"Black Ice" + Gravity = Fractured Elbow

[jeriddian]

Continuation of the thread on TWD's medical travails.

This is the link to the archived thread: http://www.globaljusticealliance.com/archives/thread76/index.htm

[TransWarpDrive]

Okay, I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up visit. He said I don't need any more surgery or manipulation (that's where they straighten the arm all the way while I'm sedated), because at this point it'd do more harm than good. He told me to continue physical therapy, going only once a week (instead of three times) for six weeks, and we'll check on my progress then. He also had me set up an appointment to see him in eight weeks (although I'm not sure why he couldn't see me in six, to coincide with the end of the new six-week PT schedule). He gave me an order sheet (kind of a prescription, actually) to give to my therapists for my file. Since his office and the PT department are in the same building, I simply walked the order down and gave it to the PT receptionist, who then added it to my other papers.
Today at PT (after arriving late due to those nasty thunderstorms), my therapist and I discussed the doc's recommendations, and we started a new regime of stretching and weight exercises. She also directed me to reduce the number of times I did my home exercises from three sets a day to only two (which means I don't have to get up extra early to do a set before work! :D), and we discussed the details of my new home weight exercises. We're working on what day of the week to schedule my sessions; for the next three weeks, I'l be going in on Thursdays, but then my therapist's babysitter starts classes, and she has to curtail any late-afternoon therapy sessions in order to be at home with her kids. So we're shooting for either Tuesdays or Mondays after that - we'll see when I go in next Thursday.
All in all, I'm told I've been making terrific progress in recovering from my accident. I may not get full mobility back in that elbow, but if I can get 90-95% flexibility back, I'll be happy. Plus, my therapist told me today that as I work more with the weights and my arm gets stronger, I'll be using it unconsciously for more work (heavier things, too), and that might help me regain still more flexibility. So things are looking up - even if my therapy continues into October, which it looks like it will.
I said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm very lucky. I could have injured myself far worse when I fell on that ice; so I really can't complain about all this.

[jeriddian]

Sounds like you had pretty good result overall, TWD. Congrats!:alumnus:

[TransWarpDrive]

Sounds like you had pretty good result overall, TWD. Congrats!:alumnus:

Thanks! I owe it all to a great bunch of therapists, and a lot of diligent exercise! (Not to mention a very skilled surgeon...:))

[TransWarpDrive]

TWD's latest elbow update:
I'm still doing my arm exercises on a daily basis, and going to therapy once a week. We got our scheduling conflict resolved so I'll be seeing one of my regular therapists for the next six weeks - her baby-sitting snafu has been straightened out. It's funny, but sometimes when I bend my left arm at the elbow, that joint gets sore even if I don't do any lifting with it. It even hurts when the weather changes - like during the thunderstorms and rain we've been having the last couple of weeks. And when I do try some heavy lifting, it gets sore - today I went to set up my mom's booth at the art fair, and the aluminum frame for the canopy, although lighter than steel, was still heavy. I was able to get the thing out of the minivan and set it up (Mom helped as much as she could), but it still hurt; and I'm worried that any really heavy lifting might aggravate the elbow, injuring it further and causing me more problems. It could be I'm just being paranoid about the elbow, but I can't help it. The last thing I need right now is a crippling injury that puts me out of work for good. I can't afford something like that.

[jeriddian]

TWD's latest elbow update:
I'm still doing my arm exercises on a daily basis, and going to therapy once a week. We got our scheduling conflict resolved so I'll be seeing one of my regular therapists for the next six weeks - her baby-sitting snafu has been straightened out. It's funny, but sometimes when I bend my left arm at the elbow, that joint gets sore even if I don't do any lifting with it. It even hurts when the weather changes - like during the thunderstorms and rain we've been having the last couple of weeks. And when I do try some heavy lifting, it gets sore - today I went to set up my mom's booth at the art fair, and the aluminum frame for the canopy, although lighter than steel, was still heavy. I was able to get the thing out of the minivan and set it up (Mom helped as much as she could), but it still hurt; and I'm worried that any really heavy lifting might aggravate the elbow, injuring it further and causing me more problems. It could be I'm just being paranoid about the elbow, but I can't help it. The last thing I need right now is a crippling injury that puts me out of work for good. I can't afford something like that.

