Oh, My Aching Shoulder….

I’ll admit I did something foolish. Three days ago I shoveled some snow and ice in our driveway in an effort to clear it away before the next predicted storm. That was a bad decision on my part.

I’ve been experiencing left shoulder pain for many months. Then my neck and upper shoulder on the same side began to hurt as well. The discomfort became so persistent I went to see a doctor and recently began physical therapy. After two weeks of therapy, I was slowly beginning to feel relief from my neck pain, and even occasionally from shoulder pain.

That is, until I shoveled that snow. I’ve been in such pain I couldn’t wait to go to my PT appointment today which I hoped would bring some relief. Instead, tonight it almost feels worse. I’m about to watch tv with an ice pack over my shoulder; I took a Naproxen a couple of hours ago. Even that doesn’t seem to be helping much.

Why did I do it? Because it’s frustrating to be disabled. Because I wanted to help my husband who wasn’t able to clear the snow away as he usually does due to bronchial asthma. Because I was acting on impulse, not reason. Because I’m human and make mistakes. All the above.

So this is all a preface to explaining why my slice today is
uncharacteristically brief. I am in pain…it’s making me feel very fatigued and I need to sit down and check out. So goodnight fellow Slicers. I’ll be back tomorrow, hopefully in better shape.

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barbara suter

I'm a retired teacher who enjoys writing and sharing in this; unique blogging community.

30 thoughts on “Oh, My Aching Shoulder….”

    1. Still struggling, Kathleen. My usual tricks are not working as quickly as I’d like them to. But I’ve dealt with worse things, as you know. I’m hanging in there for the March Challenge, with Slicers behind me every inch of the way!

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  3. No sense beating yourself up over it…I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there! Please do take care of yourself and hoping it’ll get better soon, especially with some rest! Thank you for pushing through the pain to still write about a slice of your life!

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    1. I appreciate those of you who’ve commented on my slicing in spite of my pain. I think it’s the right thing to do, to try to break that cycle of pain that gets out of control if you let it.

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  5. I hope that your pain has subsided. Pain can be so debilitating–physically, emotionally, and mentally. I applaud you for pushing through to share your slice. Hugs for healing.

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  6. We tend to remember what we used to be able to do when we tackle on some tasks. Then our body steps in with “What were you thinking? You can’t do this anymore!” Sometimes it’s hard to give in to the body. Hope you are getting some relief.

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    1. Actually, I’m still in pain even after PT. Just popped two naproxen; trying to take it easy. Thought about vacuuming the front hallway, shaking out the rugs…then realized how stupid it was to even think I could do that! Hindsight….

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  7. I did the same thing a week ago: shoveling the drive and walkway, then felt miserable because of it the rest of the day. Our snow blower has broken down, and it’s March, why try to fix it now, right? Ugh. We feel like we unbreakable, when in fact, we break pretty darn easily. I hope you are finding the relief you need, and that tomorrow, the pain will be a little bit less. 🙂

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    1. I seem to be in good company. Unfortunately, even PT didn’t help yesterday. I’m still in pain. You would think I would know better by now. Some lessons have to be learned over, and over, and over….

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  9. Look forward to warm spring weather and to NO MORE SNOW…this year I hired someone to plow and shovel. They did a terrible sloppy job, but I sat inside and read and wrote….because I did not want to fall or get hurt. I hope your pain diminishes soon and that some young thing comes to shovel for you next winter!

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    1. We are definitely going to have to make adjustments in our approach to how we deal with things we always thought we could do ourselves. Sigh…a definite trend toward letting go…. Thanks for your kind wishes.

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  10. Hope you are feeling better and that you got a restful night’s sleep. I understand why you did what you did. With each passing year my body tells me that it con no longer do what my mind thinks it should be able to do.

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    1. Actually I did not sleep well due to discomfort. I stayed home today because I was in pain, and tried not to do things all day that I was tempted to do. Now (at 9 pm) I’m feeling better, but I know I’m not out of the woods by any means. I’m still learning, I guess, about the mind-body thing.

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  14. Pain is complex. It’s frustrating. It’s down right annoying how it interrupts our everyday activities. I’m glad you are able to keep Slicing. I find doing something creative is a good distraction.
    Be patient with yourself. You are learning what your triggers are.
    Hang in there,

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  15. With grandkids all week, I barely get computer time. And that’s OK, but I miss reading fellow slicer’s posts. I’m sorry you are in pain and hope I read that the pain is subsiding in the next few posts.

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      1. I, too, find myself being more cautious, especially playing with the kids…I tend to forget I’m not a kid anymore and can cause more harm to my body if I’m not careful. 🙂

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