Hi, asking for a fellow swimmer who has been struggling with a shoulder injury and was diagnosed as having a frozen shoulder this fall. Her first consult suggested a complete replacement, while the second opinion suggested cortisone shots and put off surgery for a while. She has not been swimming since summer, and believes a fall let to a tear which got worse as she stopped using it due to pain. She knows her stroke needs work, when I last swam with her a few years ago I noticed her stroke crosses her center too much, which will put too much stress on the joint and cause impingement. She could have had both going on, impingement and an injury. Does anyone have experience or articles you have read you could share to help her make a decision on what to do? She wants to get back in the water when all is well, but does not know what her future will look like after a total shoulder re-due? Any advice is welcome. Thank you
I work as a physical therapist, but work with inpatients rather than outpatients so haven't done much shoulder rehab in years. From what I have seen though, return to swimming after shoulder replacement might be really tough -- perhaps not even possible. Shoulder replacements are not nearly as routine as hip or knee replacements and the results are more modest. Your friend should definitely be asking some very pointed questions about what results are expected and what long term restrictions there will be (activity limitations as well as range of motion limitations). Keep in mind that shoulder replacement is very major surgery and very invasive. It is usually only done if the cartilage is worn down and the joint is bone on bone. Rotator cuff surgery is an entirely different procedure and much less invasive so return to swimming after appropriate rehab is very feasible. "Frozen shoulder" is a bit of a catch all term, but if your friend has adhesive capsulitis she might want to ask about PT to go with those injections. In my region, people who have had knee or hip replacements are told to avoid high impact exercise such as running and jumping forever. I've never met a shoulder replacement patient who wanted to swim laps, although I do know one who SCUBA dives.
I work as a physical therapist, but work with inpatients rather than outpatients so haven't done much shoulder rehab in years. From what I have seen though, return to swimming after shoulder replacement might be really tough -- perhaps not even possible. Shoulder replacements are not nearly as routine as hip or knee replacements and the results are more modest. Your friend should definitely be asking some very pointed questions about what results are expected and what long term restrictions there will be (activity limitations as well as range of motion limitations). Keep in mind that shoulder replacement is very major surgery and very invasive. It is usually only done if the cartilage is worn down and the joint is bone on bone. Rotator cuff surgery is an entirely different procedure and much less invasive so return to swimming after appropriate rehab is very feasible. "Frozen shoulder" is a bit of a catch all term, but if your friend has adhesive capsulitis she might want to ask about PT to go with those injections. In my region, people who have had knee or hip replacements are told to avoid high impact exercise such as running and jumping forever. I've never met a shoulder replacement patient who wanted to swim laps, although I do know one who SCUBA dives.
