Pillows and Purses

So I've griped on here (and just about everywhere else) about my bum shoulder.  I fell many years ago on the ice and severely injured it.  Then I further did it in by bench pressing with too much weight and no spotter.  Enter torn rotator cuff and months of rehab.  It got a lot better, but THEN I had a distance trainer (read: not with me personally) who urged me to do a rear delt flye with heavy weight while carb depleted. That did it.  Like a dummy, I listened to him instead of my own niggling thought that it was a mistake.  This was my fault, not his.

Needless to say, that shoulder has not been the same since.  I've been in and out injury (often to the point of being bed-ridden) ever since then.

This past year I found a trainer (in-person, thank you very much!) who has very slowly and gradually helped my shoulder recover.  He's been a blessing.  But I'd still feel that familiar tweak frequently and know it was time to ease off on the weights a bit.

Then, one day he said something to me that clicked:  "Nancy, don't wear that heavy purse on the same shoulder all the time."  A light bulb went off in my head...... Hey!  Maybe a clutch purse would do me some good!

Easy, right?  Not so much:  I am picky about purses, and, because I have a bunch of crap I truly use and need to carry with me, I need a fairly big one.  This started the months-long hunt for a roomy clutch.  It was not easy, but one day I happened across one that would work. (And in my favorite color, burgundy, to boot!)

My shoulder started recovering even more rapidly.  Hallelujah!

And then, another blessed thing happened:  I got a new pillow.

After the rear delt flye debacle, I'd frequently and suddenly wake up from a sound sleep with aching, throbbing pain deep in my shoulder. I'd wait for either the pain to dissipate (sometimes it took hours, or pain meds, or both), or to pass out again from the pain.

I'd had a suspicion for a long time that my regular pillow wasn't helping anything.  The reason I didn't buy an ergonomically correct one?  They stunk.  I mean, they literally smelled really bad.  It was chemicals.  I didn't think sleeping on chemicals was a good thing, but that was actually secondary because I was already sleeping bad enough:  Adding stink into the equation wasn't going to help anything.

After much searching I FINALLY found one with good, non-stinky reviews on Amazon.  I put it on my wish list and my husband gave it to me this last Christmas.  I've been sleeping like an injury-free baby ever since. Here is a link, in case you're curious (or convinced!).

The packaging advised to let it air out for 24 hours, which I did.   There is no stink.  And great comfort.  And sleep.  Blessed, solid, deep sleep. Not once since then have I woke up in the middle of the night with my shoulder throbbing.

I'd urge every woman I know to switch to a clutch purse (or a backpack, if that's your style), and every person to invest in a good-quality pillow designed for your sleep style. Good heavens, can these things save you a lot of physical grief!

So exercise and rehab for injury prevention and healing?  YES!  I am a believer!  But sometimes complete healing comes with small, common sense tweaks to your every day life.