I'm afraid that you will likely always have that problem to a certain degree. With the injury you had, there will always be a certain amount of scar tissue within the joint. The bursa (joint capsule) will always be shrunken down a little compared to the other side, and covered with that scar tissue as well. I don't think you will cripple yourself, but that elbow will always be just a little bit less sturdy than your good one. Over time, it will gradually get better and better in terms of pain when you stress it by carrying stuff as you describe, but it will never quite go back to normal, just very close.

One good thing though, you now have your own personal weather barometer.:P Joints that have been injured like that are sensitive to changes in weather. Unfortunately, the way it tells you is by aching.:(

[TransWarpDrive]

One good thing though, you now have your own personal weather barometer.:P Joints that have been injured like that are sensitive to changes in weather. Unfortunately, the way it tells you is by aching.:(
Yeah - the same way my knees do...:ohwell:

[kyojikasshu]

Maybe you could consult your therapist about some kind of elbow support for use with some of those tasks? Like an elbow sleeve or brace... (small, lightweight brace, that is). The added support may let you feel a little more comfortable performing conventional tasks like that...

[TransWarpDrive]

Maybe you could consult your therapist about some kind of elbow support for use with some of those tasks? Like an elbow sleeve or brace... (small, lightweight brace, that is). The added support may let you feel a little more comfortable performing conventional tasks like that...
You know, Rob, that's not a bad idea...I honestly hadn't thought about it. I'll have to remember that and suggest it to my therapist when I go in for my appointment on Thursday. Thanks! :)

[TransWarpDrive]

I mentioned Rob's suggestion to my therapist on my visit last Thursday, and she thought a soft neoprene brace would be a good idea - but only while I was doing work that required me to do some lifting (in other words, don't wear it all the time). I'm going to check out the elbow braces at my local drugstore this week, and see what I can find there.
As for my arm, well, I'm getting stronger each week. I work out on a resistance machine that resembles a giant ice-cream churn turned on its side. My therapist attaches various cranks and handles to this cylinder so I can give my arm muscles a workout doing all sorts of movements - turning wheels; cranking levers; twisting handles - that sort of thing. Each workout lasts for 200 seconds, and the strength I use in each exercise is displayed in bar-graph form on a computer screen attached to this machine.
This work-out is in addition to the daily exercises I do at home with the therapeutic splint and the 3-pound dumbbells.
I'm making progress, but my arm still aches when I use it - even when I'm not lifting anything at all. Oh, well...

[jeriddian]

It's always a long slow road, as you know.:ohwell: But keep up the good work!:)

[TransWarpDrive]

It's always a long slow road, as you know.:ohwell: But keep up the good work!:)
Thanks! I will! :)
I just realized something: I started therapy just 10 days after the beginning of spring. I've gone through the entire summer, and now I'm heading into autumn still going for treatment. It's hard to believe that a simple fall on the ice could have such far-reaching consequences...

[kyojikasshu]

Hey, I'm glad I could help! Yeah, you definitely want to wear something like that only as needed. I've had that experience with minor sprains (nothing that's ever required surgery, mind you), plus my sister's had plenty of experience as well (often with surgery in her case, so much so that in high school, her nickname was "Jenny Surgery").

