Cleaning as PT...PO Day 112

Boy, did my arm get a workout yesterday. My house cleaning helper and I looked at the doors to the house and were shocked. We always go in and out through the garage. The afternoon sun strikes it and it looks fine. But the front door and the kitchen door and the back door are shaded. You would think we lived in a rain forest, the white doors had a thin green film of algae coating  them!

Out came the Mean Green Super Strength cleaner and degreaser, buckets, water hoses and rags. I am definitely counting the labor as an hour of physical therapy! It had all the components: flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, I think there was even some internal and external rotation going on. Since I am not attending formal PT I think I need to keep up on my own. I have the feeling my shoulder would stiffen up pretty quickly if I slacked off.

My therapist used a kind of compass, a goniometer, to measure the angle  of range of motion achieved at each session. A range of motion, ROM, of 100 degrees in flexion-abduction generally permits most normal activity for the post op patient according to a study published in 2010 in The Open Orthopedics Journal. Based on the damage I had to the joint, one prediction was that my best ROM might be 90 degrees in flexion-abduction. But, while in active PT, my therapist was measuring me in the 130 degree range so I am hoping to maintain that flexibility. One site warned against extending more than 140 degrees as that could cause dislocation of the joint.. Dear Husband made me a kind of goniometer using two pieces of wood and a wing nut. I can adjust it to the angle of my arm in flexion, tighten the wing nut, then measure it with a protractor. At least it gives me some idea of progress or, heaven forbid, regression.

Another interesting bit of information from the article: most ROM is achieved in the first six months post rTSA but most increase in strength is gained between six months and twelve months post rTSA. That sounds good because, while I am feeling pretty smug about how much movement I have with my arm, I do not seem to be gaining much strength. I hope the study proves true!.




Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems, August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically.