What you can learn from a physical therapist when he gets shoulder surgery
Photo by Erik Odiin on Unsplash

What you can learn from a physical therapist when he gets shoulder surgery

I was sitting in the middle of a 3-person ski lift.?I had only skied once before, at the age of 38.?To say I was a novice would be an understatement.?50-year-olds do not pick up new, difficult physical skills easily.?I thought to myself, ‘when I get off this lift, everyone is going to be watching me’.?It made sense because why WOULDN’T everyone want to watch a middle-aged novice skier get off a ski lift?

Well, we approached the dismount (yes, that’s what I call it), and my left ski followed the guy to my left, and my right ski followed the guy to my right.

?If you follow the logical outcome of the geometry of that, I fell right there and then.?The college kid who was manning the ski lift, who was obviously some punk, simply looked over at me, sprawled out on the ground, and said unceremoniously, ‘you ok, mister??You gotta move out of the way of the next chair.’

For the rest of the day, I knew something was NOT right with my shoulder.?Sure, I was familiar with soreness, after all, it comes easily after 50 years these days.?I can get sore from playing Frisbee with my teenage son! This felt different, however.?‘Thank goodness I am a physical therapist’, I thought.?

I know exactly what to do, and I will certainly be able to fix myself.

Well, 3 months later, after waking up EVERY night when I rolled over in bed, I reluctantly saw my friend the orthopedic surgeon.?He said; ‘you know what this is, and what I have to do’.?

I realized I could not let this cup pass me by—I had to drink from it.?I finally would have surgery for the first time in my life.

Here are the lessons I learned, and I want to share with you, from my first-hand experience.?

Trust me.?

I have lived it.

1.?????Listen to the expert. If someone does something for a living, and you are going to them for that purpose, let them do their craft!?You may know a lot of things, but you don’t know everything, and likely you don’t know their ‘thing’ like they know their ‘thing’. Sure, ask questions, and understand the ‘why’ of everything, but ‘let the chef cook the meal’.?That applies to almost everything!

2.?????Pain medicine is your friend. If they say take it, then take it.?Most people are not going to get addicted, and taking the pain meds are only temporary.?There is no need to suffer needlessly.

3.?????Ice is another one of your friends after surgery.?It is almost ALWAYS the correct answer after surgery.?Use it often.

4.?????Do anything to get sleep, including sleeping in a recliner.?Sleep deprivation was outlawed by the United States for a reason!?Optimizing your sleep will help you heal as fast as possible.

5.?????You will feel better before you ARE better!?As my grandmother would say, ‘you can only bake the cake so fast’. Right you are, Nanny!?You can do a few things to heal faster, but you can do a LOT of things to make it take longer.?Don’t do things that will make the healing take longer.?The number one thing you can do is understand what you should be doing from your surgeon and physical therapist (not the internet) and then do it.?My surgeon caught me running in my neighborhood (with my shoulder in a sling!) a month after surgery.

?Yes, he yelled at me.?

Yes, he was right to do that.

6.?????Be patient.?Yes, you want to be better yesterday.?I know I sure did.

?It doesn’t work that way, at least not on this planet.?

This is a good time to re-learn how to be patient.?

And be nice to people who are around you.?

They control the ice!

7.?????Optimize your healing by eating well.?

Your body uses more than normal energy in order to heal itself.?Eat regularly fresh, whole foods. No sugar, no junk.?And while you are at it, drink enough water to have to urinate every 30 minutes.?

Your body will be dehydrated, and it can’t heal itself if it is dried out.

Did I recover fully??

Yes, of course.?

Was I the best patient??

Ugh, I had to learn these lessons the hard way.?

It has made me a better physical therapist to ‘walk in the patient’s shoes’, as long as they are not ski boots!!

Carol Malkin

Department Chair, Exercise Science Program, Delaware Technical Community College

2 年

Good advice. I know all too well! ??

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