Follow Dr. E as he turns rotator cuff injury inside-out for you!
Read posts of Dr. E as he shares the story of his rotator cuff injury!
Rotator cuff injury, surgery, and recovery!
January 9, 2022
The Injury! On January 9, 2012, as I stepped out my garage to apply salt to my slippery driveway, I slipped on clear ice, fell on my entire left side, and severely injured my left arm and shoulder!
January 10
I made an expedited appointment with Dr. Mat Saffarian, my sport medicine doctor, who oversees the management of my musculoskeletal injuries. He ordered an STAT x-ray that ruled out any fractures. However, given that my symptoms were pointing at the possibility of rotator cuff injury, that is a soft tissue injury, he scheduled me for an MRI of the shoulder within the next few weeks. Why ‘within the next few weeks’? Firstly, to allow the acute phase of my injury to subside, and secondly, because management of rotator cuff injuries, more or less, fall under the auspices of elective procedures!
January 10-29
As the widespread ecchymoses (bruises) and pain over my entire left arm, and forearm gradually receded, the gravity of my rotator cuff injury progressively started to settle in!
January 30
The day of reckoning! The day that I went to the radiology center of Michigan State University for the MRI of my shoulder!
February 2
At around 10:00 to 10:30 AM, Dr. Mat Saffarian amidst his vacation in Bahamas, called me to break the saddening news of my terrible multiple rotator cuff tears, and to discuss what to do next… including setting an expedited appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to oversee management of my injury hereafter. Dr. Saffarian’s teleconference was followed by several back-to-back text messages, and within a few hours, not only he helped to systematically identify my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Michael Shingles, his office personnel secured my expedited first appointment with him. Just think about it… your sport medical doctor while vacationing in the paradise, calling you on his cell phone and managing all major steps of your case from abroad! Dr. Saffarian; if I haven’t told you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me and my sport-related injuries… now you have it in writing!
February 3: Rotator Cuff Injury and Conquest of Longevity!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/250517367231831:
February 6:
Rotator Cuff Tear!
Dr. E, Up Close and Personal!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/252286507054917
February 8:
Life without my intact left rotator cuff tendons!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/253524656931102
February 9:
What did happen on February 9?
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/253909310225970
February 10:
Rotator Cuff Tears: Arthroscopic versus Open Surgical Repairs!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/254711973479037
February 15:
Dr. E’s Pick-du-Week Videos: The ART of ARThroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/257837559833145
February 17:
Life after severe rotator cuff tear surgery during your golden years!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/257765889840312
February 18:
Dr. E’s Pick-du-Week Mini-Videos: Regarding Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries
https://www.facebook.com/NorthwesternMedicalReview/posts/4841287405908989
February 19:
Open Rotator Cuff Surgery
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/260914576192110
Rotator Cuff Awareness Months
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/260954756188092
February 23:
Finally… tomorrow… February 24, is the day!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/263641135919454
February 25:
Reflections!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/265139872436247
February 26:
Anticipations, Adaptations, and Modifications!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/265826892367545
February 27:
My Rotator Cuff Surgery: Up Close & Personal!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/266585265625041
February 28:
“Necessity is the mother of invention: how to open your child-resistant medicine pill bottles?
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/267123648904536
March 3:
Terrible Rotator Cuff Tetrad
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/268813658735535
March 7:
Did I miss the sign?
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/271707068446194
March 9:
Time and the conquest of longevity
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/272944284989139
March 10:
Milestones of My Rotator Cuff Injury!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/273341921616042
March 11:
Gas price and my rotator cuff injury!
https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/274475831502651
March 26: …until the day that my rehab came along!
April 2: Dr. E’s Pick-du-Week: The killer in us!
April 4: Day 40 Post-Rotator Cuff Surgery!
April 7: Puzzle: What these two pictures of Dr. E are all about!
Solution: https://www.facebook.com/conquestoflongevity/posts/291640116452889
November 9: When it comes to excellence in your longevity there are certain professionals that you have to keep close, but you must keep your physical trainer even closer
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=438132748475945&set=pb.100068376694919.-2207520000.&type=3
December 7: The physiotherapist who stood by my shoulder until December 6, that is, almost 33 days shy of the anniversary of my terrible rotator cuff injury!
January 6: It isn’t how badly you’re injured…
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=479706257651927&set=pb.100068376694919.-2207520000.&type=3
January 9, 2023: One-year Anniversary of my rotator cuff injury
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=481269937495559&set=pb.100068376694919.-2207520000.&type=3
April 21, 2023: You never step into the same shoulder joint twice!
Dr. E
Dr. Eftekar (Dr. E) is the founder and head coach of the Center for Conquest of Longevity and Northwestern Medical Review. A unique attribute of Dr. E is his well-rounded academic background that, in addition to the science of medicine, extends over several other disciplines such as physiology of aging and longevity, philosophy of science and medicine, and integrated kinesiology.