I’ve never been one to mosey up and down the stairs. I don’t go as fast as I used to go, but then again, I don’t do anything as fast anymore.
Since the days of my youth when we finished up wrestling practice with 20 stair sprints up and down the back stairwell of Bogota High, I’ve rarely taken the stairs slowly.
That is, until now.
In May of 2023, while routinely hurrying down my basement stairs in my socks, my feet went out from under me, just like you’ve seen many a cartoon character slipping on a banana peel.
The difference is I wasn’t laughing, and I hurt my left shoulder really badly in an attempt to keep from cracking my head open.
Since that fateful day, I’ve been barely able to get my hand to shoulder height.
Despite not being able to use my left arm, I still kept up with my weight lifting routine, modifying it to do only lower body exercises, abdominal work, and upper body with my right arm only.
The workouts weren’t quite what I was used to, but when you injure one body part, it’s rarely a good idea to stop exercising completely.
Muscle atrophy (use it or lose it) happens pretty quickly, especially when you’re older.
I didn’t want to become weak or frail while I waited for my left shoulder to get better……which it never did!
I thought it would improve on its own, but a month later, I finally went to see a Sports Medicine doctor.
The diagnosis was “a complete tear of the supraspinatus as well as of the cranial infraspinatus fibers with elevation of the humeral head. Nondisplaced posterior and inferior labral tear. Superior labral tearing involving the bicipital anchor.”
That was a lot of fancy Latin words, but as a personal trainer of 24 years, who has studied lots of anatomy and physiology, I knew this wasn’t good.
“You’ll need surgery,” the Doc said.
My heart sank as I thought about the pain I would have to endure and worse, the time off I would have to take from working out and other activities I enjoy like biking and roller blading.
Six weeks in a sling and three months lifting nothing heavier than a cup of coffee….and I don’t even like coffee!
After drying the tears from my eyes, I decided to turn this into a positive.
- I told myself:
- It would be a good chance for me to let my team run the gym during my absence; I probably annoy them anyway.
- I would savagely get after my physical therapy!
- I will exercise the other parts of my body that are not injured!
- I will come back strong!
Stopping exercise completely, in most cases, is not necessary.
It usually leads to losing muscle, getting out of shape, and becoming less healthy.
If you’ve been avoiding exercise due to an injury or just some aches and pains,
we can help you work around those issues and still help you lose weight, get stronger, and feel better! Just click on the “contact us” link at the bottom of this page to set up a free consultation with one of our personal trainers.
Marty Musikant
