As I've mentioned, one of the major obstacles that complicates therapy and hinders my progress is my subluxated right shoulder. Subluxation is a partial dislocation of a joint. Shoulder subluxation is typically, as it is in my case, caused by weakened muscles and connective tissue around the glenohumeral (ball and socket) joint. When the muscles are too weak to hold it in place, the head of the humerus bone slides out of the glenoid fossa (the concavity in the head of the scapula that receives the head of the humerus to form the shoulder joint).
At this point, the gap between the head of the humerus and the shoulder socket in my right shoulder is about the width of two fingers. In my specific case, what might've been a slight subluxation was exacerbated by years of people pulling on my arm when using it to move me. The frustrating part about that is I've always known, and been quite adamant about, that no one can lift me under my arms to move me or my shoulders would dislocate. I did not realize, however, that the force applied to my joint in that situation would be substantial enough to do damage. Apparently, it is. Myopic foresight makes for grueling hindsight.
More frustrating than knowing I could've prevented some of my current situation is that much of it could've been avoided if someone had taken my concerns about it seriously. I have for years been telling anyone who would listen that there was something wrong with my shoulder -- it felt loose, it didn't sit right, and it hurt all the time. I was always told either it was fine, or there was nothing that could be done for it.
This is a perfect example of why I love KKI and the fantastic therapists at the ICSCI. When I went in for my evaluation in May, it was the first thing they noticed. While palpating my shoulder, the PT and OT discussed the discomfort I was having.
"There's something wrong with it, isn't there?" I asked them. "It's not where it's supposed to be, right?"
Both therapists confirmed my suspicions. The difference, this time, was that they said, "We can fix that!"
At this point, the gap between the head of the humerus and the shoulder socket in my right shoulder is about the width of two fingers. In my specific case, what might've been a slight subluxation was exacerbated by years of people pulling on my arm when using it to move me. The frustrating part about that is I've always known, and been quite adamant about, that no one can lift me under my arms to move me or my shoulders would dislocate. I did not realize, however, that the force applied to my joint in that situation would be substantial enough to do damage. Apparently, it is. Myopic foresight makes for grueling hindsight.
More frustrating than knowing I could've prevented some of my current situation is that much of it could've been avoided if someone had taken my concerns about it seriously. I have for years been telling anyone who would listen that there was something wrong with my shoulder -- it felt loose, it didn't sit right, and it hurt all the time. I was always told either it was fine, or there was nothing that could be done for it.
This is a perfect example of why I love KKI and the fantastic therapists at the ICSCI. When I went in for my evaluation in May, it was the first thing they noticed. While palpating my shoulder, the PT and OT discussed the discomfort I was having.
"There's something wrong with it, isn't there?" I asked them. "It's not where it's supposed to be, right?"
Both therapists confirmed my suspicions. The difference, this time, was that they said, "We can fix that!"
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment