Removal of stitches and first physio therapy session

March 29th



After two weeks of mainly resting without many news to report, today was finally getting me excited! Two things were scheduled for today:

1.       Removing the Stitches
2.       First session of physiotherapy
I went to the GP in the morning to get my stitches removed. They briefly checked the wound, found everything looks alright and went ahead. The removal itself was very quick and the only thing I felt was a tugging sensation when they were pulling out the thread.  While the procedure was rather unexciting, being finally able to shower without water proof bandage is just another small win that I celebrate! Besides, the incision looks great already after only two weeks. It's approximately 5 cm long and very thin. 
Latarjet incision with stitchesLatarjet incision without stitches

I went to physiotherapy in the afternoon and I was really looking forward to that. My therapist knew the Latarjet procedure and had treated a few patients in the past, however I was the first one that he treated in Frankfurt. Another indication that you have to pick surgeon and therapist carefully, Latarjet is simply not that common.
During the 30 min session he mainly moved my arm and tested my current limits. We were able to move my arm within the planned ranges for two weeks post-surgery which for me is: Abduction: 60°, Flex: 60°, external rotation: 10°, internal rotation: 70°. I didn’t feel any pain and the shoulder didn’t feel too stiff within those boundaries. External rotation was the hardest but is also something that will be worked on later.
In terms of recovery, the therapist was very confident that I will be able to do bodyweight training (pushups, pullups etc.)  and he said I could even go back to lifting weights if I wanted to. He also showed me some exercises that I can do at home to improve the range of motion. I’m doing:
I will do that now every day for 10-15 minutes and will continue to rest my arm outside of the sling from time to time when I’m laying on the sofa.

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks to make progress on the range of motion.

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