Pacemaker Club: stiff arm

stiff arm

by capecod
2014-06-06 09:06:13
General Posting
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2 comments

i'm trying to figure out if my stiff arm is leftover from implant procedure 5 weeks ago. upper arm is still stiff at times. doc told me to still be careful of my arm so i am protective of it and movement is guarded. I'm using it more and more but not lifting it high or carrying a lot of heavy things. gets a little sore if i use it too much. hoping this is normal.
thanks

2 Comments

Yes, It's Normal But . . .

by NiceNiecey - 2014-06-07 01:06:24

Watch it: we are all candidates for tendonitis and even frozen shoulder. After my PM implant, I "obeyed" the doctor about not moving my arm above my shoulder but I remained very active and kept moving it a lot. Despite that, I still developed tendonitis and am getting an x-ray next week of my shoulder since I now have very limited mobility when I try to move my left arm backwards or fasten my bra. Apparently this is a common problem when anyone has surgery or a procedure, whether it's a mastectomy or PM.

Good luck!
Niecey

Stiffness

by golden_snitch - 2014-06-07 02:06:36

Hi!

If your arm is stiff five weeks after the implant, I'd say that you moved it too little. Of course, if you were told to be really careful, it's not your fault.

It really is only about not reaching up, not moving the arm above shoulder level, but you can do anything else. The risk that you pull out the leads is minimal; most dislodged leads were never placed well, and dislodge very soon after surgery. Yes, many doctors pretend that we, the patients, are the ones pulling those leads out, but I have seen the top two EPs in Germany - leading a huge department for electrophysiology - and they both said it's non-sense. In fact, they both told me after pacemaker surgeries not to treat my arm with too much care. They said the risk of developing a stiff/frozen shoulder is higher than the risk of pulling the leads out.

Get physical therapy, that'll help!

Hope you get better soon.

Inga