Recovering from shoulder surgery; feeling crummy...

Don't give up! After my back injury I was told I'd have all sorts of problems like a pronounced limp, constant pain, etc. By rehabbing/swimming my butt off, most of the problems are non-existent or very low level and manageable. Patience, consistency and a refusal to give up will take you a long way. Speaking of taking strain off the shoulder (as Craig did), I suggest that you consider using Fistgloves for some of your swimming. Although they are primarily used to promote the use of core involvement in your stroke, as a side benefit they also relieve some of the "pressure" on the shoulder because they don't allow your hand much purchase on the water. I have osteoarthritis of the right A/C joint (above the actual shoulder) and when it gets grumpy, using the fistgloves for a day or so seems to calm it down. Your mileage may vary. -LBJ

Hi there. I know what you are going through, and it can be very discouraging. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I had surgery on my right shoulder about 6 years ago. I quit college swimming at that time... but then last year, I came back and it has been a tough road. BUT, it has been great swimming w/ Masters... it is such a great, supportive group. I've had tons of improvement over the year and I concentrate on that. I'm nowhere close to my old times, but I will get there someday. To avoid further injury, you MUST concentrate on your technique as you practice. To get yourself to breathe on both sides... Do DRILLS, DRILLS, and MORE DRILLS! :D I love doing three pulls and kick for 6. Then do five pulls, then switch to 7 when you are comfy. Everything will be fine... stay in the water! ;)

Once, when I was in high school, I offered one of the older, more stellar athletes on the team whom I admired greatly the workout equipment I was using. "Why?" he asked. "'Cause I suck," I said, sort of half joking. He stopped short, looked me right in the eye, and said "Don't EVER say that," then made me get back on the machine. That was at least 28 years ago, and I can remember it like it was yesterday. Don't EVER say "I suck."

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, everyone. Being injured sucks. Feeling like you suck all the time sucks too. I have moved to a slower lane in order to focus on my drills. I like the deep tissue massage and chiropractor ideas; I will give them a try. OK....I'll stick it out in the pool and stay out of the boxing ring for now. Hi Karen! I'm still going to show up at a workout one of these days soon!! I too have been cross training - spinning, working with weights, etc. and it's a nice change. I'm also trying to stretch, which I'm sure I've needed to do for about a million years. So..instead of constantly thinking, I SUCK, I'll focus, focus, focus.

Bill - I will delete that word from my lexicon. What should I replace it with though? Positive suggestions welcome! :)

I know... You're awesome!:cool:

Karen: you're not happy with your times, what with demands & consequences of motherhood? Last time I checked your Zone results & times, they looked damned good to me! Kari: reams of good advice you've gotten, if you accomplish the bilateral breathing (as a habit), then it should help-but, if you find that despite the good old varsity try it never feels natural (like for me), you can at least mitigate it by ensuring that your shoulder rotation is equal to both sides & by experimenting with the most minimal head motion possible in order to access your breath (you need someone watching you to give you feedback on that). This has helped stubborn old non-bilateral me a lot.

Kari, Replace that negativity, with what that old little blue engine has always said, "I think I can, I think I can..." you know the rest :p I've learned, the hard way, with lots of self-doubt, that I do have control over myself and my swimming. I know that I cannot go back and do the times I was doing at this VERY moment. But I also know that I have the ability to look at my current situation, make some goals, work really really hard, and I bet I'll achieve those goals. Peter, I didn't realize how much of my self-confidence revolved around swimming. I used to go under 3:00 min for the 200m *** regularly and win my heat by a lot. I really took that easy stroke for granted. The day someone told me about USMS Top 10 Times I took a look and had quite a few, now I barely make it. I continued to do best times into my late 20's. I had Patrick when I was 29, a few months short of 30. Suddenly, no surprise, I couldn't work out as hard or as often, etc... Today, I am working on getting to swim at least 4 days a week (instead of my 2 day/week average for the summer). I still have some pretty lofty goals (I think) for times I'd like to achieve. I haven't been doing many meets, which doesn't help a lot, and my times at these meets isn't entirely inspirational for me either. But, they are coming down again, and I think with a lot of hard work, waking up at 4:30 to get in that stretching and weight training will help. I told Kerry the other day that if I don't have "it" back together by Worlds that I'm taking up Ping-Pong! Thank you for your support- I hope you'll see a lot faster times come next May and August :)

I guess the Special K's are going to be scary in the water, as well as downright wild socially, in 2006

Kari! Hang in there and in the words of Dori from Finding Nemo......... "JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!!" I too have battled shoulder problems for years now. My shoulder was popping in and out of joint from years of swimming. I had to have a thermal-capsular shrinkage done....fancy medical jargon for having the cartillage around my shoulder tightened. The 6 months of physical therapy were so painful and scary. I literally could not lift my arm! My doctor told me I would probably never swim like I used to. I missed swimming so much that I cried when I used bleach in my laundry! ;( I couldn't lift my arm for weeks much less swim. I finally decided that no matter how silly I looked and felt, I was going to dog paddle with my right arm as well as I could and stroke with my left if I had to to get back in the water. I did my PT exercises religiously and just kept plugging away. It took time and most of all a LOT OF PATIENCE. The swimming helped more than anything!! The day I could do normal freestyle was one of the happiest days of my life. I eventually got back to swimming with my masters team and recently did close to lifetime best times!! I still have pain occasionally but I just listen to my body and know when to push it and when to take a day off. I HAVE to do my PT exercises the rest of my life....if I don't, my pain comes back!! The things I have found to work....WARM-UP SLOWLY!!,stretch after warm-up and before you start working too hard, ice after your workout if it hurts, RELIGIOUSLY doing rotator cuff exercises and LOTS OF PATIENCE AND TIME. It took about 2 years to completely recover to where I am almost pain free (shoulderwise at least!) during/after swimming workouts. I can still tell the weather better than the Weather Channel! ;)