supraspinatus. Sounds pretty cool, huh? Well, guess what – you’ve got two of those little tendons. As do I. And like any cool thing, you’d think I’d take care of them.
But if you know me at all, you're already thinking how notoriously hard I am on my gear. Favorite things don’t get taken care of, they get used hard & regularly until they fall apart. Then I get another one.
But I can’t do that with a tendon.
My right shoulder is protesting today; the joint grinds and pops when I roll my arm around. There is some daily swelling, but I don’t like taking advil each morning. I was told back in 1998 that I might need shoulder surgery if I wanted to keep swimming seriously. At the time, I moved on to other priorities, but now that shoulder-heavy athletics are back in my life, surgery may be back on the table. We'll have to see what my tendons did on their own over the last 8 years.
And then there is my lower half. A knee surgeon and a back surgeon, when asked about my right leg’s circulation issues in my C1, thought I may have inflicted some minor damage to my sciatic nerve. “While the nerve should recover fully, they seemed to think it would take on the order of 3-6 months, and of course they thought you shouldn't spend much time in the slalom boat.” Yeah, right.
I am not going to stop paddling. Even if my bursa sac bursts open, my teres major gets a major tear, and my scapula needs the scalpel. I am going to work with my body to get through this. Which means not ignoring my shoulder pain (the standard practice) but listening to it. Responding to it. And finally using my great health coverage for the first time and seeing a doc & PT.
Another anatomical drawing of a shoulder here
More rotator cuff tendonitis info here
3 comments:
Athletes often underestimate the value of rest. Rest and recovery are just as important aspects of training than the activity itself. For example, typical training cycles for rock-climbing and cycling recommend a maximum of 3-4 workout days per week with large amounts of low-intensity activity. The reason is basic exercise physiology, hard training causes muscular damage - that's why you feel sore afterwards. Gentle exercise and recovery periods are necessary to allow muscles to repair, recuperate and become stronger. That can be frustrating for someone keen to get on and improve, but trying to do too much too soon can ultimately do more harm than good. Take it easy Laura - you're body will repay you for it.
I hear you, Johnathan. My cycle with other sports has been just that: overtrain, injury (forcing me to rest), ramp back up, overtrain, etc... I don't want to do that with slalom. I took two days off this week when my shoulder asked me for it.
Thanks so much; friendly reminders go a long way.
Just think hard about those airplane director people at the airport and you will be just fine :D
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