It's Complex

I just got home from having acupuncture on my shoulder, now my arm is quite noodley and I'm sleepy. It's amazing as to how fast one falls asleep while stuck full of needles with an electric current box hooked up. It always takes me a while to orientate myself after a pincushion session.

Upon assessment of my shoulder, it was determined that I have a Grade 2 separation and there is more muscle injury than meets the eye. My supraspinatus muscle, 3 of the 4 rotator cuff muscles, and 2 of the 3 deltoid muscles show injury bands. As per the saying "go big or go home," I went big. Blah!! However, the good news on the horizon is that I will probably make a complete recovery providing that I heal this right the first time. (Is there an echo in here?) Healing time frame: give it a year. Since living with this injury for 4 months and as much as I'd love to return to my normal self, I seriously want to heal this right the first time. Once I heard the muscle involvement, I now understand as to why the shoulder takes so long to heal and it's also difficult to heal.

Right now it feels as if my arm is about to fall off and drag on the ground. Lifting my arm and certain movements are painful because of the treatment. Within a day or so, my shoulder should feel a lot better. And, there's the trap. Because of feeling better there is the great tendency to do more, which, is exactly the opposite of what I need to do. Oh hey, guess what event is in just that time frame: boot-camp!! I am going to boot-camp and I will be very mindful of my shoulder. There are things I won't be able to do and things I will have to modify such as weapons being done with my left hand. I am going for the fun, the learning, and the experience of being part of boot camp. Yes, I am injured, but that does not mean that I can't participate, just have to participate according to my shoulder's ability.

I clarified as to how long to rest (as in very limited movement) the shoulder after treatment. The answer was 24 hours. Not resting after treatment basically results in a waste of a treatment as the muscles will contract right back to where there were in the first place if not farther. Enter the echo: heal it right the first time. Park the ego and let the body do its thing. This Grasshopper is learning patience.
Sherri Donohue
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