Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Broken humerus - avulsion of the greater tuborosit

Aww that is too bad Shirley. It could be irritated from the injection or just forming more scar tissue. Either way it's too bad it didn't seem help at all.

Thanks CanuckMom, it's settling down again now back to where it was before the injection...

I saw my rheumy yesterday and he certainly didn't sound very optimistic for my chances of no surgery. He didn't sugarcoat anything (which I like)... I am likely looking at surgery for full rotator cuff repair and tightening with a good 2 year recovery. Depending on my AS damage and flares could be even longer. But as always, these specialists all seem to walk to the beat of their own drum so who knows. Orthopedic surgeon I am seeing is supposedly one of the best around. July can't come soon enough.

He did give me some advice though... Use the physio pulley exercise to try to increase some ROM. Just rig up a pulley from parts from the hardware store in the ceiling(like a small rope, 2 handles and a clothesline pulley), use it to lift the bad arm gently several times a day. The other is to bend at the waist and let the arm hang free. Start doing concentric circles from small to large. Add weight as tolerated. Both exercises will help to break free the joint and increase ROM. As for other exercise he wasn't terribly helpful, LOL! Since yoga, pilates, real swimming are all out I have to find something. High impact is out of the question for me so there certainly isn't a lot of options left. His best (and really only) suggestion was a cardio focus aqua aerobics class. Grr, not high on my list as the pool is never warm enough and I end up seized up.

Ouch that sounds bad. Sounds like you're suffering a lot worse than I am now.

I had a few weeks of physio and am still doing the exercises she gave me even though my family doctor and orthopedic said physio won't help. One of my exercises involves lyong on my back and using my good arm to pull my left arm up and back which i guess is a bit like the pulley exercise. Also started the passive pendulum circles three weeks after the fracture.

I have thrown in the towel and admitted defeat I think. This is going to be a long drawn out thing so I have been on the search engines today like crazy looking for anything that might help. I'm off tonight to go buy some kinesiology tape and try it. I have nothing to loose right now but lots to gain, LOL! I'm going to try it on my SI's as well.
http://www.kttape.com/

I don't blame you for wanting to try something else and hope it helps. One of the women on the ankylosing spondylitis for women Facebook page said taping helped her si joints but mine were already mostly fused in 2011 so probably not much point for me. Have you thought of getting advice from a physiotherapist? I had a good one but she's now left to have a baby.

Im due to go back to shoulder orthopedic surgeon later this month but not that hopeful about a second injection working or that keen on the manipulation under anesthetic having read some stuff suggesting it might not be as successful in frozen shoulders that follow injuries as in idiopathic frozen shoulder. I'm a bit over everything right now maybe because I'm not feeling very well. Latest blood tests suggest I'm brewing a bacterial infection...

Kinesiology tape works for my Achilles tendons and some muscular problems, I'm so stiff I can't always apply it to the bits that need it! I've recently had a cortisone injection for trigger thumb and that seems to have worked. From what I have heard and read, cortisone injections don't always work well on shoulders. I am thinking about iontophoresis for my Achilles tendons.

Just reporting back, the KT tape is a hit and definitely works! It definitely works for me both to help the shoulder out but even the SI's. I will now make sure to always have this in the house to help with the assorted issues we all seem to have with AS.

Shirley I am sorry to hear you are sick again. You just can't seem to catch a break.

So glad the tape is helping

Follow up appointment with orthopaedic surgeon today. Told him the steroid injection didn't help and made it worse for a while. Next stop manipulation under anaesthetic which ruptures the tight shoulder capsule (eek!)