldhand Moderator

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    Just one point:

    Shaving the bone to make room forces the body to generate tissue to take up that tiny space.

    Now, this could be either normal tissue or scar tissue.

    If it's normal tissue that comes along, then it's absolutely OK... however, if it's scar tissue that creeps in, it might lead to some complications. For one, scar tissue could actually hamper things as its grain will not match that of the adjoining tissue. :(

    I'd suggest you ask your doctor again about this.
    I also hope I'm absolutely wrong about such fears. :)

    Anyway, make sure you're surrounded by lots of pretty nurses... that's as vital to recovery as anything else. :p

    Finally, when you're recovering and also berating the physio, always have a racquet nearby. Seeing it is the best form of encouragement to get yourself back to active play. :D

    All the best. :)
     
  18. azabaz_ipoh

    azabaz_ipoh Regular Member

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    same, i am no doctor, so no medical advice. only a wish for you, a successful surgery and may the shoulder heal well and make your badminton all the more enjoyable. as for the absent, hopefully you will still be around even if you have to type with one hand. take it easy and rest well :)
     
  19. Athelete1234

    Athelete1234 Regular Member

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    Hope you get better soon...and who knows, the one handed typing may increase your typing speed once your arm gets better :D:D:D
     
  20. Gollum

    Gollum Regular Member

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    Thank you all for the messages of support and encouragement. :)

    Now that's an interesting idea. I might play around with this, although I'm not sure whether the improved efficiency will be worth the time taken to learn a new keyboard layout.

    Ouch! I guess you smacked into the rock face after falling on a rope (is that right?). Sounds nasty.

    Good advice about the physio. I'll need to summon more than my usual pathetic will power!

    Well, he hasn't done it yet. It's in just under two week's time. I wouldn't know the difference between them!

    Ha! Thanks Dave. I doubt I'll be absent completely, just a little frustrated by slow typing.

    Thanks for the information, but I think I'll just have to trust my surgeon's judgement on this. He won't know exactly what to do until he looks inside my shoulder. I could forbid him from doing certain things (such as shaving the bone), but I think it's unwise to tie his hands. It's not like I can discuss things with him during the operation, and a separate arthroscopy would mean two invasive procedures instead of one.
     

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