recovery from shoulder or knee surgery, chronic acid reflux

July 24, 2023 6:40 PM

Equip Me OT [Occupational Therapist] Lindsay DeLong has tips galore on using medical equipment at home, diy hacks & modifications, and recommended items for people with mobility & accessibility needs (Youtube & Instagram). For example, the posts on Getting Dressed After a Shoulder Injury and Getting In/Out of Bed After Hip Replacement, and the YT videos How to Sleep in a Recliner (goal is to prevent injury or permanent postural changes to the spine and other joints from prolonged recliner sleep) and How to Shower After a Mastectomy.
posted by spamandkimchi (13 comments total)

Very nice. In addition to the tools, I'd also consider adding bed risers, so the bed is higher off the ground, resulting in less strain "standing up" from bed height, or replacing the normal bed rails + foundation + mattress with a high platform bed + mattress for even more stability. Don't forget "grabbers" in case anything fell on the floor.
posted by kschang at 6:53 PM on July 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Getting dressed after a shoulder injury is The Worst. The last eight months of my life have been fighting with clothes.
posted by Bottlecap at 8:30 PM on July 24, 2023 [4 favorites]

Wow all of the linked videos are really great and helpful for me. Thank you so much for this post of resources. I have had good luck finding PT but it’s been hard finding an OT, so this fills in a lot of gaps for my care.
posted by Bottlecap at 8:36 PM on July 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

Also the bathroom category has posts on toilet risers, shower seats, grab bars, bidets and more. I saw one beloved grandparent go into a care home after having a lot of bathroom difficulties, despite otherwise being quite healthy. I would much prefer to be able to "age in place" for as long as possible.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:17 PM on July 24, 2023 [7 favorites]

Four hours later I am forcing myself to quit watching these YouTube videos and sending myself to bed. One thing that I am always feeling is that regardless of how long I have been disabled and how many skills I’ve acquired, there’s still So Much out there that I haven’t encountered. Things that I could be doing differently that would make my life better. It’s genuinely such a pleasure to me because I love the feeling of being a student and leveling up. My goal isn’t to not be disabled, it’s to live the happiest life as ME. And knowing that I have an excuse to get three more pillows is just icing on the cake.
posted by Bottlecap at 11:39 PM on July 24, 2023 [15 favorites]

I had rotator cuff repair on May 9th. Can confirm, these videos are great. They helped to not only be prepared for recovery but I considered things and scenarios that I probably would not have. So I was very prepared and my recovery is going very well. Thanks for making the FPP. It’s great to get these more exposure.
posted by pearlybob at 3:30 AM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

I follow a few OTs on instagram and have found some great tips over the years for my specific issues, weirdly I’ve never been referred to one in the many many many years I’ve been referred to physios in the UK then France!
posted by ellieBOA at 10:31 AM on July 25, 2023

Excellent videos and some really helpful tips. Some of these things I did figure out five years ago when I had shoulder surgery on my right shoulder. But I'm going to bookmark these things in case it turns out that I need surgery on the left in the next few weeks.

This was very informative, thank you!
posted by annieb at 4:10 PM on July 25, 2023

I cannot find any videos about chronic acid reflux. Can anyone point me to the link referenced in the title? Great post either way.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:50 AM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Bella Donna, the acid reflux mention is in the list of reasons why one would want to sleep in a recliner. (Realized after the fact that it was a non sequitor in the way I chopped the video description!)
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:12 AM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Thank you so much for this post! I’m recovering from a knee injury. Some things I already was doing, just by finding what works for me. Other things are new and I will use that information. It can take awhile to recover from knee stuff. My goals have been to avoid re- injury and to keep using my body as much as I can.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:55 AM on July 26, 2023

Going to delve into these to see how many apply to my current joint problems and what I might be facing in the future.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:59 AM on July 27, 2023

Mod note: [btw, this post has been added to the sidebar]
posted by taz (staff) at 2:17 AM on July 29, 2023