No one realizes how much they depend on their shoulder – that is until they’ve injured their shoulder, have surgery and can’t use it. Frequently people want to know how long their particular shoulder injury will take to heal.

Answers that don’t help.

Imagine that you’ve sprained your shoulder and you want to know how to treat this injury. You could look at these suggestions for your shoulder information. However, these comments are the thoughts and advice of laymen who may or may not know what they are talking about.

Here is a thread from the Injury Update Forum that seeks to answer the question – How long will it take to recover from shoulder reconstruction?

Here is a discussion on the issue of How long to heal from a dislocated shoulder that resulted from being hit by a car.

Would you let your friend work on your $40,000.00 automobile?

It should be obvious by now that everyone has an opinion about everything – including your shoulder injury. But who are you going to trust with the care of your most versatile joint? Where can you find credible shoulder information? What you need is believable information about your shoulder and there are a number of sources that are quite extensive.

See a Doctor – an Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in Shoulder Repair!

(photo courtesy of soldiersmediacenter)

Visit Shoulderdoc – this is a vast web site filled with:

• Medical Educational Material – What’s the difference between SLAP, SLIP and SLOP? Do you want to purchase a book about shoulders? This is the place to look.
• The Latest Shoulder News – Do you want to read about the latest research in shoulder surgery techniques or shoulder rehab?
• Rehab Protocols – this is an immense section of information about shoulder rehab procedures.
• Much, much more.

Shoulderdoc offers a wealth of information on all aspects of your shoulder. Use this web site to educate yourself.

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“Thanks to the rotater I was able to get back to work and not lose the use of my shoulder in this demanding profession.”
- Officer D. Pesko

Scott and I will be traveling to Indianapolis this week for the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual conference to demo our shoulder rehab and stretching device.

(photo courtesy of Serge Melki)

The American College of Sports Medicine is the world’s largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. Their annual conference provides a wealth of expert knowledge for the sports professional.

The Rotater made its commercial debut last year in New Orleans at this same show, where it received phenomenal attention and reinforced our belief that our shoulder stretching device is beneficial for both post-operative shoulder patients as well as serious athletes.

If you are going to be in Indianapolis this week, then make it a point to stop by our booth to introduce yourself. We’d love to meet you.

Smoltz believes rehab will start soon – by Mark Bowman

Smotz, who went on the disabled list on April 26^th due to inflammation of his rotator cuff and biceps tendon plans to throw from the mound for the first time this Saturday. read Mark Bowman’s article on MLB.com

Rangers’ Bradley out with a sore shoulder

Milton Bradley, the designated hitter for the Texas Rangers was pulled in the 7^th inning of Monday nights game with the Mariners due to a sore shoulder and probably will not return to the line up until Friday.

Prior takes step back in rehab – by Jon Greenburg

The latest on Mark Prior was that is that he was scheduled to undergo an MRI this past Monday to access the condition of his shoulder. Jon Greenburg reports that there is the possibility of a trip to Birmingham Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews, the prominent orthopedic surgeon who performed arthroscopic surgery on Mark in 2007. read Jon Greenburg’s article

Schilling throws from 60

Amalie Benjamin reported that Curt Schilling threw from 60 ft. this past Sunday (May 11th), though Andrew Johnson notes that Schilling “had a sizeable bag of ice” on his shoulder on Tuesday (May 13th).

Schilling’s last blog post entitled Getting the ‘go ahead’ which he posted on May 6^th seemed guarded. Schilling said that he feels healthy and confident, but the “doing it” still had to be done. Personally, I hope he “does it”.

Posada rehabbing in Tampa with Alex Rodriguez

Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada is in Tampa at the Yankee training facility where he played catch this past Monday while rehabbing his inflamed rotator cuff. Tyler Kepner reports that he will be out until at least early June.

Frozen Shoulder – What’s the 411?

(photo courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik)

Lauran Neergaard an AP medical writer has written an article entitled “Early Care Helps Frozen Shoulder” in which she illustrates some of the mysteries surrounding frozen shoulder.

