| I had the misfortune to tear my rotator cuff at the end | | | | In the meantime I had been carrying on my research |
| of last year. I knew that I had done something but like | | | | into rotator cuff tears and problems and had |
| most of us was completely unaware of my rotator | | | | discovered that a lot of injuries are treated with |
| cuff until something went wrong with it. It was only | | | | exercise. The first step was to rest my shoulder |
| then that I started to take an interest in things and | | | | completely. I was lucky in this in that I have an office |
| research all about shoulders to try to find out what had | | | | job so it only took a few minor adjustments to my |
| gone wrong with mine. It was then that I found out | | | | desk to sort out work. I stopped driving and asked for |
| about the four muscles that make up the shoulder cuff. | | | | help whenever I needed to s=do something that was |
| I had managed to tear the supraspinatus which is the | | | | potentially painful. |
| tendon that runs through a channel of bone at the top | | | | I started taking anti-inflammatory drugs as regular as |
| of your shoulder before attaching to the head of the | | | | clockwork every four hours and within a few weeks |
| humerus. Because I had torn it, it became inflamed and | | | | my shoulder had started to calm down. My friends and |
| when it got inflamed it started to get pinched by the | | | | family were fed up with running around after me but |
| bone. From then on every time I lifted my arm I was | | | | the shoulder had started to improve. |
| greeted by a painful reminder of my injury and the pain | | | | Next I started some exercises focused on stretching |
| just got worse as the bone gradually wore away at | | | | and stabilising the rotator cuff before moving on to |
| my tendon. | | | | strengthening exercises to help build it back up. |
| Showering, getting dressed, reaching for anything, all | | | | These are only small muscles so the exercises are |
| became painful. Driving became impossible. At the | | | | not weight bearing and do not use any strong |
| peak of the pain I was maxed out on painkillers just to | | | | resistance. The heaviest weight I used was a tin of |
| function. I could not sleep on my bad shoulder and was | | | | baked beans which was great because it meant that I |
| getting really fed up with the whole situation. | | | | could do the exercises at home. |
| My doctor had referred me to a specialist who after | | | | Within about eight weeks my shoulder was back to |
| trying steroid injections for a couple of months, without | | | | normal, pain free and fully functioning. The surgery is |
| any success, advised me that surgery was the best | | | | cancelled and if you look in my living room window any |
| way forward. The aim was to cut away a small piece | | | | evening you may well see me gently lifting two tins of |
| of bone to free up the trapped tendon and allow it to | | | | beans. One for each shoulder. After all, one torn |
| heal. | | | | rotator cuff is enough for me. |