High Sierra Topix

Thank you all for your great input!

I've returned the Mountainsmith Lumbar pack. It was a whopping 90 bucks and not fitting as I liked. And my behind the back internal rotation is the absolute stiffest ROM at the moment, so even fitting myself with a lumbar pack so big and roughly 5-10 lbs when loaded is impossible. I've taken my ROM for granted until now. I didn't realize how involved my upper body has been in my adventures - you feel it in your legs and feet and lower back mostly, forgetting how much your arms and shoulders really do! The PT estimates a month until ROM begins to feel somewhat normal, right now it's pulleys and a stick to work to at least get my thumb to the middle of my behind. Maybe as things get a little looser, I can make a better gear decision.

I'm seven weeks post-op with my left shoulder. I needed to do some conditioning, yet I didn't want to do anything that might interfere with shoulder healing. Today I was carrying a 37-pound backpack, rather heavier than what I would normally carry. I had a big foam sponge like you would wash a car with, and I stuck that underneath the left shoulder strap. The weight compresses the sponge so that it doesn't bother the surgical area.

I had a whole bunch of stuff done on a shoulder years back. I was very diligent about my rehab, doing all the exercises and stretches the Dr. spelled out an more. I recommend that.

As best I recall, I didn't have any issues backpacking, but I had about 6 months to rehab before the first heavy pack trip. I built up pack weight slowly (as I always do), adding about 2 lb per week over about 5 months. I recall it helped to occasionally adjust the sternum strap, etc., to get the shoulder pad to not always press on the same spots.

As far as causes, in my case it was just basically living an active life: competitive volleyball for a dozen years; playing physical sports aggressively diving for the ball and taking/giving hits; lifting heavy objects; throwing; etc. Nothing that I would do any differently which would help with prevention without compromising my quality of life.

The recovery time depends on everyone's physical condition and can't be anxious. According to my recovery experience, you need to pay special attention to two points: 1. Avoid strenuous exercise and avoid secondary injuries to your shoulders. I regret my behavior at the time, which prolonged my pain. 2. Adhere to physical therapy. Slow stretching and cold therapy can keep the joints stretched and relieve your pain. When you have difficulty sleeping because of pain, the ice therapy system for surgery can provide long-term cold therapy, and you will feel more comfortable.

Let's not lump together all shoulder surgery results. Some patients have full open surgery, and some have arthroscopic surgery (which disrupts much less). I had the latter, so I regained normal flexibility very quickly, about twice as fast as what the surgeon predicted. Of course, that may have been a testimonial to stubbornness more than anything else.