Rotator Cuff revisited

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Replies

  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    I also had fully torn rc. I was on pain killers for 6 months during surgery and 3x per week physical therapy. I have a high pain threshold and was still in awful pain. The therapy was so bad that at times there would be tears running down my face.

    I'm now about 9 years post surgery. So happy I've had it done. I have full range of motion and all strength back, but honestly it did take a few years.

    If I had to do it again, I would still do surgery.
    My PT had a patient who refused to let her manipulate his arm in any way. She, the doctor (same doc as me) both tried to explain what potential problems a lack of PT could cause - he had none of it. Yes, it was horrible, but not as horrible as a lifetime worth of problems would have been.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    oh man you guys aren't making this sound fun.
    I am used to being a very active person this is totally going to cramp my style, I've people relying on me to do some stuff in January. Darn shoulder

    Hence why I elected not to do surgery on my second. I've been a athlete my whole life and didn't want the time off after the first one healed ok from what I was told.

    That and all my friends that did surgery, ended up retearing them again and surgery happened again. Kinda like a hernia, isn't the best track record of healing.

    At age 45-46 I stopped feeling what I perceived as the pain that could of been the tear. IDK.

    You would think that surgery has improved though.

    Good luck again.

    I'm pretty envious of you right now :D I have about a 40% tear in my left RC as well, and surgery just is not an option at this point. I could use some not feeling it any more lol.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    edited May 2019
    Torn shoulder ligaments cannot heal themselves. Once torn they will remain torn forever unless repaired surgically.

    Any pain experienced as a result will not go away unless the torn ligaments are repaired. If you can tolerate the pain/discomfort w/o surgery that's your choice. My choice was to have surgery.

    I had rotator cuff surgery done on both shoulders at different times and for different reasons over the past 10-20 years.

    I have full strength/range of motion in both shoulders for over 5 years and they do not bother me any more. Recovery for the right shoulder was quicker than for the left. However, the road to recovery in both cases required patience and endurance.

    The routine following surgery was the same for me in both cases.

    Arm in sling for 3-4 months following surgery. The sling could be removed temporarily beginning the 2nd month but not fully dispensed w/until 3-4 months.

    Formal outpatient PT begins in about 2 months and ends around 3-4 months BUT you still have to do PT exercises on your own for at least another 2-3 months but should not need it after 6 months.

    However, while you may regain your full range of motion in 6 months, you will NOT have fully recovered your arm strength by then and should not use your arm to lift anything heavy right away but gradually rebuild the strength of the arm by gradually increasing weights used doing PT exercises.

    You are not likely to regain full strength w/o any pain or discomfort for about 8-12 months.

    I could to pull ups, pushups and fully weighted overhead barbell presses again by then but it was gradual process. The time varies for each person in terms of their personal recovery traits AND the nature of the injury/surgery done.

    You could recover quicker but if you rush the process you would injure yourself again and prolong the process. As mentioned earlier, full recovery requires patience and endurance.

    Good luck!
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Hope all goes well for you.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 16,714 Member
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Hope all goes well for you.

    Sending good wishes as well.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,488 Member
    My last 2 clients with shoulder issues and possible diagnosed tears ended up getting surgery even though we did 6 months of PT to help alleviate issues. Pain lessened but never went away. Shoulders are tough because you use them on a daily basis for about everything and even small movements can deter the healing process which is why they immobilize your shoulders after surgery. Expect surgery and work hard on rehab.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited June 2019
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy

    Yeah downward sloping is the same as hooked acromion I believe. Her surgery involved removing about 1 cm (I think - it was almost 10 years ago) of bone from the acromion to release the impingement and open up the space for the tendons and such. She didn't have any full thickness tears but the impingement had become chronic and would just not heal without surgery. She was in constant pain.

    My cortisone shots were for frozen shoulder/tendonitis. I am not a doctor so maybe getting this wrong, but from what I can remember I had one in the tendon which didn't do much, but the second one shot cortisone into the capsule and that one was literal heaven after a year of chronic pain. I don't recall them hurting much after the shot in either case. My range of motion was pretty limited already so can't really comment on that. I hope you get some relief out of it. Not gonna lie my daughter had one for her impingement problem and got maybe a week relief out of it. I feel like it really helped my problem though - I had one shoulder freeze completely and when the second one went bad I got shots right away and I feel that stopped it from progressing like the first one did. But I know that results are mixed with cortisone.

  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy

    Yeah downward sloping is the same as hooked acromion I believe. Her surgery involved removing about 1 cm (I think - it was almost 10 years ago) of bone from the acromion to release the impingement and open up the space for the tendons and such. She didn't have any full thickness tears but the impingement had become chronic and would just not heal without surgery. She was in constant pain.

