When we last posted Sunni was beginning Phase 1 passive range of motion, wherein she was reestablishing range of motion in a pain free environment. Since then she is continuing with passive range of motion and moving into isometrics wherein the muscle contracts but does not change in length and the effective joint does not move through range of motion. Plus she’s starting scapular stabilization exercises as well.
And all of that is well and good but unless you’re a physical therapy practitioner or student, it can be, quite frankly, a rather clinical read devoid of focusing on how Sunni is doing … you know, as a person, in her day to day life. So we decided to ask her, as in “Hey Sunni, how’s it going? How are you doing?”
Here’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version in case you’re pressed for time (and we should warn this is a spoiler alert): “I’m doing great!”
All in all, it’s going well. The exciting news is that Sunni is no longer wearing a sling! This may not sound like much, but it’s actually a pretty big thing. Don’t believe it? Okay, wear a sling for a couple to a few weeks. Do it for real and don’t cheat. When the few weeks is up take it off. Then get back to us and tell us how being able to remove it is not such a big deal. Go ahead. We’ll wait. For the rest of us, here’s what’s been happening to Sunni.
Since her surgery Sunni says she has never had a lot of pain although there has been discomfort and, obviously, functional limitations. But with each passing day the discomfort and limitations have decreased tremendously. The biggest issue is not the physical so much as it is the mental. When we asked about her state of mind she told us, “I know that the hard part is over and that the everyday is getting me closer to where I want to be.” (She has physical therapy 3 time each week). “But I have a lot of nervous energy, a tendency to want to do more than I can presently do. I want to work out, but I can’t. It’s frustrating. I have to learn to be patient.”
Patience, if you’re as active as Sunni is, does not come naturally. She went from strength training / weight training / high intensity workouts to none of that, and now she has to restrict herself to cardio. Not that cardio is a bad thing, it’s not. It’s just a change that required some getting used to, and at least she has the sling off. “It’s made it easier to teach group fitness classes and to just do day-to-day things, easier to just exist.”
Change … that’s what it’s all about. Sunni’s physical therapist, Chris Wilson, performing external rotation.
Image at top of page: Sunni instructing one of Pinamonti Wellness Center’s Age Well Classes
