My Arm Doesn’t Move. Is Surgery The Only Option?

I got an interesting call from a nice woman named Lisa. Lisa is in her early 40s and I got permission to share her story. She called me after seeing one of my ads because she was worried about her shoulder. She just couldn’t move it normally. The straw that broke the camel's back was when her husband tossed a water bottle to her and she just couldn’t get her arm to lift high enough or fast enough to catch the bottle. She was so embarrassed when the bottle hit her, not to mention a little hurt. 

Over the phone Lisa told me she had been dealing with her arm just not moving for months assuming eventually it would just work itself out. But after the water bottle incident she realized the wait and see approach wasn’t working. I told Lisa it was good she could move her arm and that it didn’t hurt but without seeing her I could tell her much else. I really had to move her arm and see how her joint felt before I could give her much information. 

When she came in for the evaluation it was very true her arm simply didn’t move. However, in Lisa’s case after I checked her strength, felt and watched how her joint move we were able to rule out a rotator cuff tear and other shoulder issues. 

I explained to Lisa how the shoulder joint should move then demonstrated how her shoulder was moving and why that was a problem. 

I am very happy to say that after only a few weeks Lisa is able to lift her arm high enough that she could have caught that water bottle. We still have some work to do BUT Lisa is happy she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. She is no longer secretly afraid she will need surgery. She is able to put her dishes away without getting a step stool and she can clean the mirrors in her bath room without physically helping her arm up. (It’s about the small things in life). 

Please share this information with anyone that is struggling with a similar situation and is seeking help. 

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