| nlucky enough to tear my left rotator cuff at the end | | | | In the meantime I had been carrying on my research |
| of last year. I knew that I had managed to do | | | | into rotator cuff tears and problems and had |
| something but like most of us had no idea what my | | | | discovered that a lot of injuries are treated with |
| rotator cuff was until I injured it. It was only when I had | | | | exercise. The first step was to give my shoulder a |
| that I started to take an interest in things and research | | | | complete rest. I was lucky in this in that I have an |
| all about shoulders to try to find out what was wrong | | | | office job so it was firly easy to make some |
| with mine. It was then that I found out about the torn | | | | adjustments to the layout of my desk to sort out |
| rotator cuff exercises that helped to fix my bad | | | | work. I stopped driving and asked for help whenever I |
| shoulder. | | | | needed to do something that was potentially painful. |
| I had torn my supraspinatus which is the tendon that | | | | I began taking anti-inflammatory drugs as often as |
| runs through the acromion which is a channel of bone | | | | was safe and within a few weeks my shoulder had |
| at the top of your shoulder before attaching to the | | | | started to calm down. My friends and family were fed |
| head of the humerus. Because I had torn it, it became | | | | up with running around after me but the shoulder had |
| inflamed and when it got inflamed it started to get | | | | begun to feel better. |
| pinched by the bone. From then on every time I raised | | | | Next I began some exercises focused on stretching |
| my arm I was greeted by a painful reminder of my | | | | and stabilising the rotator cuff before moving on to |
| injury and things just got worse as the bone gradually | | | | strengthening exercises to help build it back up. |
| wore away at my tendon. | | | | These are only small muscles so the exercises do not |
| Showering, getting dressed, reaching for anything, all | | | | use any strong resistance or weights. The heaviest |
| became painful. Driving became impossible. At the | | | | weight I used was a tin of baked beans which was |
| peak of the pain I was maxed out on painkillers just to | | | | great because it meant that I could do the exercises |
| function. Sleep was impossible and I was getting really | | | | at home. |
| fed up with the whole situation. | | | | Within about eight weeks my shoulder was back to |
| My doctor had referred me to a specialist who after | | | | normal, free of pain and fully functioning. The surgery |
| trying steroid injections for a couple of months, without | | | | has been postponed and if you look in my living room |
| any success, advised me that surgery was probably | | | | window any evening you might well see me gently |
| the best way forward. The aim was to cut away a | | | | lifting two tins of beans. One for each shoulder. After |
| small piece of bone to release the trapped tendon and | | | | all, one torn rotator cuff is enough for me. |
| allow it to heal. | | | | |