    My cortisone shots were for frozen shoulder/tendonitis. I am not a doctor so maybe getting this wrong, but from what I can remember I had one in the tendon which didn't do much, but the second one shot cortisone into the capsule and that one was literal heaven after a year of chronic pain. I don't recall them hurting much after the shot in either case. My range of motion was pretty limited already so can't really comment on that. I hope you get some relief out of it. Not gonna lie my daughter had one for her impingement problem and got maybe a week relief out of it. I feel like it really helped my problem though - I had one shoulder freeze completely and when the second one went bad I got shots right away and I feel that stopped it from progressing like the first one did. But I know that results are mixed with cortisone.

    I like your news haha. My dr suggested the downsloping acromion coupled with activities I have spent a lifetime doing are what have caused this because every time you move your arm it rubs and wears away. I suspect this happened with your daughter

    I read and the shots can cause pain right away. He was poking around to see where to put it and wow that hurt a lot. Hope this holds me over until I get to see the surgeon. He looks like a good one and treats the local sports teams and helped with the Olympic hockey team. I skate, if he understands why skaters need shoulders that helps.

    My dr basically told me I'm not allowed to do my team as the hold we use is not good for me :(
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy

    Yeah downward sloping is the same as hooked acromion I believe. Her surgery involved removing about 1 cm (I think - it was almost 10 years ago) of bone from the acromion to release the impingement and open up the space for the tendons and such. She didn't have any full thickness tears but the impingement had become chronic and would just not heal without surgery. She was in constant pain.

    My cortisone shots were for frozen shoulder/tendonitis. I am not a doctor so maybe getting this wrong, but from what I can remember I had one in the tendon which didn't do much, but the second one shot cortisone into the capsule and that one was literal heaven after a year of chronic pain. I don't recall them hurting much after the shot in either case. My range of motion was pretty limited already so can't really comment on that. I hope you get some relief out of it. Not gonna lie my daughter had one for her impingement problem and got maybe a week relief out of it. I feel like it really helped my problem though - I had one shoulder freeze completely and when the second one went bad I got shots right away and I feel that stopped it from progressing like the first one did. But I know that results are mixed with cortisone.

    I like your news haha. My dr suggested the downsloping acromion coupled with activities I have spent a lifetime doing are what have caused this because every time you move your arm it rubs and wears away. I suspect this happened with your daughter

    I read and the shots can cause pain right away. He was poking around to see where to put it and wow that hurt a lot. Hope this holds me over until I get to see the surgeon. He looks like a good one and treats the local sports teams and helped with the Olympic hockey team. I skate, if he understands why skaters need shoulders that helps.

    My dr basically told me I'm not allowed to do my team as the hold we use is not good for me :(

    Yep exactly what happened with my daughter.

    Do you skate synchro?
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy

    Yeah downward sloping is the same as hooked acromion I believe. Her surgery involved removing about 1 cm (I think - it was almost 10 years ago) of bone from the acromion to release the impingement and open up the space for the tendons and such. She didn't have any full thickness tears but the impingement had become chronic and would just not heal without surgery. She was in constant pain.

    My cortisone shots were for frozen shoulder/tendonitis. I am not a doctor so maybe getting this wrong, but from what I can remember I had one in the tendon which didn't do much, but the second one shot cortisone into the capsule and that one was literal heaven after a year of chronic pain. I don't recall them hurting much after the shot in either case. My range of motion was pretty limited already so can't really comment on that. I hope you get some relief out of it. Not gonna lie my daughter had one for her impingement problem and got maybe a week relief out of it. I feel like it really helped my problem though - I had one shoulder freeze completely and when the second one went bad I got shots right away and I feel that stopped it from progressing like the first one did. But I know that results are mixed with cortisone.

    I like your news haha. My dr suggested the downsloping acromion coupled with activities I have spent a lifetime doing are what have caused this because every time you move your arm it rubs and wears away. I suspect this happened with your daughter

    I read and the shots can cause pain right away. He was poking around to see where to put it and wow that hurt a lot. Hope this holds me over until I get to see the surgeon. He looks like a good one and treats the local sports teams and helped with the Olympic hockey team. I skate, if he understands why skaters need shoulders that helps.

    My dr basically told me I'm not allowed to do my team as the hold we use is not good for me :(

    Yep exactly what happened with my daughter.

    Do you skate synchro?

    I took up synchro skating about 15 or 16 years ago. I grew up skating but not synchro.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy

    Yeah downward sloping is the same as hooked acromion I believe. Her surgery involved removing about 1 cm (I think - it was almost 10 years ago) of bone from the acromion to release the impingement and open up the space for the tendons and such. She didn't have any full thickness tears but the impingement had become chronic and would just not heal without surgery. She was in constant pain.

