Hello All,
I am a 29 year old female who was been struggling with right shoulder pain for the last 6 months. I went to my Dr. in Sep and they wanted a MRI done. The MRI showed that I have a labral tear and a frayed super supraspinatus. I went and saw 2 different orthopedic surgeons. One said I would never swim again and the other said he could do the repair, but I will have VERY limited range of motion and it may "blow out" again and I will have to have the surgery redone in a few years.
I am a long distance open water swimmer. I love to swim 5ks, I am worried that this or any kind of swimming will no longer be possible for me if I have this surgery. I have been going to PT and have stopped swimming because it hurts so bad. PT is really not helping, but makes me feel like I am doing something.
Can anyone tell me about the good and the bad behind this surgery if you or someone you know has had it?
How long did you have to stop swimming for? Could you ( overtime) get back to your regular swimming routine? What steps did you take after surgery to get you back into the pool?
Thanks so much for your help!
Former Member
I can't really advise you, but damn, I feel for you. Good luck.
sunruh has it right. That's crazy that you would get that kind of info from your doc. I wasn't swimming prior to my bicep tenodesis and rotator cuff surgery. When I got back into swimming I reached out my doctor to make sure I was clear to do it. Here is his response.
There shouldn’t be any limitations from my perspective. You can push your shoulder as you would, such as swimming. I guess it is possible that you are slightly more susceptible to injury than before surgery, but even that’s probably not true. I would just take it easy getting into new activities or old activities that you haven’t done for a while. Common sense stuff; effectively you don’t need to take into consideration that you had surgery.
Get another opinion, because it shouldn't be the end of your swimming career.
holy inept surgeons batman
1st off, shocked the mri showed the labral tear..usually it cannot
my 1st mri did not
the 2nd arthogram mri (dye injection) did not either
any idea how you tore it?
never swim again...what an idiot...avoid like they have the plague
limited range of motion? yeah if they use a chainsaw or let a bear naw on you
good grief charlie brown
you need to find an ortho that works on baseball pitchers
you can start healing the supraspinatus now...look up the 3-4 band exercises and maybe overhead pulleys
depending on your tear range, mine was 10 - 2, and your young age you may be able to have just anchors
but you really need to find a shoulder ortho...not these wannabe hack jobs
steve
you can start healing the supraspinatus now...look up the 3-4 band exercises and maybe overhead pulleys
Yes, good to familiarize yourself with the 4 rotator cuff muscles, function, their attachment points, and how they work with the scapula for stable arm range of motion with swimming or anything else in that matter
Also avoid anything that causes pain not related to lactic acid
I agree with sunruh. I had surgery to repair a torn labrum when I was 34. I'm 50 and swimming just fine. It took 1 year to get back to racing, 2 years to get right back to where I was prior to the surgery.
Please get another opinion! Never trust doctors who are quick to jump to surgery and offer terminal advice. Even if you must undergo surgery, there are a myriad of options post-surgery that can help you regain range-of-motion in your shoulder.
Cosign everyone that has said find another surgeon, look for one that treats athletes.
I had labral in my hip and had surgery to repair. I can no longer run (running doesn't hurt) but the muscles get so tight around the hip that everything else hurts.
The recovery is long and slow. Good luck. I'm glad I did the surgery as day to day pain is gone.
holy inept surgeons batman
1st off, shocked the mri showed the labral tear..usually it cannot
my 1st mri did not
the 2nd arthogram mri (dye injection) did not either
Hmmm. My arthogram MRI seemed to find my tear just fine. Unfortunately. Surgery scheduled for March.