[TransWarpDrive]

I had what may be my last session of physical therapy today. My therapist took some measurements of my arm and wrist movement for an evaluation to send to my doctor, then I worked on that resistance machine (the one that looks like an ice-cream churn). Since there's been no significant improvement in my elbow flexibility in some time, my therapist told me to go ahead and send the elbow therapy brace back to the company we're renting it from. She still advises me to work out with the dumbbells, though. It'll help to strengthen the arm further. Once the doctor takes a look at my arm on Wednesday the 17th, I'll know for sure whether or not I'm finished with P.T. for good.
It's funny - I have mixed feelings about it ending now. On the one hand, I'm glad to have recovered to the point where I no longer need the sessions; on the other hand, I hate for it to end. My therapists, and the entire staff at the medical center, have been very nice to me. They are true professionals who treated me with kindness and dignity while doing their best to help me recover from my injury. As I got to know them, I've come to regard them as friends. While doing the therapy exercises, we'd get to chatting about the world in general; discussing bits of our lives, and even swapping jokes now and then. I enjoyed working out with my therapists, and I'm going to miss them.

[jeriddian]

Good to hear on your progress, TWD. With the strength training, you should get pretty much everything back except you'll have a slight loss of flexibility, and that will become unnoticeable over time.:D

[TransWarpDrive]

I boxed up the elbow brace and shipped it back to the therapy equipment company today. They gave me two boxes, each with a prepaid UPS shipping label on it, to send the machines back in when I was done with them. I sent the wrist machine back sometime in July; now the elbow device's gone as well. So I can count that as another milestone passed. :D

[TransWarpDrive]

I got a call at work from my doctor's office today. It seems he'll be out of his office all next week, and won't be able to see me for my appointment on Wednesday the 17th. So, we arranged for me to see his colleague, Dr. Rob, on Monday the 29th at 3:10 PM. I know this is just a follow-up exam, but I'm not happy about having to reschedule like this. I guess it's the annoyance factor...:thumbdown:

[TransWarpDrive]

Well, Monday's the day when I go see Dr. Rob for the follow-up exam of my elbow. This one'll determine whether or not I need more physical therapy. I honestly think I've reached my maximum flexibility on my elbow, so he'll probably say no. All I need to do now, I think, is just work on building up the strength in my arm.
This is all just speculation on my part. I'll know for sure on Monday.

[lunchmeat]

....She still advises me to work out with the dumbbells, though. .....

I don't think I'm available for workout sessions out your way just now, sorry.

[TransWarpDrive]

....She still advises me to work out with the dumbbells, though. .....

I don't think I'm available for workout sessions out your way just now, sorry.
:laugh::laugh::laugh:
That's okay; I'll muddle through without you... :P (just kidding)

Seriously, though - I had my appointment with the doctor today. He measured my arm's range of movement, took a look at the elbow with a fluoroscope, and told me that I've gotten as much mobility back as I'll ever get. He detected arthritis in the joint as a result of the injury, but that runs in our family to begin with so I'm not too concerned about that. He says I'm done with physical therapy; all I need to do is keep working out with the weights at home and I'll be fine. He mentioned that it usually takes about two years to recover completely from an injury like this - I guess he means getting the strength back in the arm. He gave me a note for my bosses at work, but limited me to lifting no more than 50 pounds due to the arthritis I just mentioned.
After I finished with the doctor, I went downstairs and told my physical therapist I wouldn't be needing more therapy. She was delighted at the news; it means we've succeeded in getting my arm usable again. I was thinking as I got in the car to go home: as of today, it's been exactly seven months since I started therapy. I got my cast off on March 28; the next day, I went in for my initial evaluation and we began working on my arm right away.
So now I'm done. And as melodramatic as it may sound, another chapter in my life has come to an end. It's an experience I never expected to go through, what with the injury and all, but I'd say it went fairly smoothly. And I had help from a lot of good people in the medical community.
Of course, the fact that all the bills were paid under Workmen's Comp made things easier too! :laugh:

[jeriddian]

Another success story.:biggergrin: Well done, TWD. Keep the good work up.

[TransWarpDrive]

Thanks, jeriddian! I'm satisfied with the results, that's for sure! :D

[canuck31003]

That's great news, TWD. And in plenty of time to rake leaves, shovel snow.... :P

[TransWarpDrive]

That's great news, TWD. And in plenty of time to rake leaves, shovel snow.... :P
Oh, man... you had to harsh my mellow, didn't you?
(Just kidding... :laugh:)