• Why doesn’t adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) affect the same shoulder twice?
• Why does frozen shoulder occur most often in women?
• Why does frozen shoulder sometimes migrate to the other shoulder?

Please note the title of Lauran’s article – Early Care Helps Frozen Shoulder. If you’re having shoulder issues and you fit the demographics outlined in the article and you don’t remember injuring your shoulder, then don’t waste any time - see your physician immediately.

Basic Shoulder Rehabilitation

Mednets has produced a basic, but thorough Patient Information Guide to Shoulder Rehabilitation with real pictures of shoulder rehab exercises (not drawings) and clear, understandable instructions that describe how the various exercises are to be performed.

It’s not flashy. It’s not high-tech. All of the exercises can be performed at home with items that you already have or can easily acquire.

What is a Rotator Cuff Injury?

Ask almost anyone this question and you’re likely to get a wide variety of vague answers. So what is a rotator cuff injury? Here is a very short (about 45 seconds) and very basic video animation that does a very good job of illustrating and explaining the injury. I must warn you that you will have to sit through a short commercial (about 30 seconds) at the beginning.

Shoulder Rehab for Baseball Pitchers

(photo courtesy of Glover Bryant Communications)

Kris Bensen, a starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, has written an article – Shoulder Rehab: A Shoulder Rehab Throwing Program For Baseball Pitchers. Kris describes a progressive throwing program designed to rehab a pitcher’s shoulder while rebuilding his arm strength.

Shoulder Strength and Stabilization

(photo courtesy of Cronfeld)

Mark Dilworth, a certified fitness trainer, former NCAA division I athlete and creator of My Fitness Hut Blog wrote an article entitled “Strengthen and Stabilize Your Shoulder Girdle”.

Mark explains three of the most common shoulder injuries (frozen shoulder, shoulder tendonitis and rotator cuff injury) and some of the steps that you can take during your training to avoid them.

Here’s a video showing a variety of simple but effective shoulder exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home – plus I like the funky soundtrack.

Thanks to stumptous.com for creating this video.

The Golf Industry was not the initial market for the Rotater

The Rotater was initially developed to aid post-surgical patients as a means of supplementing their physical therapy.  Scott had used his prototype to accelerate his rehab process, so we naturally assumed that physical therapists would be our strongest market.

And we have been right to a strong degree.  We have received a number of great testimonials from physical therapists who have tested the Rotater and are using it with their patients:

• Shoulder Rehab expert recommends the Rotater!
• Another Physical Therapist endorses the Rotater
• Physical Therapist uses the Rotater with his Patients

Athletes have discovered the Rotater

In Daytona, at the Florida Physical Therapy Association’s annual conference, we met Tamara Copes.  Tamara is a former collegiate athletic trainer who immediately recognized the benefits that the Rotater offers to both athletes and athletic trainers.  This led us to attend the fall PGA expo in Las Vegas, where the Rotater was introduced to the golf community. 

Golfers embrace the Rotater

Watch this video and discover how the Rotater has impacted these golf professionals.

Special thanks to:

• Michael (Big Styxx) Ruston – www.bigstyxxgolf.com – Michael has a personal best long drive of 431 yards!
• Gary Schatz – www.1StopForGolf.com and www.1StopForGolfProducts.com
• Dusty O’Tyrrell – senior professional – www.golfix.us
• Bob Orr – Senior long drive contestand and long drive consultant
• Derek Highley – PGA teaching professional, expert in Human Kinesiology – www.globalgolfmarketing.com
• Todd O’Reilly – CPGA teaching professional – www.morningstar.bc.ca

We are thrilled that our shoulder device, the Rotater, is helping breast cancer survivors. We met Jane and A.J. Ali in Las Vegas this past September. Jane and A.J. are committed supporters of breast cancer awareness with a number of projects that are involved in this effort.

During the month of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), Jane and A.J. traveled across the country via tour bus to promote this cause. To learn more, go to Survivor Celebration. They are humble, committed and dedicated. Meeting them was pivotal in our development of the �Pink Rotater� which allows us to give something to help breast cancer awareness.

