Exercise presurgery: a poll

Coach Patrick

Okay folks here is the deal. I'm going in for surgery on July 31 for my broken right collarbone. After surgery I will have possibly 7 days of almost zero movement - this is my own personal version of hell. :-)

After that point I'll be clear to do some light exercise, but it will be several weeks until I'm back up to full speed.

So here's my question: should I exercise this week? I have the bike on the trainer so I should be able to ride it a little bit. I can also do some pretty solid hiking/walking. Is it worth it? Or should I not bother?

Nemo Brauch

To tollerance. Let pain be your guide. Some walking/hiking should be reasonable with the shoulder and keep you a little active before surgery.

david ware

X2 what Nemo said. That is what the Doc told me in the same situation.

Jonathan Brown

The true question is what is Light Exercise? Your light or a 450 lb Man's light? Cause they are completely different.

Paul Hough

I am not going to classify walking and hiking as sport specific training. You can't swim and you can't really run or bike like you would if it weren't broken so take advantage and start getting all the other stuff done. Catch up on all you magazines. Read the books you have put off. Watch every movie the kids want to see. A week of pseudo exercise is not going to change the fact that you will have to dig out of a hole after you are healed up so bank those SAUs and get everything else done so you are ready to go back to work!

Coach Rich

Exercise, you idiot!!

I tore apart my shoulder Thanksgiving weekend, 2011. Scheduled surgery for Jan 17th vs before the XMas holidays, because I had sunk $$$$ into a snowboarding vacation with Joanne, my sister and her kids. I boarded, and crashed, a lot, figuring that it wasn't like the guy wasn't going to fix the stuff I jacked up even worse since he saw me last. 

IOW, I was determined to get my money's worth. 

So sling, trainer, books under the front wheel, get at it! 

Terry Mulvey

There are so few things I feel confident about when it comes to EN but this...as a physician this is right in my wheelhouse...of course you should exercise, only to tolerance, before and as soon after as you can.  It will help with recovery, both physical and mental. This is not tri specific training mind you but, it is ok to break a sweat!

Michael Nardone

I agree with this.........my 2 cents

Michael Nardone

I agree with Paul Hough

tim cronk

There is absolutely nothing you can do between now and surgery that will make you fitter or faster after surgery!

But there is probably plenty that you can do between now and surgery that can F you up even more....

Just take it easy and try to keep your sanity... its been 5 days for me and I'm still struggling to walk , and feed myself without pain, the dog tripped me today and I threw my arm out for balance... you have a bone inside you that is not connected and its moving around!

Brenda Ross

I think the advice of "to tolerance" is good advice.

jsumara

Exercise (if you are able) ... its good for your head and good for the soul. Doing nothing is like "Waiting for Gudot"

new2703

Lite ex probably okay. Eliptical (no arms and no bouncing). If arms in a sling take it out and bend/ straighten elbow. Gentle isometrics with arm at side elbow bent to 90 degrees. These should be without pain. Lower quarter stretching to counter stiffness.

morpheus

sleep it off for a couple of weeks. how often do you do that?

Jennifer Eckert

It depends on how many drugs you are on...!!! But if you are not all doped up...light ez stuff, but spend time with the wife and kids...do stuff you can with then before you can't for the week after! Heal quickly...

Peter Wick

Exercise to tolerance but do absolutely NOTHING that involves any sort of chance you'll lose your balance. No elliptical or difficult hiking/climbing. I spent the 9 days between my accident and surgery being very careful about moving around but I did do plenty of walking. My collarbone was in three pieces and I could feel them moving around once the swelling went down after a day or so (due to the ice and IBU). I'm a side sleeper and trying to do so on each side had its own horrors so there weren't no sleeping going on for what seemed like years.

