Biceps Tenodesis

In March of 2018 I had a bicep tenodesis, a subacromial decompression, removal of bone spurs, and repair of a small rotator cuff tear. My tenodesis repair was a type where they place the relocated bicep tendon into a sleeve and pull it into a hole in the humerus with stitches; there was no peg involved like others have mentioned. I was in a sling for 6 weeks and restricted to light duty until week 13 when the tenodesis repair was considered fully healed. After 6 weeks in a sling my right arm had atrophied to the point of looking very thin, and I was somewhat concerned at that point. I am back in the pool 5 days a week now and slowly regaining ability, at about 50% yardage and intensity, doing a lot of kicking. Streamlining is still difficult and painful. I am guessing I have another 3-6 months to go until I am back to normal, but it feels good to be back in a swimming routine. I believe I can feel the effects of the decompression in the sense that my shoulder rotates freely and I feel no impingement or pain. I was told that I should do rotator cuff exercises every other day for the rest of my life or at least while I am actively swimming. I still go to physical therapy twice a week. I asked the therapist why the process hasn't been as painful as many describe, and I was told that I had an good outcome because I stuck with my prescribed post-surgery exercises and that I was physically active prior to surgery. I am confident I will be back to 100% at some point. The worst thing about the timing of the surgery was that I'd just swam my first meet in ~35 years and had a really fun time, and then I had to pause to fix a bum shoulder. I can't wait to go to another meet. Sorry if that's a wall of text but I thought some might like to know what the process is like. My understanding of rehab is that if you slack off and ignore the process for any length of time, it can really diminish your outcome.

In March of 2018 I had a bicep tenodesis, a subacromial decompression, removal of bone spurs, and repair of a small rotator cuff tear. My tenodesis repair was a type where they place the relocated bicep tendon into a sleeve and pull it into a hole in the humerus with stitches; there was no peg involved like others have mentioned. I was in a sling for 6 weeks and restricted to light duty until week 13 when the tenodesis repair was considered fully healed. After 6 weeks in a sling my right arm had atrophied to the point of looking very thin, and I was somewhat concerned at that point. I am back in the pool 5 days a week now and slowly regaining ability, at about 50% yardage and intensity, doing a lot of kicking. Streamlining is still difficult and painful. I am guessing I have another 3-6 months to go until I am back to normal, but it feels good to be back in a swimming routine. I believe I can feel the effects of the decompression in the sense that my shoulder rotates freely and I feel no impingement or pain. I was told that I should do rotator cuff exercises every other day for the rest of my life or at least while I am actively swimming. I still go to physical therapy twice a week. I asked the therapist why the process hasn't been as painful as many describe, and I was told that I had an good outcome because I stuck with my prescribed post-surgery exercises and that I was physically active prior to surgery. I am confident I will be back to 100% at some point. The worst thing about the timing of the surgery was that I'd just swam my first meet in ~35 years and had a really fun time, and then I had to pause to fix a bum shoulder. I can't wait to go to another meet. Sorry if that's a wall of text but I thought some might like to know what the process is like. My understanding of rehab is that if you slack off and ignore the process for any length of time, it can really diminish your outcome.