News

Sorry for the late blog, it has been a busy day full of going ons. The day has also contained some fun news. I go in for surgery on my shoulder tomorrow morning. Why hang around on these things...

Actually the speed at which this has progressed has been deliberate. What I got told today is that time is of the essence with this kind of treatment. Wait longer than 6 weeks and there isn't any real point. The sooner you get the surgery done, the better the results. So why hang around?

Why get it done at all is the question some people may be asking, and that would be fair.

My AC tear was confirmed to be Grade 3 today. The jury is still out on whether Grade 3 tears are best treated with surgery or rehab. Look online and you will get a lot of differing opinions. Grade 1 and 2, no probs, physical therapy and rest. Grade 4 through to 6, surgery, no questions asked. Grade 3 though is more of a gray area. There doesn't seem to be a lot of data really backing up either option as being more effective. If surgery isn't more effective, then why go to the risk, just stick with the physical therapy and rest. The results are the same, you are probably going to get them quicker and it is safer. No brainer.

Heading into today the above was more or less my thoughts on the matter.

However, after speaking to Dr Gary Couanis and then my surgeon I was convinced that surgery is the way to go for me.

In the end surgery is about the only way to repair the damage that I have done to myself. With rest and rehab I should regain full function and strength of my shoulder. However, that result is not guaranteed. On top of that the ligaments in my right shoulder will be forevermore ruptured. Surgery at least has a chance of rectifying that damage. And by doing the operation early that chance is actually quite a good one.

Of course it isn't all rainbows and buttercups. The operations involves putting what is called a hook plate in my shoulder. It will be screwed into my collar bone. The hook plate will hold my shoulder together while it heals. After three months I will have the plate taken out. Once the plate is out though, if I have a hard impact with my shoulder the injury will simply come back. It is for this reason they don't bother doing surgery for Footy players anymore. Since I don't do a contact sport the surgeon felt I was a good candidate for a surgical repair, as long as I don't crash my bike and land on my shoulder again of course.

Although even if I do crash my bike and land on my shoulder again (not Plan A by the way) I will be no worse off than I am now. That is what really got me over the line with the surgery option. If this works (which it should) my shoulder will be more or less back to normal. The alternative to that is the risk that my shoulder will be not quite back to normal for the rest of my life. Plus, if the operation doesn't work then I am simply starting from the point that I am currently at. Nothing to lose really.

What comes after the surgery will be more interesting though. It will mean at least a week of no training. After that the Kickr will be possible. After another week riding on the road should be okay too. Four weeks or so post op running will probably come back into play. Swimming though, that could be anywhere from 5 or 6 weeks out to three months. Swimming will depend entirely on how my shoulder reacts to the plate, whether it irritates the rotator cuff or not. If it does there is no choice but to hold off swimming until the plate comes out.

All this means that for the first time in four years, I may not be training on Christmas Day. Not all bad then...

Now excuse me, I have a last minute hospital visit to pack for.