    My cortisone shots were for frozen shoulder/tendonitis. I am not a doctor so maybe getting this wrong, but from what I can remember I had one in the tendon which didn't do much, but the second one shot cortisone into the capsule and that one was literal heaven after a year of chronic pain. I don't recall them hurting much after the shot in either case. My range of motion was pretty limited already so can't really comment on that. I hope you get some relief out of it. Not gonna lie my daughter had one for her impingement problem and got maybe a week relief out of it. I feel like it really helped my problem though - I had one shoulder freeze completely and when the second one went bad I got shots right away and I feel that stopped it from progressing like the first one did. But I know that results are mixed with cortisone.

    I like your news haha. My dr suggested the downsloping acromion coupled with activities I have spent a lifetime doing are what have caused this because every time you move your arm it rubs and wears away. I suspect this happened with your daughter

    I read and the shots can cause pain right away. He was poking around to see where to put it and wow that hurt a lot. Hope this holds me over until I get to see the surgeon. He looks like a good one and treats the local sports teams and helped with the Olympic hockey team. I skate, if he understands why skaters need shoulders that helps.

    My dr basically told me I'm not allowed to do my team as the hold we use is not good for me :(

    Yep exactly what happened with my daughter.

    Do you skate synchro?

    I took up synchro skating about 15 or 16 years ago. I grew up skating but not synchro.

    Ah funny! I figure skated as kid and did synchro for a few years as well in my 30's. Yeah you def need your shoulders for that.
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    Well had my follow up to discuss my MRI results.

    Got a cortisone shot to relieve the pain. We'll know in two weeks how much it will help. I got a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. My doctor seems to think I'd need the shoulder repaired and the bicep tear as well.

    I'm excited to potentially be pain free for a bit.

    Cortisone shots for shoulder pain are like you have died and gone to heaven! Enjoy your pain free time. My shoulder issue was different but I feel your pain.

    My daughter had shoulder surgery for chronic impingement (also had a hooked acromion) - once you get to that point I think there is not much else to be done. She was very young when she had it (16) but a competitive swimmer whose shoulders were just not built for swimming and we tried everything, physio, cortisone, accupunture. Unfortunately after years of pain and damage she had to have the repair and give up swimming. :(

    Haha I have a downward sloping acromion, a near full thickness of one tendon and my bicep is prone to split. Hoping for relief for a bit.

    Is it supposed to hurt a lot after the shot? My range of motion is way down too. Not happy

    Yeah downward sloping is the same as hooked acromion I believe. Her surgery involved removing about 1 cm (I think - it was almost 10 years ago) of bone from the acromion to release the impingement and open up the space for the tendons and such. She didn't have any full thickness tears but the impingement had become chronic and would just not heal without surgery. She was in constant pain.

    My cortisone shots were for frozen shoulder/tendonitis. I am not a doctor so maybe getting this wrong, but from what I can remember I had one in the tendon which didn't do much, but the second one shot cortisone into the capsule and that one was literal heaven after a year of chronic pain. I don't recall them hurting much after the shot in either case. My range of motion was pretty limited already so can't really comment on that. I hope you get some relief out of it. Not gonna lie my daughter had one for her impingement problem and got maybe a week relief out of it. I feel like it really helped my problem though - I had one shoulder freeze completely and when the second one went bad I got shots right away and I feel that stopped it from progressing like the first one did. But I know that results are mixed with cortisone.

    I like your news haha. My dr suggested the downsloping acromion coupled with activities I have spent a lifetime doing are what have caused this because every time you move your arm it rubs and wears away. I suspect this happened with your daughter

    I read and the shots can cause pain right away. He was poking around to see where to put it and wow that hurt a lot. Hope this holds me over until I get to see the surgeon. He looks like a good one and treats the local sports teams and helped with the Olympic hockey team. I skate, if he understands why skaters need shoulders that helps.

    My dr basically told me I'm not allowed to do my team as the hold we use is not good for me :(

    Yep exactly what happened with my daughter.

    Do you skate synchro?

    I took up synchro skating about 15 or 16 years ago. I grew up skating but not synchro.

    Ah funny! I figure skated as kid and did synchro for a few years as well in my 30's. Yeah you def need your shoulders for that.

    Awesome!! It's fun and a nice way to continue skating with people. It's such a solitary sport.

