my goal by spring

[Vic]

So my poor old shoulder has finally gone kaput. The orthopedic surgeon says the rotator cuff is toast, the tendons and ligaments are stretched out and the muscles are either inflammed to the point the touching them leaves me ready to cry or so weak any surgery would fail immediately. I have spent the last month in a sling and swath and now we are working on weaning me from that.

The doctor is saying that he expects me to be in PT for about a year and then we will see about doing surgery (the joint is really screwed up and if the muscles are not strong enough the surgery would fail and leave me in worse shape than I am now).

I told my physical therapist that I currently have one goal in mind, I want to be scooter-worthy by the end of March.

Fortunately, the upright riding position does not put a lot of stress on the shoulder.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I should watch out for and make sure I am able to do? I am drawing a complete blank right now about what kinds of stress a shoulder would be under while riding a scooter (probably denial-I just want to ride! )

Thanks guys,
-v

[ericalm]

Oof. As a doc told me when I tore my AC ligament in a crash, shoulder injuries are among the most painful. I became acutely aware of how nearly every muscle in the top half of my body connects to the shoulder in some way—everything hurt like hell.

While you don't move your shoulder much when riding, the thing I'd be concerned about is absorbing shock from bumps. You're also using it when countersteering, leaning and so on. So while it may not require a full range of motion, it has to be able to take some hits and bear some pressure.

[iMoses]

Bummer...
which shoulder- right or left??
Right arm is always being use since the throttle is on that side... were as the left one can come off the handle bars for a bit and perhaps be used with less stress on it.

Though I will admit riding one-handed is not as safe as having both arms/shoulder fully available.

Good luck, heal quickly, ride fast

[bigbropgo]

i wish i had some great advice about the injury that would help. i got nothin but having a goal is a good start. a focal point and the determination to follow through. you told someone else and they will help you stick through it. work hard, get plenty of rest, and listen to the physical therapist. he will push you as hard as he can. good luck.

[Keys]

It took me about 3 months to work my way through an RC injury. Did it myself, but my injury doesn't sound like it was as serious as yours, though.

--Keys

[jmkjr72]

well take your pain pills drink a beer and do some extra pt at home
thats how i have gotten out of knee surgery twice now

now i have a co worker that has ahd rc surgery and he cant do 1/2 the job any more so he now just does the testing part of the job heck it was almost a full year before he could do that he spent many days in the lab poking around haveing people move stuff for him

[gigi]

Vic, I'm in PT for back problems. The hardest thing is to do extra exercises. stay with it and work on movement. putting the bike on the center stand puts lotsa strain on the shoulder. lesser but more constant strain is the throttle issue--you're twisting your wrist as you accelerate and any torque on a joint will cause pain. work also on gripping because that's what you do when you brake your bike. your Buddy is lighter than an RV250 and will be much easier to handle than the bigger bike. see if you can wrap the shoulder with an Ace bandage or something when you're riding--compression bandage work wonders sometimes but attitude and determination is even better. If you want something bad enough you won't be denied. Keep smiling and work them exercises. jerry

[Vic]

Thanks for the feedback. I am working my butt of to get my shoulder up to par, I had my PT impressed with the range of passive motion I could do with the joint staying the way it was supposed to be (ok, a little bit of grating and some popping but the joint stayed together and that is HUGE progress!)

I then was chatting with her and small world that it is it just so happens that my PT has a twin sister and her sister is married to a fellow Peasey who rides a beautiful green Vespa!

Lucky me, she has ridden it around ("slow down the driveway") so she has a clue about what I am needing to be able to handle.

Double lucky for me it is my left shoulder, non throttle and hopefully not too bad for getting the Bud onto the center stand! Oh, and I can write even when my arm was in the sling 24/7, but who cares about that?

This is not my first dance with this shoulder, just by far the most severe. Shoulders are so easy to screw up.

I have some KT tape, anyone that has an unstable joint, you really need to check this stuff out, it comes in a lot of colors, but I find the black stays on the longest. Awesome stuff, I highly recommend it for anyone with joint issues.

-v