Rotator Cuff Tear Repair

Great answers and advice. Thanks. The more I research this the more I come to understand why some people might choose to live with the disability rather than go through the surgery and long rehab. Since I hope to have 30+ years of activity ahead of me, I am working on getting my mind wrapped around the challenge ahead. I have always liked a good challenge, so we shall see.

Hi Karen - glad you didn't hurt your neck or back. I am so sorry about your shoulder. The post from matysekj contains excellent advice. Early this spring I had a small labrum tear "cleaned up" and had removal of bone spurs, arthritis and scar tissue. I slept on our couch. I had my right shoulder repaired - so I slept on my left side while somewhat leaning towards the back of the couch. Have plenty of pillows to make you comfy. I was also offered the ice system at my Dr's but after shock of the sticker price of surgery - I was not interested in spending another $300. So, I went to my local mega sports store and purchased a sling designed to hold 2 gel ice packs to your shoulder. It was made out of a thick lycra and had Velcro to secure it in place. I purchased two more packs so I didn't have to wait for packs to freeze. I spent $20. It was great. Ice as much as possible and take your meds like clockwork. I am now doing 3000 yard workouts and playing it safe because I too want to go to Indy. :) Don't try to rush getting back into the water - take your time and heal well. Good luck to you - please PM me with any questions! Take care!

Hi Karen, My surgery was 10 years ago and seems similar to Jim's. I had one biodegradable screw and one permanent metal staple inserted. My surgery was in early Feb. 2003. All of Jim's points are well taken. Surgery was on my non-dominant arm and you can't lift anything heavier than a teacup. I was single at the time and figured out how to do all sorts of chores like taking taking out the trash or changing the cat's litter box by using my good arm, legs, and torso. You get very creative. DEFINITELY get the icing sleeve that wraps around your shoulder and attaches to an ice-filled cooler that pumps continuous cold water around the joint. It's worth whatever the cost may be. Started Codman pendulum exercises within a few days of the surgery and some other basic movements. Rehab will be painful. Mine was aggressive and I exceeded my surgeon's expectations on recovery time. Initially I walked briskly with arm in sling just to do something active. Back in the pool at about 6 weeks with arm at side doing kicking and one arm swimming. Eventually progressed to sidestroke and elementary backstroke. The first competitive stroke I could swim was breaststroke which is sort of a cruel joke when the evil stroke is by far your worst one. Next came backstroke. I did manage to swim at LC Nats six months post surgery. Only backstroke and my biggest fear was the crowds in the warmup pool banging into my arm. It was a small Nationals and I was fortunate to place 2nd, 4th, and 5th. By 10 months out I was swimming all four strokes and was faster. By the next year I was almost back to my previous speed. Be forewarned that the MRI may not show full extent of your damage. Based on the MRI, my surgeon said the surgery would be about an hour and I'd be back to swimming in about 3-4 weeks. Once he scoped the shoulder and looked around, surgery took almost two hours and it was about 3-4 months before I was doing anything that resembled real swimming. My surgery was when I aged up to 50 so we must be the same age. While it's a bummer to miss out on your age-up year, you can totally recover and swim almost as fast as before. I currently train about 4,000 meters five times per week and my surgical shoulder feels great (knock on wood). Good luck with your surgery and recovery. Karlene

Just over 12 weeks out after surgical repair for a torn/avulsed labrum (Bankart tear). I started kicking just under 6 weeks out and still am today, but hopefully I get clearance for breaststroke next week. There is a meet in late April that my coach thinks that I'll be ready for (ie, perhaps a short breaststroke and/or free event) but I'm skeptical. If I am able to attend, it will be 24 weeks post-surgery. Lots of good info above...my experience thus far is similar. It was hard to get answers for many questions I had before the surgery, because they couldn't really say what the full extent of the damage was without getting in there first. Luckily for me, my damage was also "clean" and fairly minimal (only needed 3 anchors, which is considered minimal for repairing an avulsion - but that is a lot more than just a clean-up). I'm not sure if a 1cm tear in the supraspintatus is considered minimal or severe (perhaps a good question to ask) - but that will likely affect your recovery time. Since in recovery, I've found that getting my strength back as been easy compared to getting my range back. They tightened me up real good, but I'd say I'm at 70-80% range right now. I've actually been keeping a blog throughout the whole process, so if you want the full details feel free to check it out by clicking on my info. I will also emphasize the icing component. I did have the pump system and was pretty much hooked up to it for 3 days straight after the surgery. I do believe it helped a LOT, but watch out for freezer burn! Also, get some new fins and a snorkel, and be prepared for your legs to be in pain ALL the time. :)

That stinks, Karen. Sounds like a very adventurous accident - glad you're ok. Hope you get some good answers and that your recovery is speedy. My dad tore his rotator cuff playing tennis a couple years ago (he's 84 now) and he's back to playing tennis now. I'll ask if he has any thoughts for you.

Any tips? what questions should I ask the surgeon? Thanks, Karen sorry to hear this. ask how many holes will they open? will they provide (rent or buy) a polartech ice pump unit for your shoulder? how long will you be immobile? what dates can you expect to start using it? who will be your rehab center? what is their stance on rebuilding scapula control (not strength, but control) ? paper or plastic? :D steve p.s. if done very soon you could be ready for MVN nats.

Jim's surgeon, Dr. Derek Cuff (yes, that's his real name), did a study to test out two different theories regarding appropriate physical therapy during the first 12 weeks after surgery. "Prospective randomized study of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using an early versus delayed postoperative physical therapy protocol," by Derek J. Cuff, MD, and Derek R. Pupello, MBA He gave me permission to post his paper, which appeared in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, in our forums. It is attached to this post. If I understood his explanation, the outcome of the study was that it is better not to do much physical therapy during the first 12 weeks post-op. Anna Lea Matysek

Thanks for the questions, Steve. And yes Amy, there is quite a story. Not exactly how I had planned to celebrate 60.

A couple more comments after reading Jim's full post above. First, about the ice bag - we bought one at Walgreen's. It was worth the $12.00 or whatever it cost. It's much more durable than trying to use plastic bags. I think we bought the medium size and Jim wished that we had bought the larger size. Also, I think that almost all of Jim's swimming yardage at this point is still with fins, so make sure you have a couple of pairs that you like. Anna Lea

If I understood his explanation, the outcome of the study was that it is better not to do much physical therapy during the first 12 weeks post-op. Anna Lea Matysek I actually did a bit of research on this prior to surgery. What my brief meta-analysis found is that there isn't really a consensus on which is better: PT ASAP or PT later. A few studies found that patients who started PT ASAP generally felt better / returned to normal functioning life sooner, but it did not affect the long-term outcomes. That said, my doc wanted me to start PT within a week after surgery (which I did).