When will I be able to scratch my right shoulder/back again 🙃

Hey everyone! I just had surgery 1/4/23 but it's KILLING me not being able to do something as simple as itch my right shoulder/right side of my upper back because whenever I try to reach over to the right I feel my pacemaker :( 

my doc didn't put it under the muscle either- which I wish he would have.... but it's a little to late for that.

 

obvi I understand everyone is different with healing, but I'm just wondering how long it took you to get your full range of motion back 

3 Comments

full range of motion

by Tracey_E - 2023-03-09 17:36:43

You should be able to do that now, just keep the arm down as you reach. Just because you can feel it doesn't mean you will hurt it. By 4-6 weeks, it's ok to bend/reach/stretch any direction. It took me about 3 months to do it without feeling any twinges.

Pro tip, use the corner of a doorway to scratch your back where you can't reach or get a back scratcher. My shoulder doesn't go that way, has nothing to do with the pacer.  ;o) 

Back scratcher

by AgentX86 - 2023-03-09 22:30:29

A hair brush works well too. I have that problem with my right arm (worse since I broke my wrist).  My left has a pretty good range or motion though.  My pacer doesn't interfere at all.

Two Points

by Angry Sparrow - 2023-03-10 09:05:59

First buy a long handle Shoe Horn from Ikea, great for all kinds of uses.  Back scratchier was my original use, then I discovered it reaches things for me.  Lots of uses, so far not used to get my feet on boots.

POINT TWO you really need to use your arms. Waiting over 60 days is not good, you are doing damage to yourself. If you want tour shoulders to work properly you need to use them in a normal way.

Scar tissue forms around injured areas, if the scar tissue is just left to form it will strangle the muscle and legiments causing pain and loss of use.

Having a lot of shoulder experiences I started working on my shoulders immediately.  I suggest you begin using gentle stretching, use heat packs to get the muscle relaxed.  GENTLY test your range of motion.  Next step, several times a day go through your range of motion, they to gently increase your mobility.  Heat to get lose, ice to atop any micro muscle damage.

 

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