The Arm Bone’s Connected To The …

I had an accident at work last Friday and, as my brother-in-law might say, “I jacked up my shoulder.” I’m nearly done with a five month renovation of a laboratory. The excitement and anticipation has driven me to long hours and apparently compromised judgment. There was a beautiful steel cabinet that was marked for disposal sitting in the hallway outside my office. The paint matched my lab. I knew the perfect spot for it. Getting it onto the hand truck, around the corner and down the hall was no problem. It wouldn't fit through the door. I would have to dismount the cabinet from the hand truck, turn it 90˚ and remount it in order to get it through. The night custodian and a co-worker were there to help me.

So, you know the conundrum of the immovable object vs. the irresistible force? Well, I must admit that at times I’m a pretty irresistible force. Either this wasn’t one of those times, or the steel cabinet partook more fully in its platonic ideal.

Saturday on a pain scale from 0-10 with 0 being nothing and 10 being the worst pain you’ve ever felt, it was an 8. Range of motion was limited to 10˚ of arm swing and I couldn’t lift any weight. I went for a short run on Sunday. Monday the pain had subsided to a 2 and I could lift my arm to parallel with the ground. I went to work, but by 2 pm my arm felt like a lead weight hanging by a strand of linguini. I got it checked out. Nothing broken, immobilize joint with a sling, follow up in 7-10 days with an orthopedic physician if symptoms persist. Workman’s Comp. That’s an entry, or perhaps a whole series for another day.

I went out for a run tonight. 36˚F, wind calm. I took the arm out of the sling. You wouldn’t think a shoulder injury would effect running, but darn the interconnectedness of it all. I must have been favoring the right side, because my left knee and hip were aching from about mile 3 onward. Of course that could all be coincidental as I’m only a week back running. If you’ve read my previous training log entries, you know I’m a bit too attuned to my creaky joints and deteriorating muscle mass.