Injury update 2

Yesterday I said that I would probably give another update on my recovery today since I had an appointment with my surgeon in the morning. So here it is.

Not a lot of new information to be honest, but a some good confirmation that how I have been dealing with my recovery is correct. The only really new thing was that I had an X-Ray this morning to have a look at the position of the bones in my shoulder and make sure they are where they should be. Obviously an X-Ray doesn't show the repaired ligaments, but apparently it would show if the repaired ligament had fallen apart completely (the bones would have moved). It didn't show that so that is was good news. The X-Ray also shows if you are getting any wear and tear on the shoulder bones from the plate and it didn't seem to indicate too much of that, so that is another win.

I discussed my shoulder pain with the surgeon and he did indicate that for some people the pain is always there while the plate is in place. However, he also said that any pain is your body's way of telling you to take a step back and ease off. In the case of my current shoulder pain I don't think it is really due to me overdoing it, but rather from me falling over last Wednesday. However, the message about taking a step back certainly holds true while I wait for the pain to subside. This is not a pain to push through. Hearing that really confirmed to me that the way I have been treating the injury for the past week was the correct way to go. Ever since the pain increased I have completely eased off any sort of training, particularly any training that might load my shoulder, figuring it was best to rest until the pain reduced. Yesterday I mentioned that I was going to return to the Kickr, which I did this morning. The Kickr is great because it allows me to train with zero load on my shoulder and based on what the Doctor told me this morning I think it is what I will be sticking with for the next little while. Until the pain decreases significantly anyway. It was good to have these training decisions confirmed.

Another confirmation I got today was around the treatment I have been giving a small wound that has been in my shoulder for the last two weeks. The wound is were Dr Hewitt removed some stitches a couple of weeks ago and it has stubbornly refused to heal. It has been concerning me obviously, but I have been keeping it clean and it hasn't been painful and it hasn't been showing signs of infection, so I didn't think it necessary to head back to the Doctor. It has been weeping a lot though (gross I know) and so I wasn't comfortable taking into a public swimming pool. Dr Hewitt reassured me that what I had done about the wound had been good, but he too was concerned about it and very keen to get it healed to avoid infection. Getting the wound healed is probably the big focus of my recovery for the next week or so.

So similar to yesterday, today's injury update gave me a bit of new information. But really the biggest thing today's update did was reinforce just how important it is to listen to your body and that sometimes stepping back is the best thing you can do for your health.