Building a Better Jay

The operation went well overall.  The damage to my labrum was much worse than originally thought.  Apparently, there was only a tiny bit that was actually still attached to bone.  So the surgery took about twice as long as originally thought.  Things seem to have gone well, though.  Right now, I’m focusing on eating well, getting rest, and trying to manage the pain.

They say the pain is bad, but you never really know until you experience it.  I don’t recall ever experiencing anything like this before.  It is an amazingly pure, all-encompassing pain that clears your mind of any other thoughts.  When I am completely off pain meds (ie nothing at all in my system), I have to force myself into even the simplest of actions.  It is difficult to keep a train of thought going long enough for a serious conversation.  Yes, it is that bad.

My understanding is that in the next week or so, the pain will dull to the achiness I was previously accustomed to.  That should make doing cardio and legs/abs a possibility.  I hope to be doing bike work by Monday.  At that point, I’ll also start posting my nutrition & supplements again. Real PT should start shortly as well and I’ll detail that here as well.

Today is a good day for reflection.  As you may already know, I have surgery scheduled for Wednesday, 13-June to repair multiple tears of the labrum on my right shoulder.  It is my intention to log my rehab/recovery here and on the forums.  Let’s start with the story of how I got here.

Symptoms:
Multiple (5) dislocations of the right shoulder over the past 10 years.  Last one was February of this year, but the shoulder went back in on its own.
General aching of the joint that did not resolve
Instability in normal ROM that did not resolve with strengthening exercises

Diagnosis:
MRI w/ contrast (gadolinium) revealed tears of the labrum (cartilage) in anterior inferior position and superior anterior to posterior position.  This is commonly known as a Bankart Lesion and SLAP tear.  These are to be confirmed via arthroscopy and resolved in same procedure.

Resolution:
Surgery will involve placing “anchors” into the joint.  These devices will be tied to the labrum and then “anchored” into the bone.  Anchors are something like this:

Expected Rehab/Recovery:
Full use of shoulder (ie back to normal) in 4-6 months.
Immobilization of arm for 4-6 weeks.
Physical Therapy begins after 22-June.

Goals Post Surgery:
Regain total ROM
Eliminate pain & instability during all lifts
Reduce amount of muscle mass lost through proper nutrition and exercise within PT restrictions

Plan of attack:
150g protein / day minimum (whey protein supplement as needed)
Calories at maintenance level (~2200 / day)
Workouts Beginning 25-June: Legs 2x/week, Cardio 3-4x/week, daily rehab
Daily supplementation with EAA’s & creatine.

Goal Post PT:
Symmetry
Surpass previous strength & lean muscle mass.