Today I had surgery to release the nerve passing through my left shoulder blade, treating my diagnosis of suprascapular neuropathy. The goal is to return my arm to full strength and restore nerve function. I’m home, resting and feel as if I am recovering well!
In December 2019, I woke up with excruciating back pain. Advil, ice, resting, and stretching quickly minimized the pain. About two weeks later the same pain returned with a greater intensity—so I reached out to my primary care doctor.
I was predictably referred to physical therapy. Because we were expecting Finnegan in January, I wanted to be sure that I was on my way to recovery so I could be at full capacity to help Kaylin through delivery and postpartum.
On my first visit my therapist ran a battery of diagnostic stretches on me to put together a treatment plan. With the “not a doctor” caveat, he immediately suspected that I was suffering from suprascapular neuropathy. The current pain I was feeling was secondary pain caused by my body overcorrecting for the weakness in my shoulder. My therapist also wrote a referral to an orthopedic surgeon and encouraged me to make an appointment.
I secured an appointment with the surgeon shortly after Finnegan was born. I was about halfway through my 12 weeks of physical therapy. I was feeling stronger but still had very acute weakness when examined.
As my physical therapy sessions drew to a close, COVID-19 hit. I finished my therapy from home with resistance bands. Several weeks later I was rechecked by my surgeon and we decided that therapy wasn’t improving my symptoms. Two MRIs and a nerve conduction study were ordered.
The MRIs and nerve study confirmed the diagnosis and surgery was scheduled. I was fairly nervous about having surgery in the midst of a pandemic—fortunately, it was “outpatient-ish” in a dedicated surgery unit that was mostly empty, heavily masked, and heavily sanitized.
I’m home now, resting in a big arm chair. I have a fancy refrigerated shoulder brace which means I’m not dealing with drippy ice packs—it’s quite nice. A new round of physical therapy begins tomorrow. Based on how much stronger my wrist and hand feel even now, I’m feeling optimistic about recovery!
