exercise, one two,one two,one two, and a woo-hoo!

This is the sheet of exercises I was given to do, to loosen up the shoulder after yesterday's hydrodilation.

There's a whole bunch of information on what a frozen shoulder actually is.
Click on picture to enlarge to read should you be interested enough.

The pictures above are;

Top, pendulant exercise, lean forward from waist, swing injured arm from shoulder, back and forth, then from side to side; each being done ten times.

I also swing arms in a circular motion, clockwise, then counterclockwise, just to liven things up a bit. Because I can.

Bottom; flexion, lay on back, grasp injured arm with other hand, lift arm back behind shoulder as far as you can, hold five seconds, relax. Repeat ten times.

While I'm down on the floor (bed, it's softer), for these, I do some leg lifts as well. Just to pass the time you understand. Plus extra work means a few extra squares of chocolate allowed, yes?

Left side of form, top pictures, hold a lightweight rod in both hands,(I use a piece of curtain rod), keep elbows tucked in, use the uninjured arm to push the rod to the side so the injured arm turns to open the shoulder joint.
Hold for five seconds. Repeat ten times.

Middle pictures; hold a towel behind your head with the injured arm, at the bottom with the other arm. Raise the injured arm as if pulling up a zipper as high as you can. Hold five seconds, relax. Repeat ten times.

Bottom picture; Raise injured arm with elbow bent, grasp elbow with other hand, pull elbow across body as far as you can, aiming for the elbow to reach at least as far as centre body or further. Hold five seconds, relax. Repeat ten times.

Middle section of form; stand close to a wall, place hand of injured arm on wall as high as you can reach without straining. Try to walk fingers a little higher up the wall, hold five seconds, relax. Repeat ten times. The aim is to try and get the arm reaching higher, at least as high as the uninjured arm eventually.

I've written in pen just under that a couple of other exercises I was given;

a) try to grasp hands behind back, (impossible for me right now), gradually raising them higher, until you get to the stage of being once more able to unhook your bra without having to pull it around to the front.
b) rotate the injured arm as if bowling a cricket ball. Ha Ha

(Bottom pictures are just advertising on the form.)

I noticed the first time I did these that the back muscles were also getting worked, so rather than end up lopsided, I do these exercises with both arms.
I also found that it helps a lot if I lean forward and dangle the arms, shaking loose the shoulders for a couple of seconds between each set of exercises. Also it's much better to proceed slowly rather than rushing it.

The Woo-Hoo part? I've been cleared to go back to work from tomorrow as long as I do only light duties, such as putting away loose stock, cleaning stocktake numbers off the shelf facings, showing customers where items are when they can't find them. Absolutely no check out work allowed.

I still have the repair surgery to come at a later date, but this will keep the shoulder mobile as well as preventing my bum from assuming the dimensions of my couch.