When the Massage Therapist Becomes the Injured One

This was not exactly how I planned to finish massage school or start my massage career.

On Tuesday, July 28, I injured my right shoulder at my full-time job.

I was handling a single piece of 2" x 2" angle iron, about 1/4" thick. I lifted it just above head level and pulled it out enough so I could get a crane sling around it.

That was when I felt a small pop in my right shoulder.

It didn’t really hurt.

It just felt odd.

I got the sling, went back to put it around the metal, and suddenly I couldn’t lift my right arm.

Then the pain started.

It wasn’t a sharp, stabbing pain like I probably would have expected from a tendon injury.

It was more like a really intense toothache.

That deep, dull, aching, radiating pain that isn’t necessarily sharp but is incredibly annoying and hard to ignore.

At that point it was pretty obvious that something wasn’t right, so I went to the clinic that morning to get it looked at.

Later, near the end of my shift, my right hand started swelling and I lost sensation across the back of it. That was enough to earn me a same-day trip to the ER too.

They did a CT scan to look for a possible cervical or bony cause for the numbness, but it didn’t show anything that explained what was going on.

The timing also could not have been much worse.

That Saturday was our final practical exam for massage school.

Sunday was our final student clinic.

Instead of finishing clinic doing massage with everyone else, I got to play receptionist.

Not exactly how I pictured wrapping up massage school.

The injury also kept me from participating in the student massage portion of our class project at the Full Belly Festival.

I was still able to help with some of the setup and teardown, but pretty much everything had to be done one-handed with my left arm.

If nothing else, it was a quick lesson in how much you depend on one shoulder for things you normally don’t even think about.

The rest of the medical workup continued over the next several days.

Between the clinic, the ER, and follow-up, I had an X-ray and the CT, and then nearly a week later I had an MRI.

The MRI finally showed what was going on: a partial tear of the supraspinatus tendon where it attaches near the humerus. The swelling and sensory changes in my hand were thought to be related to the inflammation and swelling around the shoulder, including the bursa.

Which is slightly inconvenient when the career you just spent a year training for involves using your arms all day.

Turns out shoulders are fairly important in massage.

Who knew.

So for now, massage is on hold while I work on getting the shoulder back to where it needs to be.

Apparently I Get to Be the Patient for a While

I’ve spent a lot of time learning about muscles, tendons, movement, injuries, pain, and recovery.

Knowing that information and actually being the injured person are two very different things.

One of the hardest parts has probably been accepting that recovery takes time.

I’m much better at telling somebody else not to push through an injury than I am at following that advice myself.

Funny how that works.

Right now I’m working with physical therapy and doing the exercises I’ve been given, including a lot of fairly boring-looking shoulder isometrics.

They don’t look impressive.

Nobody is going to make an exciting workout video out of me standing there pushing my arm into a wall.

I’m pretty sure Hollywood is safe from having to option that footage.

But boring doesn’t mean useless.

The goal right now isn’t to see how much weight I can move.

It’s getting the shoulder stronger and gradually building its tolerance back up without irritating it again.

Working Around It Instead of Doing Nothing

One thing I didn’t want to do was let the shoulder injury become an excuse to stop moving completely.

So I’ve been figuring out what I can still do.

My doctor and physical therapist both told me I could ride my bike as tolerated.

The big caution was to avoid mountain biking or trail riding for now because the bouncing and jarring could aggravate the shoulder.

That makes sense.

A smooth ride on pavement or a trainer is one thing.

Getting bounced around on roots, rocks, and rough trail while trying to control the bike with an injured shoulder is probably not the best rehabilitation plan.

So cycling is still on the table, just with some limits.

I also waited a while before I started rucking again because I wasn’t sure how carrying a weighted pack was going to feel on the shoulder.

The first time back out, I only used a 10-pound plate.

That went fine, so last weekend I bumped it back up to 25 pounds when we walked out to marker 11 at Norway Ridge.

So far, the pack really doesn’t seem to bother the shoulder.

Most of the load from the straps seems to sit more across my traps than directly on the injured part of the shoulder.

That was another good reminder that getting back to something doesn’t have to mean going straight back to where you were before.

Try a little.

See how the body responds.

Then add more if it tolerates it.

Apparently patience is becoming part of the training whether I like it or not.

I do not remember signing up for that event.

Running has become a much bigger part of this than I originally expected too.

I started with walking, then added run/walk intervals, and on September 5 I actually finished my first 5K at the Aliferis Memorial 5K.

The course ended up being a little short of a full 5K, and I also forgot to stop my watch at the finish because apparently operating one button after running is more complicated than it sounds.

But I finished it.

And apparently one race wasn’t enough, because I’m already signed up for Tap into the Trails in Cheboygan on September 19.

I’m still doing run/walk intervals and gradually working on increasing how much running I can handle.

For me, that has been a good way to keep moving and work on my aerobic fitness while the shoulder heals.

Swimming, on the other hand, is still on hold for now.

I want to get back to it, especially with the endurance goals I have, but swimming obviously asks a lot more from the shoulder than walking, running, or riding a bike on a smooth surface.

