| > | | | | came back. My second visit to the specialist |
| Last year I tore my rotator cuff and after being tolf | | | | confirmed that surgery was the answer. Fortunately, |
| that I needed surgery, I managed to make a full | | | | living in the UK there was a waiting list of up to three |
| recovery before my surgery date came round. | | | | months. Why fortunately, because of what |
| Last year I messed up my left shoulder. I remember | | | | happened next. |
| exactly how and when I did it, although at the time, it | | | | Being a keen swimmer, golfer and squash player, left |
| didn’t seem too bad. I had some flat packed | | | | handed of course, I wanted to get my shoulder back |
| office furniture delivered for the home office. Signed | | | | to pre injury standard as soon as possible. I could putt |
| for it and then decided to carry it upstairs. Being | | | | but not drive, squash was just not going to happen and |
| impatient to see the new stuff in situ I decided to carry | | | | swimming was fine as long as I didn’t try crawl, |
| it on my own rather than wait for any help. | | | | which was of course my favourite stroke. |
| The chair was easy, the bookcase wasn’t too | | | | So rather than waiting for surgery, which I was very |
| bad but by the time I got to the desk, my body was | | | | nervous about, I started researching the injury on the |
| telling me to slow down, but I carried on anyway. It | | | | internet to see if there was anything that I could do |
| was an awkward shape so I ended up taking all the | | | | to improve things in the meantime. |
| weight in my left hand and steadying it with my right. | | | | I found out a great deal about how the rotator cuff is |
| Half way up the stairs I felt a pain in my left shoulder, | | | | made up and certainly understood my injury a lot |
| managed to get to the top but had to put it down and | | | | better than I originally had. |
| drag it the rest of the way. | | | | Basically there are four muscles that hold your |
| I rubbed my shoulder, the pain went away and I | | | | shoulder joint together and also help it to move. |
| thought nothing of it. | | | | Without them, your shoulder would simply fall apart. |
| The next day the pain was back and worse, the day | | | | One of the reasons that it is relatively easy to |
| after it was worse still and within a week I had | | | | dislocate a shoulder is that it is an open ball and socket |
| severely restricted movement in my shoulder. Trying | | | | joint rather than an enclosed joint like the hip joint. |
| to lift my arm out to the side resulted in a stabbing pain | | | | If you damage any of these muscles the shoulder |
| in my shoulder joint, reach behind me and I regretted it | | | | starts to work less effectively often putting extra |
| instantly. About two weeks after my desk arrived I | | | | strain on the remaining three muscles. |
| trod on the pet cat. You know how they always run | | | | In my case I had damaged one of the tendons of the |
| criss-cross in front of you around the house, especially | | | | Supraspinatus muscle. This muscle runs under the |
| on the stairs for some strange reason. | | | | clavicle or collar bone and this was what was causing |
| Well Tommy managed to get right under my feet this | | | | me problems. Where the tendon was damaged it |
| time and I trod on her. (Yep, Tommy is a girl. Ask | | | | was enflamed and swollen so no longer fitted |
| my five year old son who named her) As my foot | | | | comfortably into its normal position. Every time I was |
| came down, I realised that there was something soft | | | | moving the shoulder it was getting trapped and |
| and large underneath it so threw my weight to one | | | | pinched, hence the pain. |
| side to stop me hurting her, lost my balance and fell, | | | | The steroid injection had helped short term by reducing |
| putting out my hand to stop myself. Yes the left | | | | the swelling but as it wore off the pain returned. |
| hand. | | | | What I also discovered is that surgery, although |
| My wife said that I went completely white. She | | | | necessary in some cases, can be avoided through |
| thought I was having a heart attack. So did I for a | | | | careful exercise. So with one month still to go until |
| moment. The pain was unbelievable. Possibly worse | | | | my operation date I am now pain free, swimming and |
| than childbirth! | | | | starting to play golf again. As for Squash , I am |
| The next day I went to the doctor. This | | | | beginning to think that it is a game for younger men |
| wasn’t going to get better on its own. | | | | than me so maybe even though I’m confident |
| Torn rotator cuff was the diagnosis, confirmed by an | | | | that I could play again I think I’ll just retire |
| MRI scan. With impingement of the Supraspinatus | | | | gracefully and focus on my Golf handicap. |
| . I was given a steroid injection in the hope that this | | | | So before you go ahead with surgery, check out |
| would settle things down and after a couple of weeks | | | | some of the other options open to you. |
| it seemed better, but then after a few more weeks it | | | | |