Jane tests the Pink Rotater

One of the reasons that Jane is so involved in breast cancer awareness is that she is a survivor of breast cancer. After we produced our Pink Rotater, we sent one to her so she could use it and provide us with feedback. The following is her response:

The Rotater is awesome, it really stretches out my shoulder.

I met you guys at the PGA Las Vegas show and was very impressed by how committed you were. As a breast cancer survivor who has had surgery to remove lymph nodes it really helps my range of motion.

I love the pink color! Thank you for creating something so simple to use but so very effective.

There are a lot of exercises my doctor told me to do but his one works the best. Thank you for creating something breast cancer survivors can use to help with our rehabilitation after surgery.

Jane Ali

2 year breast cancer survivor
Co-Founder of Marathon of Miracles Foundation
www.survivorcelebration.com

The Rotater was a big hit

Scott and I stayed extremely busy demonstrating the Rotater and allowing physical therapists, PT students, teaching professors, athletic trainers, orthopedic surgeons and others to try the Rotater for themselves. The Rotater was well received, which resulted in numerous sales and an even greater number of contacts.

A True Expert Evaluates the Rotater

Among the people that stopped by our booth was Julie Barnett. Julie has a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy, is the Director of Physical Therapy for Annette M. Zaharoff MD and is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the University of Texas Health Science Center, Physical Therapy Department.

In late August, we shipped a Rotater to Julie for her professional evaluation in clinical use with real patients. I received the following email from her a couple of days ago.

The Observations of a Shoulder Rehabilitation Expert

Chris,
Thanks for following up with our clinic. We are off to a fast pace already for ‘08 which is great. Here is more feedback on our experience with The Rotator:

The best feature I like is the isolated external rotation passive stretch for our adhesive capsulitis patients. The movements are slow, controlled and specific unlike other alternatives.

I did look on line to see the padding which would be helpful to use. The tubing I do not feel that we need.

One of our patients who had used the Dynasplint passive mobilization system through another facility liked The Rotator better. He also felt the positioning and amount of stretch was more controlled with The Rotator.

My recommendation is that outpatient orthopedic clinics should have the Rotator as an everyday tool for restricted shoulders just as they would have a set of pulleys and arm bike. I believe it will remain as a main stay tool for shoulder rehabilitation in our profession.

The other uses are widespread throughout other fields of PT such as post mascectomy or other neurological conditions. I feel most competent to address the outpatient orthopedic arena. I plan to introduce the Rotator to our physical therapy students in the University of Texas Health Science Center Allied Health program in San Antonio as well.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the feedback for development of your practical tool. Feel free to use these comments in your materials and send a copy to me afterwards, if possible.

Julie Barnett PT, DPT, MTC
Director of Physical Therapy for
Annette M. Zaharoff MD
Adjunct Faculty UTHSC PT Dept
San Antonio, Texas

In September, Scott and I went to the PGA expo in Las Vegas. The PGA expo is an event that brings professionals from the golf world (course owners/managers, teaching professionals, golf shop owners, sponsored professionals, golf publication editors/owners/writers, etc.) in contact with vendors and suppliers of golf-related products and services. These events are not open to the public.

LOT OF INTERESTING PEOPLE

Scott and I have quite a bit of fun at trade shows. We are both �people� people, so it is very easy for us to meet and interact with others while demonstrating the Rotater. For us, a PGA show had been the last venue that we thought would use or benefit from the Rotater. Boy, were we wrong!

We met a number of interesting people there:

• a former amateur winner of the U.S. Open � he uses the Rotater daily
• a long drive champion � another avid user (look for a testimonial soon)
• magazine owners/writers/editors � we have done an interview for one publication set to be released in the spring
• a television show host � who has contacted us about appearing on his show this spring
• PGA teaching professionals

SENIOR PROFESSIONAL GIVES TESTIMONIAL

One of the golfing professionals who tried the Rotater and immediately recognized its benefits was Dusty O�Tyrrell. He has contacted us a number of times and has told us that he has developed some golf-specific exercises with the Rotater. The following is an email that we received from Dusty yesterday.

