Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Shoulder Update

I think it's now been 8 months since I hurt my shoulder.  I have had very few good nights of sleep in those 8 months and I'm constantly tired at work.

I have been working with a chiropractor.

I've seen a sports doc multiple times.  I've had cortisone injections twice.

I've removed many lifts from my workouts.  No snatches.  No clean and jerks.  No overhead presses.  No overhead squats.  Not even cleans any more.  I do no work hanging from a bar unless supported by resistance bands.  Light and intermittent bench presses, usually with dumbbells rather than a barbell.  No Turkish Get Ups.

I use the foam roller all the time.  I use a lacrosse ball on the injured area.  I stretch.  I use a "back knobber" during the day to work on hot spots.

I do my rehab exercises all the time.

Nothing.

I wish I could get some real HGH to try, but that's not going to happen.  Since surgery is more than I need, but what I've been doing isn't working, in between, there is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy.

I wrote about my previous PRP for a hamstring tendon here, here, here and here.

That one was done in September of 2009, for an injury much worse than my current injury.  And the results were good.

So, on 6/24, we will try the same procedure on my shoulder.  My doctor has now done this procedure over 500 times, with about 70% of those in the shoulder.  He says he has very good results with the shoulder procedure and the rotator cuff seems to respond better than any other part of the body.

I recently read a study that documented very good results with this procedure for rotator cuff injuries.

It's expensive and not covered by insurance.

I just want my shoulder to work well again.  And I want a good night of sleep.  If this doesn't work, I have no idea what's next.

1 comment:

Harriet said...

Good luck Damon. My PT figured out that my shoulder was "too far forward" and some temporary taping plus therapy exercises helped.

As far as lifting, it was light, light, light for months afterward; I couldn't do a single pull up or bench press without a lot of pain. It took months and months.

And yeah, for about 30-60 per night, the shoulder would take its "pound of flesh" from my sleep. Not fun.