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BeyondLost
Crazy Bob



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BeyondLost
Crazy Bob
PostFri May 01, 2009 3:34 pm 
Canuck wrote:
I saw the orthopedist this morning, who took x-rays and found a crack in my upper arm bone. So it's good, cause I won't have to think about surgery or anything like that, but bad, cause shoulders take a long time to heal. frown.gif
Upper humerus (near the shoulder) undisplaced fractures usually heal quite quickly. There is a lot of spongy bone there with good blood supply for fast healing. You should be moving it soon (passively) to prevent loss of motion which is the biggest common complication. Usually, almost full use and motion actively in 6 weeks. Solid healing in 2-2 1/2 months.

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Canuck
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Canuck
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PostFri May 01, 2009 5:26 pm 
BeyondLost wrote:
Canuck wrote:
I saw the orthopedist this morning, who took x-rays and found a crack in my upper arm bone. So it's good, cause I won't have to think about surgery or anything like that, but bad, cause shoulders take a long time to heal. frown.gif
Upper humerus (near the shoulder) undisplaced fractures usually heal quite quickly. There is a lot of spongy bone there with good blood supply for fast healing. You should be moving it soon (passively) to prevent loss of motion which is the biggest common complication. Usually, almost full use and motion actively in 6 weeks. Solid healing in 2-2 1/2 months.
Thank goodness, cause it's been 3 weeks now and it's almost worse now than it was a week after I hurt it. It's not so bad in the morning -- and in fact that was annoying this morning, because that's when I was at the doctor, and I had nearly full range of motion. But as the day wears on, the arm gets worse & worse, and for example now, I can't get my hand behind my back at all, too painful. At least it's Friday, so I can rest it properly over the weekend. I hate injuries!!

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Canuck
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PostFri Jun 05, 2009 7:50 am 
Well, as it turns out, the good ol' doc was wrong in his initial assessment. He had me get an MRI last week. Results showed everything is wrong in there! Rotator cuff tendonitis, bursitis, partial-thickness (50%) rotator cuff tear, arthritis of the acromioclavicular (not sure if I got that right) bone, with a bone spur on the bottom of that, which is now jamming into my rotator cuff when I move my arm in certain directions. So I got a cortisone shot yesterday (holy heck that hurt last night, about 5 or 6 hours afterwards... still achy today but not as bad as last night), and he said to continue PT for another 2-3 months and see where I'm at. If it isn't healed or starting to show improvement, we'll rethink treatment. Ugh. Why can't shoulders heal as fast as everywhere else? It's been 2 months since the stupid goose knocked me down and it's not one tiny bit better. Hopefully the cortisone will kick in and do something!

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Recon
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PostSat Jun 06, 2009 1:54 am 
I am shoulder post op
10 days now, mostly the AC joint and relieving impingement. I think it will be a while healing. I am glad I had the surgery though. I pretty much lost the use of my left arm by April. Although I still have some post op pain and the mobility will be awhile I can tell I don't have the pre op pain.

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evergreenhiker
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evergreenhiker
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PostSun Sep 02, 2018 9:55 am 
Looks like I got a torn rotator cuff. So I came here to see what others did. My surgery might be in October once it gets approved. I will be looking for a good waistpack that can carry enough at least for a dayhike. I want to go backpacking, but I think I'm gonna just forget that for now. Next summer, Hopefully, it will be better.

The alpine world is my church.
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JonnyQuest
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PostMon Sep 03, 2018 4:09 pm 
evergreenhiker wrote:
So I came here to see what others did.
Thanks to kayaking, I've had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders. I was doing short & easy hikes within a week of surgery, and more normal hikes about two weeks following surgery. Don't tell my doc! I wore a pack, using the sternum strap to keep the shoulder strap on the sling side "in place". This worked pretty well, and even felt somewhat balanced. Just be careful. About 6 weeks following one of my surgeries, I hiked the Walt Bailey trail to Cutthroat lakes and vicinity. It was a fairly wet day, and on the way out just after dropping over the edge from the lakes both feet went out from under me and I crashed down on my hands and chest. Lots of pain, and while the doc didn't think I compromised the repair, I'm fairly sure I set myself back a bit.

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Ski
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PostMon Sep 03, 2018 4:37 pm 
This thread makes my shoulders hurt just thinking about it. Best thing to do: nothing that involves the use of your arms. Too many cords of wood split, too many holes dug, and too many miles of trail brushed out with a D-ring. Sooner or later that stuff catches up to you. Best thing to do is ice it and lay off anything that's going to aggravate the situation for a while.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Navy salad
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 10:21 am 
I also had a torn rotator cuff, apparently due to a bone spur (looked a bit like blackberry thorn!) in my shoulder. Anyway, my doc had me do PT for months and only after I complained it wasn't getting better did they do an MRI, which revealed the severity of the tear. [Lesson one: don't suffer in silence!] The surgery was done arthroscopically, through an opening about the size of a button hole (you can find Youtube videos showing the actual surgery). I don't remember how long it took to heal (maybe 3 months?) to where it felt normal, but it eventually got there and doesn't bother me at all. It does help to continue doing rotator cuff exercises even after being fully recovered, since a healthy rotator cuff is less likely to tear again [Lesson 2]. (My surgeon says retearing rotator cuffs happens all the time).

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AlpineRose
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PostSun Sep 09, 2018 8:11 pm 
evergreenhiker wrote:
I want to go backpacking, but I think I'm gonna just forget that for now
Strange coincidence, but I just learned of this shoulder-strapless pack - ME=2 A Shoulder Strap Free Backpack. Kinda pricey, but US made and looks interesting. Otherwise I have an older Mountainsmith lumbar pack. It's about 13L (800 cu. in.) and in great shape, It didn't come with a shoulder strap setup and doesn't have the proper attachments for the strap setup currently available as a separate purchase. You'd have to rig something up if you wanted a strap or straps. You could have it for free. PM if interested. Pickup in Issaquah/Bellevue.

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coldrain108
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coldrain108
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PostMon Sep 10, 2018 12:27 pm 
AlpineRose wrote:
shoulder-strapless pack
That is how I use my backpack. I have a traditional pack (Osprey 50L), but the way I wear it there is no weight on my shoulders at all, I use the chest strap and shoulder straps to pin it to my upper back so it doesn't flop around, but almost all the weight is carried on my hips - huge gap between the top of my shoulder and the strap. Pack fitters at REI and other places try to sell me packs that sit on my shoulders. My wife took their advice over mine and had to return the pack for the next size up in order to get the weight off her shoulders. That selling technique is right up there with "the boots have to be painfully tight" BS that gets put out there by the know-nothings at the warehouse stores. I had a severe shoulder injury from skiing 16 years ago (shattered the ball of the ball joint). If I carry much weight on it I get really severe pain, one day one of the load straps got loose and the pack shifted down on my shoulders, after about 5 minutes I got a really bad cramp in that shoulder. Once re-adjusted I was fine again. When rigged up to put no weight on my shoulder I have no issues even with a 40lb pack and 10 hours of hiking with 4000' gain and 3500' loss in a day, much of it off trail. Basically I buy the largest size (not capacity), put it the longest torso length and then use the chest strap to keep it from moving around. seems like the same concept on those shoulder-strapless packs.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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AlpineRose
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PostMon Sep 10, 2018 12:35 pm 
Very ingenious, coldrain. Necessity is the mother of invention, yes? If evergreenhiker were to try your solution, it appears he'd still need to get a new, larger pack - larger than his current packs - to make it work.

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