I am interested in hearing any stories or advice from people who have undergone supraspinatus tear repair. I recently suffered a 1 cm "clean tear" during an incident when I was tumbled by a rogue wave down a lava wall. The good news is I survived with no neck or head injuries, only abrasions and - the bad news - a messed up shoulder, which will require surgical repair "sooner rather than later".
I know the recovery from this is slow but can be successful. So while I am very sad I will miss several months of swimming, I am optimistic about getting back to it this summer.
Any tips? what questions should I ask the surgeon?
Thanks, Karen
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
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
