Scapula Subluxations

I am 1 month into my rehab for my right shoulder. My ROM is coming back nicely, although the progress has slowed down a bit--which is a good thing. We have started working on strengthening exercises on top of the ROM. I definitely notice that my arm is getting stronger and is functioning a little bit more.

While my shoulder itself doesn't hurt very often, my scapula/shoulder blade is another story. It has been subluxating frequently and I have been having a lot of painful and long lasting muscle spasms. Massages and manual therapy have helped release some tension, but the spasms return with the next subluxation. The subluxations are a result of several factors. For one, because of EDS my body has a harder time holding it in place. Also, because I haven't been using the muscles that stabilize the shoulder blade, I am lacking in muscular control and balance. This is something that physical therapy will address and hopefully it will improve a bit. However, it seems my shoulder blade is tilted forward and this is contributing to the instability and pain. It is also a mechanical problem meaning it will probably always be an "issue." We are confident, however, that stabilizing the muscles will decrease the number of subluxations and pain/muscle spasms.

My hips have been getting worse. Walking around campus to my classes definitely has not helped. My left hip is getting stuck more frequently with walking and now I notice it gets stuck when changing positions in bed and with sitting. I will try some taping techniques in the next few weeks to see if we can limit the snapping for now.

My headaches have not improved, however fortunately they haven't been increasingly worse. I am waiting to hear back from a specialist at Children's and I will likely schedule another appointment with my neurosurgeon. We are looking into pursuing tethered cord treatment as it is possible it is the cause of Chiari.

The semester has been going by so quickly and I still love my classes and professors. Over the last 2 weeks I have only had 4 days of classes (the amount I typically have in 1 week). With the way my schedule is arranged and with fall break, I was fortunate to have 6 days off and be able to watch Shane's soccer games last weekend in Rhode Island.

Back to New England this week and another 4 days off from classes before back to a normal schedule!

I love the fall....my joints, however, disagree!