Jack Redden, APA Physiotherapist.

Throughout my sporting career as an Elite Athlete and Grade Rugby player,  I have suffered many injuries. The worst of these required Shoulder Surgery resulting in a 10-month recovery. Throughout that time, I learnt so many valuable lessons about the rehabilitation process and the patience and persistence required to overcome injury. 

The first 6 weeks after surgery I was required to wear a sling, ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. I wasn’t able to drive, run or even move the affected shoulder. The simplest of tasks such as eating, showering and dressing became strenuous daily activities. I have always been a physically active person and so mentally, this really took its toll! The stationary bike became my best friend as it was the only exercise I was able to do without affecting my shoulder. Pain management was another issue over the initial few weeks following surgery, trying to keep pain at a manageable level without relying too much on medications was hard.

6 weeks finally passed and I was able to come out of the sling. I then faced the task of trying to regain full shoulder range of movement and strength. It’s amazing how much mobility and movement you loose following 6 weeks of not using your arm. I began an intense rehabilitation programme working closely with my physiotherapist. My shoulder soon regained it’s mobility and the function got back to a level where things started to get a bit more comfortable. This was the point where I struggled with consistency, I had regained enough of my shoulder function to perform day to day tasks, however I was still so far off where I needed to be. I set myself daily objectives and weekly and monthly goals to encourage myself along. Slowly but surely I was making progress. Once I had ticked off a range of different criteria and outcome measures I was able to return to my chosen sport, Rugby. The return to Rugby involved very gradually building up my training load and level of contact until I was at the point of playing a full competitive game

Returning to competitive contact sport was one of the toughest barriers that I had to overcome throughout the whole journey. Although my shoulder was stronger (even more so than it was pre surgery), mentally making those first few tackles was not easy. I started questioning myself, had I lost ability and skill? Would my shoulder hold up? Under recommendation of my Surgeon and Physiotherapist I began to wear a Shoulder Brace. This prevented positions in which my shoulder was more likely to dislocate. Getting used to wearing the brace was a challenge in itself however was great for my confidence. It was a long 10 months but the satisfaction after finally playing a full game of Rugby without any issues was immense. 

Although I was not the most stringent patient with my own rehab, I am a better Physio for it. Being able to relate and empathise with my patients and their own rehabilitation (both physical and mental) is extremely beneficial. I really enjoy being able to help Post-Op patients in their recovery, it’s such a rewarding experience.