Saturday, February 14, 2015

Slack

I have been slack in blogging this past week because of family issues, niggling but not insurmountable, like grappling with spondylitis (my wife) and a frozen shoulder (me), visits to orthopedic doctors and x-ray clinic, physiotherapy at home, B12 shots, meeting office deadlines, and computer problems. All is well, though, and I hope to return to active blogging next week.

A word of advice: if you’re reaching out for something, never stretch your hand beyond its capacity. Climb on a stool or go round and pick it up. It's worth the effort.


The doctor gave me three options: physiotherapy for a minimum of three months (though, he said, it could take up to six months for the shoulder to heal) with heat and ice packs, steroid injections or straightening the joint under local anaesthesia. I have ruled out the last two—they scare me. 

18 comments:

  1. Sorry you are not in the best of shape right now. We share your pain. Literally.

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    1. Patti, thank you. It's manageable and I can use my arm as far as possible.

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  2. Prashant, it is bad enough for one person to have health problems, but both at the same time is even more challenging. Hope things get much better soon.

    I did what you described (reached too far) once several years ago. It did cause that much damage but I had shoulder problems for months...I will keep your advice in mind.

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    1. Tracy, thank you. We're both doing well though we've to strictly follow the exercise regimen.

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  3. Sorry to hear you're not well. By the way, go for the steroid shot, nothing to be scared of and pretty quick improvement. My wife had to do that with her shoulder last summer and she was back to normal in a couple of weeks with no problems or reoccurrences.

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    1. Richard, thank you for your advice. I'm worried about the side effects of steroids. I'll keep that option open.

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  4. Sorry to hear about these developments. I agree with Richard. Steroid shots can do wonders to deal with pain and promote healing. That along with PT and alterrnating heat and ice.

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    1. Ron, if physiotherapy doesn't work as well as I'm told it should, then I'll go for the steroid shots. I have an aversion to meds and shots and avoid them as far as possible. Alternate treatment is usually my first line of treatment.

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  5. Take care of yourself Prashant and I hope you and your wife make a swift recovery - several friends and colleagues have had steroid treatment and have had real benefits from it. All the very best to you both.

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    1. Sergio, thank you. I have heard certain negative things about steroids and it's encouraging to hear you, Richard, and Ron talk about its benefits. I'm going to have to keep an open mind on it.

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  6. Sorry to hear of your recent woes. Looking forward to having you back blogging in rude health soon!

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    1. Col, thank you. Work-related deadlines also kept me away from blogging. I hope to post a couple of reviews this week.

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  7. Sorry to hear that. I try to be very careful myself but it's easy to forget that we're all getting older

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    1. Charles, I forget that I'm getting older. I was behind the wheel and I pulled my left shoulder muscle while trying to straighten the rear-view mirror on the passenger side. A stupid mistake.

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  8. I hope you feel better soon Prashant.

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    1. Ben, thank you. We're feeling better already. Exercise is the key, we're told.

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  9. Yikes! Sorry to hear that, and I hope it improves soon.

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    1. Moira, thank you. We're much better now though physiotherapy will continue for a long time.

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