| Just a few months ago I thought that I would never | | | | surgeon imformed me that I was looking at anything up |
| play golf again.I was facing surgery and a long | | | | to an 18 month recuperation period. I had a couple of |
| recovery period but shoulder exercises have not only | | | | weeks off work to rest my arm, post op,so decided to |
| helped but have also improved my game | | | | spend the time researching shoulder injuries on the |
| Just a few months ago I thought that I would never | | | | internet. Typing one handed slows you down a bit but I |
| play golf again. What started out as a sore shoulder | | | | persevered. |
| had deteriorated until I was in constant pain, I lost the | | | | I found out that physical therapy is the key to a full |
| strength in my shoulder and couldn't lift my arm up to | | | | recovery. This is equally true of simp[le shoulder injuries |
| shoulder height never mind swing a golf club. To add | | | | as well as recovery from surgery. So once my |
| insult to injury it was stopping me getting any sleep at | | | | surgery wounds had healed I started exercising. By |
| night so that I was becoming more irritable with each | | | | now my shoulder was weak so I had to start with |
| day. | | | | passive exercises, designed to maintain mobility and |
| It all started when I was helping a friend to put up a | | | | then gradually introduced low weight, low resistance |
| timber garage. We had three sides up and were just | | | | exercises to strengthen the muscles. |
| putting in the fourth when a gust of wind caught it. I | | | | The aim is not focus purely on the rotator cuff but to |
| grabbed the panel to try to stop falling and felt a | | | | focus on every muscle that is involved in shoulder |
| popping sensation in my shoulder. | | | | movement. A rotator cuff tear is unlikely to mend |
| The next day my shoulder was painful so I took some | | | | quickly but you can still have a healthy fully working |
| pain killers and carried on. What I was unaware of at | | | | shoulder if you strengthen all the muscles. They in turn |
| the time was that I had managed to tear my rotator | | | | support the rotator cuff taking the strain and letting it |
| cuff. It was only a partial tear but the problem was | | | | heal more quickly. |
| that where the muscle had become damaged and | | | | There are two secrets to a successful shoulder |
| inflamed it was now catching on part of my shoulder | | | | exercise programme. One is to make sure that you |
| blade and getting damaged more each time that I tried | | | | allow the muscles to rest properly in order that they |
| lifting my arm up to the side or front. | | | | can heal beforehand, the other is that you build up |
| After two weeks of ever increasing pain I visited my | | | | the exercises gradually, being very careful to avoid |
| doctor who diagnosed a rotator cuff tear and sent me | | | | any exercise that causes you pain. In shoulders, pain |
| to a specialist. After conservative treatment with | | | | invariably means that you are causing more damage. |
| steroids and physical therapy, my shoulder had not | | | | I managed to reduce the eighteen months down to |
| improved so eventually I underwent shoulder surgery | | | | four months and have been playing golf again now for |
| to free up the shoulder impingement. | | | | about eight weeks. The sweetener in this whole |
| By now, I had been away from the golf course for | | | | episode is that I now find myself hitting the ball about |
| nearly six months and was not too happy when my | | | | ten percent further on the fairways. |