Shattered shoulder

sandy

USA
1 Posts
 
Posted - 11/06/2006 :  08:00:10  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I'm a 57 year od woman. 2 months ago I shattered my shoulder in a bicycle accident. Had a rod and screws put in, then surgery a month later to remove 4 of 5 screws. I go to PT 3 times a week. I'm in pain basically all the time, but not unmanageable. How much longer can I expect the pain to last before it subsides? And realistically, with this type of injury, how much motion can I expect to regain with continued PT?

grpt

15 Posts
 
Posted - 11/06/2006 :  22:27:24  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Sandy,
Prediciting how long pain will last for any type of injury is very difficult as each individual heals differently and has varying thresholds for pain. In your case, your injury appears to have been severe as it did require 2 surgeries. When bone is involved, healing takes longer and it is more painful compared to a soft tissue injury. It is also not a gurantee that you will be completely painfree after the healing process has stopped. You mentioned that your pain is manageable which is wonderful and hopefully will continue to decrease as you continue to heal and participate in physical therapy. From my experiences with individuals who have sustained a humeral fracture it can take anywhere from 3-6+ months of rehabilitation in order to obtain maximal functional outcome. Maximal functional outcome means being able to utilize your shoulder for most everyday activities with min/none difficulty and min/none pain. This is the amount of range of motion you should shoot for. In my opinion in most people it is around 75% within normal limits of range of motion at the shoulder. Your physical therapist that you are working with will be better able to determine your range of motion prognosis. Good luck with your rehab and I encourage you to hang in there as you are only 2 months out from the accident and 1 month out from the last surgery.