Rotator Cuff Survery -- The Recovery

[drp]

About a month ago I posted a question asking how long it takes to recover from rotator cuff surgery. By the responses, it was obvious that the answer to that question depends on a number of factors, namely severity of the injury. It was also apparent that a number of people had surgery in the past, were recovering, or were facing surgery in the future.

I had arthroscopic surgery on December 5th for what was a full thickness tear.

So, for those of you facing surgery or now just recovering this is how I’ve come back from it…

Three weeks following surgery I went for my first jog. I kept my elbow tight to my body to minimize movement. It was slow, it was short, and it was uncomfortable on my shoulder, but I didn’t re-injure it and felt fine the next day. Today, there is no discomfort when I run.

Three and half weeks post surgery I went for my first bike ride (20 miles). There was some discomfort getting into the aero position because I had lost some range of motion, but that came back quickly. Now there is no problem riding 60+ miles.

Today, 5 weeks and 3 days post surgery, was my first day back in the pool (which was the “big test”). Now it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t fast but I was actually able to pull a little with the repaired shoulder. It was obviously pretty weak but there was no discomfort at all (like I had expected).

I was a little worried about the recovery process and had put the shoulder surgery off for a long time. Looking back, I should have just had the surgery and been done with it.

Hope this helps some of you recoving and/or facing the same type of surgery.

[Cyclingmaniac]

About a month ago I posted a question asking how long it takes to recover from rotator cuff surgery. By the responses, it was obvious that the answer to that question depends on a number of factors, namely severity of the injury. It was also apparent that a number of people had surgery in the past, were recovering, or were facing surgery in the future.

I had arthroscopic surgery on December 5th for what was a full thickness tear.

So, for those of you facing surgery or now just recovering this is how I’ve come back from it…

Three weeks following surgery I went for my first jog. I kept my elbow tight to my body to minimize movement. It was slow, it was short, and it was uncomfortable on my shoulder, but I didn’t re-injure it and felt fine the next day. Today, there is no discomfort when I run.

Three and half weeks post surgery I went for my first bike ride (20 miles). There was some discomfort getting into the aero position because I had lost some range of motion, but that came back quickly. Now there is no problem riding 60+ miles.

Today, 5 weeks and 3 days post surgery, was my first day back in the pool (which was the “big test”). Now it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t fast but I was actually able to pull a little with the repaired shoulder. It was obviously pretty weak but there was no discomfort at all (like I had expected).

I was a little worried about the recovery process and had put the shoulder surgery off for a long time. Looking back, I should have just had the surgery and been done with it.

Hope this helps some of you recoving and/or facing the same type of surgery.

Hey drp!

That sounds great! I had open shoulder surgery and it was 4 weeks before I started physical therapy. Has the doctor ordered up any physical therapy for you or cleared you to start swimming? If you haven’t talked with the doc about it, I would recommend it. Even though you may feel fine, you may still be healing. You don’t want to rip up the shoulder by getting out there too soon! Fortunately, the recovery for arthoscopic surgery is much shorter! Best of luck on your recovery…I’m jealous!

[7summits]

About a month ago I posted a question asking how long it takes to recover from rotator cuff surgery. By the responses, it was obvious that the answer to that question depends on a number of factors, namely severity of the injury. It was also apparent that a number of people had surgery in the past, were recovering, or were facing surgery in the future.

I had arthroscopic surgery on December 5th for what was a full thickness tear.

So, for those of you facing surgery or now just recovering this is how I’ve come back from it…

Three weeks following surgery I went for my first jog. I kept my elbow tight to my body to minimize movement. It was slow, it was short, and it was uncomfortable on my shoulder, but I didn’t re-injure it and felt fine the next day. Today, there is no discomfort when I run.

Three and half weeks post surgery I went for my first bike ride (20 miles). There was some discomfort getting into the aero position because I had lost some range of motion, but that came back quickly. Now there is no problem riding 60+ miles.

Today, 5 weeks and 3 days post surgery, was my first day back in the pool (which was the “big test”). Now it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t fast but I was actually able to pull a little with the repaired shoulder. It was obviously pretty weak but there was no discomfort at all (like I had expected).

I was a little worried about the recovery process and had put the shoulder surgery off for a long time. Looking back, I should have just had the surgery and been done with it.

Hope this helps some of you recoving and/or facing the same type of surgery.

So you actually had a full tear and your doctor allowed you to run after 3 weeks, biking at 3.5 and you are swimming at 5 weeks? That is just crazy.

I am on my 17th week of surgery and I will hopefully will be cleared to start swimming on the 22nd of this month. I did not have a full tear, in fact they did not have to repair my rotator. They just did a subacromial decompression which basically means they shave down part of my bone.

My doctor and I talked about a full tear repair and he told me my arm would be immobile for 5 weeks and that it would be a 6 - 9 month recovery period. I tend to trust his opinion since he does the all the surgeries for the Twins and Vikings players.

So, glad to hear all went really well for you. I don’t think your situation is normal at all.

[drp]

I think my condition was pretty mild and maybe even unusual (basing this on what I’ve experienced compared to others, not what the doctor has said). The doctor told me to get it out of the sling and start stretching it the day after surgery to avoid scar tissue build up.

He really wanted me to wait until 4+ weeks post surgery to start any type of activity (other than stretching) but I just couldn’t wait. I know I should always follow doctor’s orders but, like most of us, I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing. Unfortunately, my past motocross injuries (and other surgeries) have taught me a lot about my body and how it heals so I think I have a pretty good idea of what I can and cannot do when recovering. With that said, I also know I want to recover properly for longevity sake so I don’t do anything that I feel can jeopardize that.

