Elizabeth's Shoulder Updates : February 2014

Friday, February 7, 2014

Ten Months and an Anniversary

So, its a little late (but only by about a week) but last week was the two year anniversary of the sled crash. That was the beginning of 14 months in a sling, which sucked. However, it was also the first step in finding a solution to the overall problem, otherwise I may have settled and continued on with a mediocre at best shoulder that I thought couldn't be fixed. Anyway, its definitely a day to remember, whether good or bad.

The good news is, ten months out my shoulder is still doing very well. This winter I was able to ski with two arms for the first time in two years, which I was afraid would take some practice after a season of one armed skiing, but I seemed to have picked up where I left off. However, skiing definitely gets the whole body working, and it definitely made my arm (and whole body) quite sore, which was not something I expected. Anyway, with the addition of Advil for a day or two, I was fine.

Otherwise, the shoulder is doing great. I still get very tight in my lower arm sometimes but I think the only thing I truly struggle with is coordination. When I say that I struggle with coordination, what I mean is, I can do pretty much anything with my arm that I want or need to, but somethings still take a lot of thought. Things like lifting something over my head, or using silverware, or connecting circuits (something I have to do on a regular basis) are challenging, and not really for physical reasons. Actually, from that list, lifting things over my head is the easiest by far, and that was on the list of things that might not happen. On the other hand, holding a piece of food down with a fork is probably one of the hardest things I have to do. This is very frustrating. Think of any sport that you have watched, but haven't really played to any real extent. It looks great, and you understand the concept, but when you actually try it, its a disaster. That's my left hand trying to hold a fork. Anyway, it takes a lot of practice, and a lot of reminding myself that my arm is basically ten months old. Also, let's face it, I'm not a very coordinated person. At all. So, maybe in a couple of months, when my arm will be a whole year old, maybe then I'll have it down. But if that's my only complaint a year out, then I'll be fine with that, too.

Description

This blog will be used from now on to update people about my shoulder. It is often difficult to remember to update everyone who would like to know what is happening with my shoulder and honestly, sometimes I just don't feel like doing it. Furthermore, articulating information quickly and smoothly has never really been a strong suit of mine. Thus, giving people the information that they want to know in a way they can understand it is always challenging. Feel free to ask any comprehension questions in the comments of a post.

About My Shoulder

My diagnosis: My diagnosis is scapular dyskinesis caused by a detached scapular muscle, a separated AC joint and possibly a hooked superior medial angle. What this essentially means is that my shoulder blade does not move properly. It often gets "stuck" causing it to stick out from my back (a position that I typically call "out"). Once it is in this position, I cannot get it back to its normal position on its own and need somebody to put it "back in" for me, which is pretty easy as long as you are not too squeamish. To do this, I just need someone (they do not have to be a doctor) to essentially shrug my shoulder (I don't have the ability to do it myself). This is painful, but necessary.

How it happened: When I was eleven, in the fall of 2005, I jumped off a swing and landed on outstretched arms. After this, I began to have shoulder pains. It is believed that this is when my scapular muscle became detached. I initially only had pain in many places on my shoulder and a bit of cracking under my shoulder blade. This proved to make it difficult to diagnose what was wrong with my shoulder. However, by the summer of 2010 it progressed into getting stuck like it does today. I have been attending Boston Children's Hospital since this time. Starting in the fall of 2010, I was able to control my shoulder enough to learn how to fix it myself and do what I wanted. However, at the end of January 2012, I crashed sledding, separating my AC joint (Type II separation). Since then, physical therapy has not been able to get it under control. It was agreed that surgery needed to be done to solve the problem. I had one surgery June 2012 to get a better idea about what was going on inside my shoulder. They could not find anything significant besides some inflammation. They gave me a cortisone shot to reduce inflammation. However, though it reduced the problem for a short period of time, it did not fix the problem, and my shoulder progressed back to its original condition by the end of August. After more testing, it was decided that I may have a hooked superior medial angle. I was then sent to a doctor in Lexington, KY who specializes in scapulothoracic joint issues. It was there where the final diagnosis and surgery was decided on.

Some statistics:

7 years

7 doctors

~6 x-rays

3 MRI's

2 CT Scans

2 EMG's