So that one can wait.

I’m trying to work around the injury instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.

There is a difference between staying active and repeatedly aggravating something that is trying to heal.

I’m learning where that line is.

Sometimes successfully.

Sometimes because my shoulder reminds me.

Being My Own Advocate

Another thing this injury has reinforced for me is that I need to be involved in my own care.

That doesn’t mean deciding I know more than my doctor or physical therapist.

It means asking questions, doing some research, and trying to understand what options might be available.

And by research, I don’t mean scrolling through Facebook or watching somebody on YouTube tell me they discovered the secret cure doctors don’t want me to know about.

I started looking through PubMed and other sources I felt I could actually trust, because apparently I can’t just have an injury.

I also have to turn it into a research project.

I wanted to know if there was anything that might improve my chances of healing well or possibly help the recovery process.

That was how I came across PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, injections.

From what I was reading, it looked like something that might be worth discussing for the type of tendon injury I have.

So I brought it up with my doctor.

She said it might help.

That was enough for me to at least explore it further.

I scheduled an appointment to have the injection done.

Unfortunately, workers’ compensation considers it experimental and won’t cover it, so I’ll be paying for it out of pocket.

That is not exactly how I would prefer to spend the money.

But I’m willing to do it, and fortunately I’m in a position where I can.

My physical therapist also told me that patients she has worked with in the past who received PRP injections seemed to do well with them.

I know that doesn’t guarantee anything for me.

There are no guarantees here.

But for me, it came down to reading the available information, talking it over with the people treating me, understanding that it may or may not help, and deciding that it is something I’m willing to try.

That feels a lot different than finding something online and deciding it must work because somebody made a convincing video about it.

Recovery Isn't Just Rest

Before this, I think it was easy to think of injury recovery as:

Get hurt.

Rest.

Heal.

Go back to normal.

In reality, there seems to be a lot more gray area in the middle.

There is managing what irritates it.

There is gradually loading it.

There is keeping the rest of the body moving.

There is figuring out what you can modify instead of automatically eliminating an activity.

There is researching your options and asking questions.

And there is a lot of patience.

Unfortunately.

That last one might still be the hardest part for me.

I’m much better at collecting data than waiting patiently for biology to do its thing.

This Is Changing How I Think About Massage Too

There is also a professional side to all of this.

I want a large part of my massage practice to focus on people who are active, dealing with injuries, trying to get back to something they enjoy, or simply trying to move better.

Going through my own injury has given me a different appreciation for how frustrating that process can be.

You can know what you are supposed to do and still get impatient.

You can feel better one day and assume you are fixed.

You can do too much because you’re tired of being limited.

You can start worrying that every little sensation means you made the injury worse.

And sometimes you have to advocate for yourself, ask more questions, and look into options instead of just waiting around and hoping things improve.

I understand all of that a little better now.

Massage isn’t going to repair a torn tendon.

That isn’t what massage does.

But massage can be one part of a much bigger recovery picture when it is appropriate—helping with surrounding muscle tension, movement, comfort, and keeping the rest of the body functioning while somebody works through rehabilitation.

That bigger picture is the part I’m becoming more interested in.

Not just:

“Where does it hurt?”

But:

What are you trying to get back to?

What can you currently do?

What is limiting you?

What can we work on safely?

And who else needs to be involved?

Sometimes the right answer is massage.

Sometimes it’s physical therapy.

Sometimes it’s a physician.

Sometimes there may be other treatment options worth discussing.

And sometimes it’s simply giving the body enough time to adapt.

So What Am I Doing Now?

For now, I’m continuing physical therapy.

I’m doing the shoulder exercises I’ve been given.

I’m paying attention to what aggravates it.

I’m continuing to run, walk, ruck, and cycle within the limits I’ve been given.

Swimming is still on hold.

I have the PRP injection coming up.

And I’m continuing to sign myself up for running events despite having only recently become somebody who runs.

Evidently one new hobby at a time would have been too reasonable.

Apparently this is just what I do now.

After the PRP, I’ll keep following the plan, paying attention to how the shoulder responds, and trying not to turn every good day into an excuse to immediately do twice as much.

That last part is still a work in progress.

I’m hoping to get cleared to start doing massage again, but I don’t want to rush back and end up right back where I started.

So until then, I’ll keep working on the shoulder, keep training around it, and probably keep learning more about injury recovery than I originally intended.

There are easier ways to get continuing education.

Apparently I chose the hands-on version.

If you want to follow along with the actual training, I’m also on Strava. That’s probably the easiest place to see the runs, rides, rucks, good workouts, questionable decisions, and all the data I’m apparently incapable of not looking at afterward.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/158889273

This is just my experience with my own injury and recovery. It isn’t medical advice. PRP and other treatments aren’t appropriate for everyone, and the evidence can vary depending on the injury. If you’re dealing with an injury, especially one that isn’t improving, getting it properly evaluated and discussing your options with your healthcare provider is a much better plan than guessing.

Endless Path and Wellness
www.endlesspathwellness.com