Hey Rotater Guys,

Just a quick note to tell you about how this thing has worked out for me. As I told you a while back, my right shoulder rotator cuff and shoulder joint were injured in a fall from a chair that had broken. After checking into the surgery aspect I found out that doing surgery was completely out of the question.

So, its into physical therapy and other exercise stuff to get this thing to heal. My Doc had told me that with proper therapies, I would likely heal well in a three to four year period. Why so long you did not ask? Because as a professional golfer, the use of this shoulder is paramount to my making a living. I must play and practice every day. It�s my JOB! And it ain�t that glorious either. It�s a JOB. Hot, sweaty and physically draining. It�s supposed to be mentally draining as well but I�m not very mental. And to think, I gave up an office job for this!

Well anyway, I met you guys and the Rotater and this little beauty has become my three to four times a day shoulder exercise device. My range of motion has improved immensely and I use it on both shoulders, even though only the right one was injured. My Doc loves this thing because it causes the shoulder to move correctly in the directions necessary for the correct exercises. I am now back to playing (and note: the fellows who had surgery NO LONGER PLAY and are on restricted cortisone use!) and my strength and stuff is just as it should be.

As I�ve told you, I tell everyone who�ll listen about it�the Rotater, and let them use mine�but not keep it! Don�t know how many have contacted you but I tell them use my name and maybe you�ll give them a special deal! What the heck�it�s worth a try ain�t it?

So there you go. I�m a great fan of the thing and will remain so.

Best to both of you,

Dusty O�Tyrrell
Senior Professional Golfer
P.O. Box 499
Death Valley, California 92328

Because of my racing (really it�s due to crashes while racing), I have broken a lot of bones, including three shoulders. It has been my experience that shoulder injuries take the longest to heal and rehabilitate.

If you experience a shoulder injury, then pain and discomfort will be unavoidable on your journey to full mobility, strength and function of your shoulder.

Your physical therapist is your friend

Your physical therapist is your friend. It has been my experience that some of the exercises and tasks that they will perform don�t make them appear friendly, but they are genuinely trying to help you. My therapists at Total Rehab in Auburn Alabama, were acutely tuned to my pain tolerance. This is a necessity. In order for you to regain full function, your physical therapy will be aggressive, but your willingness and your pain tolerance will be two of the determining factors in your progression.

Research is necessary for understanding

I didn�t understand how long the process could take, so I started doing some research into shoulder injuries, shoulder surgery and shoulder rehabilitation. This helped me to have a better understanding and allowed me to communicate intelligently with both my orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Raymond Godsil, Auburn Orthopedic Clinic) and my physical therapists (Ty Garner, Tom Evans and Dr. John Mann).

It is my opinion that anyone who experiences an injury should do as much research as possible. This is so that you can be educated about the pain, rehabilitation process, possibility of future complications and the pros and cons of surgical and non-surgical management. People should always be open and honest with their doctors and therapists. Ask questions until you feel that you have a comfortable understanding of the situation and all that is involved.

DO:

• research your injury
• research treatments for that injury
• research your options (there are always options)
• research the rehabilitation process
• seek professional attention and assistance
• ask question (lots of questions � make sure that you understand everything)
• communicate openly with all doctors, therapists and athletic trainers
• ask about exercises that you can perform at home
• ask if there is anything that you can do to expedite the rehabilitation process
• be patient
• ask about exercises that can help prevent future injuries

DON�T:

• argue with medical professionals
• hesitate to seek a second or third opinion
• pretend that you are better if you aren�t
• skip treatments or appointments
• attempt to do any exercises or tasks without consulting your doctors or therapists first
• expect miracles

Knowledge is power

Education and knowledge are a powerful asset when you are suffering from an injury. Gain as much information as you can, so that you can communicate with the medical professionals about your injury and rehab process. This may also give you greater peace of mind and reduce any apprehension that you may be experiencing.

Lack of knowledge can induce undue stress and worry. Gain the understanding and comfort that you deserve.