I had recently been through 6 weeks of rehab on it as well (trying to avoid surgery) so I think that may have helped me recover a little faster.

I go back to the ortho on the 14th so we’ll see what he says. I’m planning on doing an Oly on March 8th so I’m hoping I get the ok for that.

[7summits]

I think my condition was pretty mild and maybe even unusual (basing this on what I’ve experienced compared to others, not what the doctor has said). The doctor told me to get it out of the sling and start stretching it the day after surgery to avoid scar tissue build up.

He really wanted me to wait until 4+ weeks post surgery to start any type of activity (other than stretching) but I just couldn’t wait. I know I should always follow doctor’s orders but, like most of us, I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing. Unfortunately, my past motocross injuries (and other surgeries) have taught me a lot about my body and how it heals so I think I have a pretty good idea of what I can and cannot do when recovering. With that said, I also know I want to recover properly for longevity sake so I don’t do anything that I feel can jeopardize that.

I had recently been through 6 weeks of rehab on it as well (trying to avoid surgery) so I think that may have helped me recover a little faster.

I go back to the ortho on the 14th so we’ll see what he says. I’m planning on doing an Oly on March 8th so I’m hoping I get the ok for that.

Good luck man. Hope all goes well.

The last 4 months for me have been brutal. It still feels pretty tight and I am worried about how it will feel when I start swimming. Shoulder injuries are terrible!

[TDOG]

which muscle did you tear? how long were you injured for before you had the surgery? were you able to swim at all with the tear?

[cmars]

And we wonder why the incidence of re-tear on rotator cuff repairs range from 20-40% Pretty bad idea putting tension on a freshly sutured repair, hope it was a small full thickness tear.

[drp]

Saw the ortho today (about 6 weeks post surgery). As you may have imagined he was very pleased with my progress and said I was ahead of the curve. He also cautioned me about pushing it too hard and that I needed to continue to focus on getting my full range of motion back (currently at about 90-95%). I can also start doing some very light lifting to strengthen the shoulder.

I talked to him in detail about running and swimming (biking was a no brainer based on his response to running and swimming) and he was supportive but cautioned me. The running is no big deal as long as I’m not moving the shoulder in some extreme fashion and I work my way up to longer distances (pretty obvious). I was a little scared about his response to me swimming but he said go for it. Again, I need to avoid any sudden movements and any excessive reaching (stretching).

He also reinforced (which I mentioned in a previous post) that those who know their bodies well can usually recover better because they know when they can push it and when they need to back off and take a break. Listening to your body is a great help but apparently there are some that have a hard time with this (don’t know when to stop or dont’ know when to push it).

By the way, I’m not seeing a physical therapist this go around. I spent 6 weeks rehabbing the shoulder (to try and avoid surgery) in the summer and wrote down everything I did. He said to just continue with those exercises and I should be fine. I would highly recommend physical therapy though because it helped me tremendously.

[jeffcubos]

That’s great.

My only suggestion from a clinical point of view is that you make sure not to over do it.

5 weeks out, you still have the potential of tearing the repair so for long term health and performance, stay conservative. You’ll have a good idea of how you’re shoulder is at 12 weeks, while 6 months is considered your maximum medical recovery. So, at 12 weeks if its great, you’re on your way. If not, you’ll know for sure at 6 months.

[matthansontri]

I had a bankhart repair (to repair a SLAP lesion) on my shoulder a while back. They also did a capsular shrinkage. After 6 months, I felt 100% and had regained 95% strength back. I have no pain while swimming. My only problem is when I don’t have lines to start at, I can’t swim straight. I don’t know how to fix this dilemma.

[bt]

Wow…Your doc is obviously not as conservative as mine is. Glad to hear things are going well, and like the other posters, just take care to not re-tear anything.

I’m 8 weeks, 2 days post op from arthroscopic repair of my supraspinatus (full thickness tear) and acromioplasty. Have pretty good range of motion…still working on external rotation…which, I have discovered while riding the trainer, will be important in getting my arms back in good position on the aerobars. Still feel some soreness when doing my PT/rehab exercises, which I do DAILY. Only took one day off, due to getting stuck travelling the weekend of the big snow/ice storm in the pac nw. I have to do a lot of the rehab on my own, since I travel for work, but my PT is good about giving me extra exercises to add in as needed.

I have only been “cleared” to ride the trainer. My doc originally told me 8 weeks until running. I’ll see him next week and should get the clearance to run then. I think I could have been running the last couple of weeks, but am respecting the doc’s decision, hard as it is. I’m a little nervous to get outside on the bike, but Coach Troy has been keeping me company. Not allowed in the pool yet, but my doc and physical therapist know that I am planning on racing tri starting in April (Lone Star!).

I think I heard too many stories of people re-tearing, so that is why I’ve gone along with the conservative approach, because I certainly don’t want to go through this again. After all, the doc knows how solid the repair is…I was sort of asleep during the whole thing. After the time off, I expect training to be more fun than last year, since I’ve been missing it.

The “exciting” things are…I can wear pullover tops again (was wearing all zip or button up sweaters and hoodies), and I can almost lay comfortably on the surgical side. The scars look pretty darn good.

[danimal_t]

Just for the sake of joining in on the post-surgery recovery stories, I’m 5 weeks out from my own Bankhart repair which means…I’m finally out of the sling, oh sweet freedom!

I’ve also been “sentenced” to the trainer since the sugery. Going to see the doc tomorrow, I’m hoping I can start running and cycling outside soon.