    Shoulders are kind of important. My dr mimicked the action and was like ya that is not good don't do that
  • juanwilly
    juanwilly Posts: 100 Member
    Just diagnosed by MRI with several tears of the rotator cuff as well as adhesive capsulitis and appt with orth surgeon scheduled! Pain in lifting arm above shoulder level and with tasks like drying my hair, toweling off my back after showers, PUTTING ON/TAKING OFF T shirts, etc. Any up dates on your situations and/or recommendations for me? Pain is bad but have a high level of tolerance and stubbornness! Also just 11 months ago had a TKR and that is supposed to be one of the most painful surgeries and recoveries but I came thru that OK (back to jogging 12 minute miles)! Is this worse than a TKR?
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    Don't know what a TKR is but I had 2 rotator cuff surgeries and they weren't that bad to me.
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    juanwilly wrote: »
    Just diagnosed by MRI with several tears of the rotator cuff as well as adhesive capsulitis and appt with orth surgeon scheduled! Pain in lifting arm above shoulder level and with tasks like drying my hair, toweling off my back after showers, PUTTING ON/TAKING OFF T shirts, etc. Any up dates on your situations and/or recommendations for me? Pain is bad but have a high level of tolerance and stubbornness! Also just 11 months ago had a TKR and that is supposed to be one of the most painful surgeries and recoveries but I came thru that OK (back to jogging 12 minute miles)! Is this worse than a TKR?

    I saw the surgeon I'll be getting surgery in October.

    I have hyper mobile joints so only I really nothing any issues with range of motion but the t shirt taking off if I cross my arm across my chest is horrible.

    He said no planks or weight bearing like that, i.e. push ups, no overhead press and no lateral raises. So upper body workouts aren't really much. I've also a bicep issue they need to check out

    He said 6 weeks in a sling and then 6-8 months until you're done rehab.

    Oh j had a cortisone shot. Took the edge off for a couple of weeks so not worth it at all. But for some it works might be worth a try. He said I'd you've tried therapy and shots and nothing takes it away surgery will take the pain away. Might not get full range of motion back but the pain will be gone good luck
  • swirlybee
    swirlybee Posts: 497 Member
    juanwilly wrote: »
    Just diagnosed by MRI with several tears of the rotator cuff as well as adhesive capsulitis and appt with orth surgeon scheduled! Pain in lifting arm above shoulder level and with tasks like drying my hair, toweling off my back after showers, PUTTING ON/TAKING OFF T shirts, etc. Any up dates on your situations and/or recommendations for me? Pain is bad but have a high level of tolerance and stubbornness! Also just 11 months ago had a TKR and that is supposed to be one of the most painful surgeries and recoveries but I came thru that OK (back to jogging 12 minute miles)! Is this worse than a TKR?
    TKR = total knee replacement? I haven't had any work done on my knee so I don't know how it compares.

    I "only" had adhesive capsulitis - no tears in my rotator cuff. The pain was unbearable. Cortisone shots helped for about three weeks and then pain came back.

    I'm about 3 weeks post-op and I'm about 90% back with my range of motion and getting better every day. Strength is still way down. I'm not doing any real upper body workout except what I'm doing at PT - mostly standing rows and a bunch of different stretches. We were doing a workout last week where I would pass a 1 pound dumbbell from one hand to the other in a circular motion above my head and then behind my back. I thought it was going to be easy since it was just 1 pound, but it wasn't easy. At least I was able to raise my hand up, unlike before surgery. Crossing my arm across my chest is still difficult and hooking my bra behind my back is still impossible but I think I'm getting closer.

    Surgery was a good experience. I don't remember anything from the surgery at all. All I remember was hopping on to the surgery table and that was it. I don't remember being administered anesthesia. They gave me a nerve block on my shoulder and general anesthesia. Surgery took about an hour and I came to an hour after that. I wasn't loopy or anything but I was definitely in no condition to drive. My arm was completely numb for about 24 hours and it took about 48 hours for the nerve block to completely wear off. I wore my shoulder sling for two days. I was on pain meds for 7 days. There were 3 small incision points which was a little sensitive to the touch for about two weeks.
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    I had my rotator cuff repair on Wednesday.

    I woke up to the surgery fellow saying it was worse than anticipated. The surgeon eventually told me it was fully torn, that explains the day of constant pain I had and the other day when I couldn't use my hand. They looked at my bicep and it was fine. I decided that was a win.

    I too had a nerve block and was numb until about 2 am Thursday. I had the surgery at 10:30 am on the Wednesday. I had decided I didn't need the Percocet but woke up very uncomfortable and took the Percocet. I also was prescribed an ice/compression machine which might be helping with the recovery.

    The Percocet were horrible so I switched to extra strength advil on the Friday and today, 5 days post op, being home alone with my son, I only just took an advil to sleep because I just can't get comfy. I've 4 holes, one is bruised and tender so I assume that's where they went in to do the repair.

    All in all it was ok. I see him again next Tuesday and he said I should be able to stop wearing the sling 24/7 and start physio. He said I could be back skating laps in 6 weeks. My physio guy thinks this sounds like a very aggressive recovery plan so we shall see whether he was just being nice or its possible. I heard form every dr I'm very fit which will help with recovery. We shall see