I so remember what you and Tim are going through and I totally sympathize. As for the surgery, if it involves a plate & screws expect to have a lost weekend (or the next few days). I never took so much morphine and oxycontin in my life. I saw the scripts the doc gave my wife the morning of the surgery and, being a pharmacologist, I thought he was being wayyyyy too generous with the dosage. That opinion changed 5 hours later. It was several days before I could even walk my tiny little dog without feeling each step.

Water running saved me over the ensuing weeks. It was quite a while before I could use the trainer leaning with only one hand.

Also, take a look at your sling. DO NOT - I repeat - DO NOT WEAR ANY SHIRT OF SIMILAR COLOR TO THAT STRAP. I made that mistake one night only to have a friend who hadn't seen me in a while come up from behind and slap me on the broken shoulder. I nearly passed out but not before screaming loud enough to silence the whole bar.

Al Truscott

If you're anything like me in this regard (and I know you are), you could no more not exercise to tolerance daily then you could stop loving your children.

Funny but true...ther very *first* thought i had when i found myself staring at my teeth on the pavement was "Am I going to be able to get back on my bike and ride on?" Second in mind was "Ohmygod I could die here". That was kinda telling about my priorities.

Scott Alexander

I am glad you're going the surgical route, especially based on my experience last year. I'd say "to tolerance" is a great guide, and also agree with Peter about choosing activities that will not play with your balance.

My experience with the meds: only used the Tylenol w/ codeine I had pre-surgery to get me "over the hump" to fall asleep while sitting up on my couch. No more than that.
Post-op, only used the hydro condone to do the same for the first day or two, only to get me to sleep. I'm a stomach sleeper, so getting to sleep was impossible with the busted wing.

My Ortho was very surprised I used so little of the meds. Same when my other Ortho did my bilateral neuroma excision in March this year-little to no meds. I don't really ever recall being in pain, just a little discomfort.

Also, the shoulder surgery should get you a "nerve block", which will deaden portions of your shoulder somewhat-permanently. That might have contributed to my lack of pain.

Just my experience.

gamb

Eh, I'd just go for a walk to get out of the house or something just b/c of cabin fever. 100% wouldn't get on the trainer.

Kathleen Spillane

The closest I have come to this break is one I had at top of humerus close to shoulder. all I have to say is that you should make rest the utmost priority especially that first week or 2 after surgery to set up a quick recovery. it may mean propping yourself up in a chair to sleep, whatever it takes to get comfortable. I know you will heal quickly. Being active beforehand will be more of a mental boost than any physical one.

Coach Rich

Joanne got me a this bed pillow system dealio that friggin rocked, allowing me to sleep sitting up in the bed. 

I was only on the hard core pain meds for about 36hrs, then I switched over to whiskey, cuz I'm hard like that. 

If Dr FeelGood gives you a nerve block and prescription for pain pills, start taking the pain pills WAY before the nerve block wears off. You DO NOT want to not have the meds in your system when that nerve block wears off. Unless you're hard, like me. 

Kevin Walter

Exercise to pain tolerance is fine. Walking post-op=the more the better.

Keith Wick

Posted By Rich Strauss on 23 Jul 2013 08:44 PM

 

If Dr FeelGood gives you a nerve block and prescription for pain pills, start taking the pain pills WAY before the nerve block wears off. You DO NOT want to not have the meds in your system when that nerve block wears off. Unless you're hard, like me. 

While I'm not a doctor, I concur 10,000%!!!!  Major suckage when that thing wears off, but them pain pills make thinking rather interesting...and by interesting, I mean SLOW!!!  Texting was a real difficult task for me.  I tried to be hard (like Rich), but hard meant constant uncomfortability, which meant exhaustion, which meant hard to work, coach sports, then deal with my young kids.  You'll figure out the balance of life, meds, etc. and how it works for you.  Mine was the reconstruction, not the collar bone, but shoulders suck no matter what happens to them.

cgres123

It is who you are and it's what you do I would not expect anything less from you. Go have fun with that fitness you can rein yourself in when needed.