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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:30 am
by davieq
Hi, I am currently recovering from shoulder surgery (sub-acromial decompression carried out 14th Feb) and am desperate for advice on how long it will take to get back on the water. My surgeon was pretty sketchy about recovery and I have also seen the physio who was also very vague. I am currently only doing minor strtetching exercises and am looking for advice on when I can start anything more strenuous. I believe that I need to wait at least 6 weeks to allow the scar tissue to heal before I start any weights or resistance training, and about 12 wks before I go near a boat!! I also play football and do a lot of cycling, any thoughts on these sports??? I am hoping to make it back for the second half of the slalom season. I would welcome any advice as I am currently sitting at home deeply depressed !!
Thanks
Davie
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:26 am
by John Sturgess
I can't really offer anything on time - it varies so much from person to person, with age, etc
However one thing is very important: don't wait for thescar tissue to heal. In the case of dislocated shoulders etc doctors and physios used to recommend immobilisation - result was that the muscles, ligaments, etc grew back brittle, and re-dislocation followed rapidly
The advice now is to maintain mobility from right afer the operation - try to get back to full range - but stop if it hurts, and try again the next day: it is a bit-by-bit thing.
Same would apply, I guess, to resistance etc: build it back bit by bit, starting as early as possible.
However to start with at any rate, try to avoid sudden shocks - so no snatches, and no surfing stoppers at Grandtully!
Anyway, that is the advice that I give to paddlers who have had shoulder injuries, and I suppose an operation is just a big injury!
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:04 pm
by boatmum
Hi DAve
Sorry to hear about your shoulder - you'll get the very best advice from your medical folk - the physio, doctor and surgeon - do as they say and I'm sure you will mend well.
Good Luck!
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:35 pm
by the ginge
davieq wrote:Hi, I am currently recovering from shoulder surgery (sub-acromial decompression carried out 14th Feb) and am desperate for advice on how long it will take to get back on the water. My surgeon was pretty sketchy about recovery and I have also seen the physio who was also very vague. I am currently only doing minor strtetching exercises and am looking for advice on when I can start anything more strenuous. I believe that I need to wait at least 6 weeks to allow the scar tissue to heal before I start any weights or resistance training, and about 12 wks before I go near a boat!! I also play football and do a lot of cycling, any thoughts on these sports??? I am hoping to make it back for the second half of the slalom season. I would welcome any advice as I am currently sitting at home deeply depressed !!
Thanks
Davie
get yourself a scan as soon as you can.you could save yourself months of recovery time
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:12 pm
by kendall chew
First; take the advice dished out by your surgeon and listen to what your physio tells you. If you do not like the advice, well... that's tough. The time taken for an injury to get to a point where you can start to become active again is around 12 weeks, or three months, whichever takes longer( how long is your leg in plaster when you break it?). You are dealing with a structure which is so complicated that you will destroy it again very easily.
Second; by all means go for a second opinion, but make sure the physio or osteopath actually knows what they are talking about - who do they work for, do they actually understand paddling or sport at all.
Third; football is a great game and has plenty of conact - it is a contact sport, your shoulder will get hammered at some point. Avoid contact sports in the rehab period
Fourth; Rehab' period is as long as it takes for you to successfully progress through a set protocol, which has been designed by professionals dedicated to rehabing - the shoulder, or other parts of anatomy. You can bet your bottom dollar that if the surgeon has a speciallist team of shoulder rehab physios lying around their advice is probably worth listening to.
Fifth; it is worth getting in touch with a strength and conditioning coach once the physios have done all they can for you and develop a training regime which will succesfully get you paddle fit before you hit the big stuff.
Note: All paddlers are bonkers and want to get onto the water way before they are ready, it must be something in the water, we all do it ( ok,ok, most of us).
Sixth; Walk before you can run. It is much quicker, you don't get hurt twice and thus you are only off competitive paddling or big water for half the time.
Seventh; DO NOT sneekily (?) train harder than you are advised to, DO NOT visit two different types of manual therapist without their knowledge - you will not know which one to sue and one type of treatment may be blocking the other, there really is such a thing as; "too much of a good thing".
Eigth; Actually, I don't think there is one.
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:28 pm
by djberriman
You might want to contact Dave Rawding he has just recovered from the same operation after an accident on a mountain bike. You can contact him via email - dave@rawding.karoo.co.uk
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:11 am
by davieq
Guys and Gals, Thanks for the replies and advice. I may have put my initial post across wrongly out of frustration. I have full confidence in both my surgeon and physio and have no intention in rushing back, I think I am just a bit depressed. I know I will have to be patient and your replies have made that more obvious to me. I may have to spend this season watching from the banking.
Once again thanks for all your responses 
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:21 am
by TOG
Look forward to seeing you in whatever capacity Davie. Keep spinning and remember that you have the advantage of not being as old as me....