[Fracture Purgatory #21] 2 weeks since starting full-scale rehabilitation. The results and the limit of just 2 steps *Includes walking fashion image

42 days since the fracture.

A question for the doctor

Today is my check-up with my attending physician.

“The bone is still in the process of knitting and your movement is probably still very limited, so please focus on your rehabilitation first.” This time, there were no X-rays or CT scans, just a consultation. The doctor didn't even touch my body and was about to end today's examination.

Wait just a minute!
There is something I absolutely have to ask.
“Doctor, can I take a bath...”
“Not yet.”
An immediate answer. The next check-up is in 3 weeks, so I'll look forward to it then.

What are the results of the first goal?

47 days since the fracture.

2 weeks since starting full-scale rehabilitation. It's time for the assessment of my first goal: 110° of flexion, lifting my arm forward.
It's been a few days since the day I recorded a forced 105°. I've been having rehabilitation every day since then too.
“Alright, I'll measure it now.”
My usual physical therapist moves the goniometer.
The result is exactly 110°. There's no room to spare, but it's now a record I can achieve just by pushing slightly without having to force it with strength.

“Congratulations. Next, the goal is 130° of flexion in 2 weeks.”
The next goal is presented immediately. Since it took two full weeks to move just 20°, I figured the next two weeks would be the same, and I sighed at the 130° goal rather than feeling happy about achieving 110°.

A menu for home self-training has also been added.
I was taught a stretch where I stand straight with my brace on and pull both shoulder blades inward. Since my job is mainly desk work, this was a movement I often did when I was tired.

However, when I did that movement with my broken shoulder, a shocking pain shot through it before I could even get to a point that could be called “pulling them in.”
“I didn't realize it would become this immobile.”
I continued the movement with a bitter smile. I've learned over these past two weeks that you won't get better unless you push yourself to a certain extent.

We always check the form together while looking at the mirror covering one wall.
Even though I used to be a cosplayer, I don't have a large mirror at home that shows my whole body. But I thought this might be a good opportunity to buy one. “Cosplay < Rehabilitation.”

Current range of motion level

Since I managed to clear the first goal, we decided to check movements other than flexion today.

First is “abduction,” lifting the arm to the side. I have my arm supported while the brace is off, and we slowly lift it to the side. By the way, straight down is 0° and straight out to the side is 90°.
...About 30°. My shoulder creaked, and it wouldn't lift nearly as much as I was surprised by myself.

Next, from a state with my arm down, I extend my forearm forward (like a small “eyes front” position), and from there, I open my forearm outward, which is “external rotation.” For this, straight forward is 0°.
...About 10°. It didn't move so much that it was laughable, let alone surprising. 10° is just a margin of error.

We looked at each other's faces and laughed.
“Let's do our best.”
He always cheers me up, but he couldn't find words to follow this disastrous situation.

He brings over a skeletal model from the back.
“While you're walking, please try to be conscious of moving your arm in various directions—front, back, left, and right—even if just a little.”
As he said that, he held the skeletal model's arm and moved it with a clattering sound.

Walking life

That's right. The other day, having triumphantly gotten a new pair of shoes, I started going to the park every day after this rehabilitation to go for a walk.
The location is that park where I fell and got injured, the place where it all began.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times I look at the place where I fell, it is flat ground, and I cannot find anything that would have caused me to trip.
"Why did I fall so spectacularly with such force that I couldn't even put my hands out in time?"
This is a question I will likely spend the rest of my life trying to answer.

When wearing a brace, even putting on walking shoes is a struggle. When I was jogging, I would put my feet in the shoes and tie the laces with both hands, but now I cannot reach my feet with both hands.
Therefore, I tie the laces beforehand with a guess of "this should be about right," hold them in my left hand, and force my foot in while making a squeaking sound.
Because of this, the heels of these shoes, which I went to the trouble of buying new, will likely wear out quickly.

There is no room to be particular about fashion, so it is very simple.
First, I wear a T-shirt with the sides cut wide open for easy dressing, and then I put the brace on over it. I live like this inside the house, but when I go out, including for walks, I wear a jersey over it.
That said, this is also hard to put on and take off, so I only put my left arm through the sleeve, and I just drape the jersey over my injured right arm and the brace. On windy days, I curse my "sloping shoulders" as the jersey immediately slips off (lol).

With this, I walk 5 to 8 kilometers in the park or along the embankment that I can access immediately from the park, depending on how I feel that day. On rainy days, I use an umbrella and walk about 3 kilometers.
Sometimes, for a change of pace, I go along the train tracks or to a forest park a bit further away, but in any case, I make sure to walk every day.

Since my rehabilitation time is usually the same, the time I spend walking in the park afterward naturally becomes fixed as well, and the same faces of old and young (well, mostly those without the "young") are walking there. It seems that taking a walk is incorporated into everyone's daily routine.

Until the day I got injured, I always used to jog in the park. So, when I walk, the flow of the scenery feels extremely slow.
I held the jersey draped over my right side firmly with my left hand so it wouldn't flap, and as I let the image of my healthy self expand in my mind, I started to run lightly.

…Unable to endure the intense pain in my shoulder caused by the vibration, that jog ended after two steps.

~~ To be continued ~~

I hope that by reading this article, more people will think to gently offer a helping hand if they see someone struggling with an injury.
And above all, I would be happy if this serves as a reference for those in a similar situation to mine and helps to alleviate their anxiety, even if just a little.