Working Those Shoulder Muscles
For six weeks now, I have been in physical therapy—two sessions per week—to work on the muscles sidelined by my broken collarbone in June. I have clearly made strides. Only two problems remain:
- I have difficulties reaching across my body with my right arm to my left armpit.
- My shirt is never tucked into my pants, as my right arm can’t do the tucking in on the right side.
One negative aftereffect is that the many exercises I perform have resulted in a low level of pain as my muscles attempt to adjust.
I can see myself doing some exercises even when Medicare stops paying for my therapy. I might even buy a pulley like the one above, although I will by no means look so cute as the young woman in the above photo.
Will I ever be 100% back to normal? Perhaps, but I rather think that some problems will remain. In the past, I broke my right and left shoulders. To this day, these two fractures affect my ability to raise my arms high, should I ever want to do so. Perhaps I will always wear my shirts on the outside of my pants. Perhaps my left armpit will always be slightly stinkier than my right armpit.
Life goes on.
Reaching across to the opposite armpit and tucking in a shirt on one side are ordinary movements, so it makes sense they stand out as the ones still waiting for you. Six weeks of steady work is real effort, and a low ache while muscles adjust is something many people describe. One thing that sometimes helps is to try those reaches slowly and small, noticing where the movement starts and whether your ribs and shoulder blade are joining in. Some people explore gentle Feldenkrais lessons alongside their physical therapy for this kind of attention. An overhead pulley sounds like a sensible companion. Do you ever try the reach lying down?
Not yet on lying down. Unfortunately, I am limited by what Blue Cross health insurance is willing to pay.