Shoulder Saga

Back in March, we found out we earned a permit to hike Mt. Whitney. I started training specifically for it and in doing so, added upper body strength exercises. Within a few days, I noticed my left shoulder was hurting. I stopped doing the exercises and rested my shoulder. About a month later, I lifted Gemma up and tweaked my shoulder again. I went to see my doctor, who recommended PT. I did that and headed out to California.

The day before our Mt. Whitney attempt, we hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. On the way back, my shoelaces snagged on something and I fell hard. To protect my left shoulder, I braced myself with my right arm. It was a bad fall. Lots of pain in my right arm/shoulder but it subsided. I wasn't worried too much. It didn't stop me from hiking Whitney the next day.

When I got back, I resumed PT for my left shoulder but mentioned that my right was now bothering me more. We kept doing PT for both shoulders with no improvement on the right side. (The left has improved enough so that's nice.) This all led to a MRI in September. Results showed my right shoulder was partially dislocated and the ligaments around it were too relaxed/loose that they wouldn't hold my shoulder in anyways. The only fix for this is surgery.

Early November, I had the surgery. Thankfully, it is an easy surgery- 1 hour and you're home within an hour or two after surgery. Recovery will be 4-6 months but I already have significantly less pain than I had before surgery. Before, I couldn't even carry a bag of groceries with my right arm without pain. Lifting my arm above my head was a no-go. Throwing balls with the kids was not possible.

I have 6 weeks in a immobilizer sling with minimal movement aside from PT. Then 12 weeks of no weight bearing. And then strength exercises until 4-6 months out. It makes day to day life a little slower and tricky but we are managing.