Miracle On 9th Street

Ok, this is strange. As many of you know I’ve been going on and on about my poor, poor shoulder. Woe is me, right? The past few weeks have pretty much been a non-stop complaint-fest about how I’m unable paint the house because my shoulder hurts. My life is not worth living unless I can paint the house. Blah, blah, blah, blah. I’m sure you’re as sick of hearing about it, about as much as I am writing about it.

Well, on Friday I made the decision to start painting the house again this weekend despite my shoulder. I would be just like an NFL player and play through the pain and then heal in the off-season. Off-season for me being winter time. Well, actually, I work just as hard in the winter, so that’s a bad analogy, but you get the point. I can’t paint the house in the winter, so that’s when I will heal. I had accepted the fact that this would be My Summer of Pain.

I woke up Saturday and got out there about noon. I didn’t want to push it too hard and have an 8 hour marathon day of scraping paint off the house. I figured I would use my left arm as much as possible and limit the use of the right arm. Well, that doesn’t really work to well. If you’re a right-handed person you naturally want to use your right hand. It’s one of the laws of nature and sure enough about 20 minutes in to scrapping I was mostly using my right arm.

At first it seemed fine. There was a little discomfort, but nothing like I expected. I consciously went back to my left arm when ever I thought about it, but eventually, and sooner rather than later, the scraper ended back in my right hand. The shoulder didn’t hurt so much as the muscles on the ribcage (not sure what they’re called). I think it was from lack of use more than anything. It sort of felt like I had pulled a muscle or something. In the 4 hours I spent scrapping paint, though, I only iced my shoulder once, and that was more preventative than anything else. I iced it while I ate lunch. The fact was my shoulder didn’t really hurt. I mean, for the first time in weeks my shoulder didn’t hurt.

This morning I woke up with a sore shoulder. It was no worse or better than everyday for the past few weeks. It was the same pain I’ve woken up with every morning. The scrapping really didn’t aggravate it any. I wrote a rather long email to a friend this morning and that really bothered it. Typing at the keyboard as been very difficult for the past few weeks. That is the reason for my relatively few posts on my blog recently and the reason for the e.e. petch post. Sometimes I am reduced to typing with my left hand only. The email I wrote this morning was no different. About half way through I had an ice pack on my shoulder. The last few edits were done solely with my left hand.

Still, I was determined to finished scrapping the front of the house. I went back out there around noon and scrapped away. This time I used what ever arm I wanted to. About 2 hours in, it was as if I had never hurt my shoulder at all! I noticed no pain what so ever. It was the most bizarre thing in the world. The constant motion of scrapping must have knocked, shoved, or pushed something back in place, or took something out of a place it shouldn’t have been.

I’m not going to say I am back to 100% with my shoulder, but the improvement is astounding. Even now, as I write this blog entry, there is only mild discomfort. This morning when I was writing that email I had the icepack on my shoulder after the third paragraph. Now, I’m half way through the 7th paragraph and I only have mild discomfort. If I believed in miracles I would be calling the Vatican right now.

Body heal thyself.