by Errol Lim, Physiotherapist
My Connected Care journey started. Amidst the meetings at Chatswood and Parramatta, I sneaked in an appointment with Rachael. Her enthusiasm and energy was just what I needed to get me going. She had the task of assessing my dodgy right shoulder, which has been sore for the past 18 months.
3 years ago, I stupidly misjudged how much room I had left on the side of the bed one night and fell, landing on my shoulder. Repeated lifting of my two kids has worsened it.
Apart from wanting to be pain-free when I lie with my arms up above my head, another reason for seeing Rachael is to reduce the pain whilst serving in tennis. An added motivation is that Belinda, one of our other physios, had recently beaten me soundly. I didn’t want to use the reasons of Belinda’s age, her superior fitness levels, her speed around the court and the fact that she had been playing regular tennis as excuses but thought it best I fix my shoulder to once again be able to serve like Mark Philippoussis. Like Mark, this was/is my only weapon.
The manual treatment involved some deep massage and trigger point therapy to loosen up my shoulder. Rachael has also given me some homework to maintain some of my new found flexibility, 2 stretches and 1 strength exercise.
The focus for me is not so much how well I do these exercises as I have the advantage of being a physiotherapist, but how compliant I am going to be. Compliance. The same issue all of my patients have.
Any other stupid dads out there thinking they can still have huge tennis serves while living with shoulder pain?
Errol Lim is a physiotherapist and a director of BJC Health. BJC Health provides coordinated, comprehensive, and colocated multidisciplinary care to achieve effective solutions for patients. We call this model of care, Connected Care. Our clinics are located in Parramatta, Chatswood and Brookvale. Contact us.
This blog focuses on musculoskeletal disease, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy. Read More.
