11.09.2009
the hits - they just keep coming
saw my orthopedist in palo alto today. i value his opinion and think that he's made most of the right decisions along the way - perhaps an injection or two too many, but overall i believe he knows what he's doing.
so after 2 surgeries and 3.5 years of shoulder problems ranging from discomfort to pain, i'm still waiting for the one day that it doesn't bother me at all. ice, TENS, heat, ibuprofen, aleve...i still rotate between them all though none seem to make much of a difference.
in any case, my doctor said that he's hesitant to operate on my shoulder any more unless he's sure of what the problem is. he thinks he knows the cause and what might fix it, but only gives surgery a 50% chance of working. i told him i was ready to do whatever - open surgery, if need be. he seemed a bit surprised that i was ready for that kind of move, but reassured me that anything that would need to be done could most likely be done arthroscopically. he's done ~340 shoulder surgeries for ~13 years, and out of those ~4420 surgeries, he's only had to perform what i might need....(drum roll)....once.
there are signs of a secondary (coracoid) impingement - fluid in the area, cysts on the head of the humerus, and discomfort. this could be caused by the coracoid process itself or because my posterior capsule is tight and is forcing my humerus forward into the coracoid process.
we decided to try another 2-month stint of stretching. i can't say i'm optimistic about the chances that this will help, but i'd rather try again than opt for surgery. i see him again in January and at that time, assuming nothing changes, i'll have to decide if i'm ready for another surgery. after Las Vegas, of course.
in the meantime, i apologize to everyone on the ice who feels that they need to play differently against me because of my injury. that doesn't make it fun for anyone - usually what makes it hurt is a reactionary movement or awkward fall, but those can happen without any contact, so i really hope i'm not making it any less fun for people i play with and against.
so after 2 surgeries and 3.5 years of shoulder problems ranging from discomfort to pain, i'm still waiting for the one day that it doesn't bother me at all. ice, TENS, heat, ibuprofen, aleve...i still rotate between them all though none seem to make much of a difference.
in any case, my doctor said that he's hesitant to operate on my shoulder any more unless he's sure of what the problem is. he thinks he knows the cause and what might fix it, but only gives surgery a 50% chance of working. i told him i was ready to do whatever - open surgery, if need be. he seemed a bit surprised that i was ready for that kind of move, but reassured me that anything that would need to be done could most likely be done arthroscopically. he's done ~340 shoulder surgeries for ~13 years, and out of those ~4420 surgeries, he's only had to perform what i might need....(drum roll)....once.
there are signs of a secondary (coracoid) impingement - fluid in the area, cysts on the head of the humerus, and discomfort. this could be caused by the coracoid process itself or because my posterior capsule is tight and is forcing my humerus forward into the coracoid process.
we decided to try another 2-month stint of stretching. i can't say i'm optimistic about the chances that this will help, but i'd rather try again than opt for surgery. i see him again in January and at that time, assuming nothing changes, i'll have to decide if i'm ready for another surgery. after Las Vegas, of course.
in the meantime, i apologize to everyone on the ice who feels that they need to play differently against me because of my injury. that doesn't make it fun for anyone - usually what makes it hurt is a reactionary movement or awkward fall, but those can happen without any contact, so i really hope i'm not making it any less fun for people i play with and against.
# posted by cheddah : 4:07 PM
