Wednesday, April 09, 2014

The Verdict on the Shoulder

Well, swimming is going to have to go on the shelf for at least a month or so.  I saw an orthopedic PA this morning and he said it's most likely a torn or inflamed labrum.  I had no idea what that was until a couple of hours ago.  Apparently it's the tissue surrounding the shoulder socket.  According to the internets, tears are often caused by repetitive motions or a sudden pull, such as when lifting a heavy object. 

Which basically confirms to me that I hurt it when I took that surfing lesson last September.  It started hurting the next day.  The instructor gave me a GIANT surfboard and I vividly remember several times when my arms were jerked as the waves pulled the surfboard out of my arms.  Although I'm heavy, I'm not super tall and I think that board was too much for me to handle.  Ever since then I've just been exacerbating the problem when I went to the pool and swam laps.
 
I have a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and start physical therapy in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully I will have improved enough to not reinjure myself when I do the St. John swim at the end of May.  Because there's no way I'm skipping that.  However, this makes me really glad we decided to do the swim with fins.  I definitely know I can swim 1 1/4 miles with fins, even if I don't train between now and then.

My fingers are crossed that we can get this fixed and it won't hamper my swimming long-term.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Can you ride a recumbent bicycle? I know that would give you some extra work out and yet is mild on the shoulder too. I am very sorry to hear about your shoulder injury but am happy you are getting it attended to and that it won't mess up the St. John Swim. Have a great day. Mama <3