Ah, ’tis the season for back to school, pumpkin spiced stuff and (for me), injury recovery.

Three years ago was the first time I suffered a left shoulder injury, the one where an MRI found a host of issues: a SLAP tear, bursitis, and a small bone spur. To my untrained brain, that seemed like a big deal problem. To my doc, however, it was a series of normal problems for gymnasts that were absolutely fixable. With anti-inflammatories, a cortisone shot, and a course of PT, the problems resolved and didn’t come back.

Until now. 

This time, I started to notice the pain in mid-August. Like I said, the flyaways were a new kind of training for me. I imagine that gaining more confidence at FlipFest, I chucked a bunch more than my shoulder was really ready for. I came home and started working on them at Flipper’s. After about two weeks, I was so happy I had worked to gain this new skill, but after each attempt I noticed my shoulder started barking a little louder.

Taking action

After about six weeks of pain creeping in, I thought maybe it was time to get it checked it out by the doc. I decided to go back to Dr. Trofa, who was the surgeon with a super conservative philosophy that worked well for me last time. He was the second opinion who read the MRI and decided that surgery would not be appropriate for someone as high functioning as I was.

I made the appointment and prepared myself for whatever was to come. At best, it would be the same treatment as last time. Maybe a followup MRI. At worst, surgery might be on the table.

The visit was great. Dr. Trofa is a superb practitioner who is an adult athlete himself with wonky knees. He understands the position we are in: older bodies that we keep pushing to perform, and once in a while, something breaks down and needs attention. Like an old Cadillac that we keep restoring and driving and restoring some more.

I showed him the video of the flyaways I got at Flipper’s (he was impressed) and I explained all the ways and positions that my shoulder felt pain. I had assumed I had injured it during the flyaways, but then he came out with this unexpected gem:

Or maybe you did it while sleeping.

I laugh, because in your fifties, in perimenopause, in this stage of life, we can hurt ourselves doing just about anything. This is why I keep pushing to gain skills. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of my strength and mobility so that I don’t get hurt doing the mundane things, like getting out of a chair, or stepping off a curb, or SLEEPING. How many times have I woken up in the middle of the night with some joint in agony because I spent three hours in one strange position and every surrounding joint started screaming at me?

At the very least, if I’m going to suffer an injury, I want it to be from doing something cool. Like flyaways.

Anyway, he did his manual tests of my arm in all directions and pulled and pushed against my resistance, and he came up with a diagnosis: subacromial bursitis. Basically, the fluid sacs in between the joint and the muscles are inflamed, which causes impingement pain in the area, especially during certain movements. In my case, it seems to be limiting the range of motion I need to successfully swing from the bar with ease. Pushups also have been hurting for some time now.

We discussed the protocol moving forward:

• Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) every day for two weeks.
• PT for six weeks to strengthen and mobilize the rotator cuff.
• We’d stay away from the cortisone this time. The last one three years ago was fine, but if it can be avoided, he’d rather not have more crystals deposited in the area. That can eventually create more irritation. Fair enough.

The last bit: no bars or handstands. No handstands? But handstands don’t hurt! He smiled and reminded me that in a handstand, I’m switching my whole body weight from my hips to my feet. Even though it didn’t hurt, it was still aggravating the inflamed rotator cuff. I sighed and agreed. No handstands for two weeks. That’s when we’d follow up. If I am in no pain at that point, then I could gradually ease my way back into the weight bearing activity.

In our discussion about being an older athlete, I shared how frustrated I’ve been having doctors who seemed to question or judge my status as an adult gymnast. He shook his head and said that that is unacceptable and there is no place for that. Once again, he proved to me that he was the right choice of doctor.

I walked out of the office feeling good. I had a doctor who was on my side, looking out for my best interest, and took the time to listen carefully and create a plan that worked for the adult athlete in front of him. He met me where I am and will help me to get to where I want to be. He made a new recommendation for a PT place, once that might have a better focus on getting me back to sport, rather than just getting me back to a baseline “for someone my age.”

My PT evaluation

A few days later, I had my initial appointment at JAG Physical Therapy. My evaluator was Shawn, who was great. After debriefing him of the doctor’s diagnosis, he did a series of strength and mobility tests to dig in a little deeper and make sure there wasn’t anything else wrong. Afterwards, he agreed with the doc’s assessment of subacromial bursitis.

What put me at ease was the number of gymnasts that are treated at this place. They do see the usual sports injuries (baseball, football, etc), but since club gymnastics runs all year long, they treat gymnasts (of different ages) all the time. And he didn’t seem fazed by my age. This is a true sports medicine office, whose goal it is to get people back to sport, which is exactly my endgame. I want to finish PT stronger and more mobile than before, and have the exercises necessary to prevent the rotator cuff from breaking down again.

We got started with heat and electrostim, did an arm bike warmup, and a bunch of baseline exercises I can do at home. That will be my daily practice as I’m going through the process and how I’ll warm up at the gym. At the end, he did some massage and closed out with a cool ice water pumping contraption to cool it all down.

Moving forward

At the very least, I have a plan. As I did in my Achilles recovery, I intend to use this injury as an opportunity to focus on the weakness and turn it into a strength. The Meloxicam seems to be helping; it’s early on, but it feels promising.

Recovery is a slow-moving process, for sure. You do the work, and you don’t see the progress for weeks. But at some point, you notice that you can do more, it doesn’t hurt as much, and you can move more easily. So, I begin this new process with optimism and renewed determination. I’ve healed many times before, and I will do it again.

One baby step at a time.