NJTman

So,

I'm 50 this spring, and dealing with pain is something that almost seems normal to me. I'm not a fan of taking any pills, so being male, I just have been toughing it out, until recently.

I can't sleep well anymore, and finally caved into seeing a surgeon, thinking the MRI I had last year said "rotator cuff tear", when in actuality it said. hey dumbarse, you have arthritis. I have tears as well, and I was reading it somewhat correct, but my real pain issue is damage in the shoulder joint has caused arthritis to form, preventing full motion, and pain.

So, I get into the surgeons office, and he tells me the news. Hits me like a sledge hammer. Not sure why, as I've been here nearly half a century. I guess mentally, I'm always going to be that 15 year old kid that doesn't get any older.

The surgeon says....

"well, I can do a partial or full replacement of your shoulder joint." .

WHAT ???

"yes, I said partial or full replacement. Recovery time is 4 months, and you'll feel tons of pain during it, but you should get some motion back".

I asked him percentages of success, failure rates and such, and he wouldn't say anything other than "you could see some improvement".

Well that's a bunch of crap. "some improvement???" you do a $80,000 surgery on someone, and there's "some improvement ".

My other options were cortisone shots or taking advil. Either way, eventually, he said I will have to do something, as most likely, I won't be able to lift my arm at all at some point.

SO, as of right now, besides feeling like I'm getting old and decrepit, I am looking for alternatives. Someone mentioned deep tissue massage, stretching and some sort of rehab. Someone else mentioned having a chinese dude stick a bunch of pins in me, as he said it helped him (acupuncture). Another said to just take the pills.

I'm not now, nor have I ever been a pill taker, but I will admit taking that one liquid-gel advil last night helped me sleep a bit better.

j_martin

Find a Maximized Living chiropractor, go see him, and follow his every word of advice for 3 months. (much on everything, diet attitude, exercise, adjustments, etc.) It's almost like joining a church or cult, but well worth it.

It'll cost a couple grand at the most, and you are likely to be totally amazed at the difference.

On Chiropractic, I had an injured/frozen shoulder about 10 years ago and got advice similar to yours. It took a chiropractor a year and about 1200 bucks to give me 90%. It'll bug me a little now if I get after the Bass for 6 hours or so.

NJTman

I have a chiro now. He's a bit old school, so I can't imagine he'll tell me to go elsewhere. There is one here in NJ, but I'll have to head up north a bit.

Thanks for the idea. I'll look into it a bit. Meanwhile, back to the gym to see if I can mess myself up a bit more.