Shoulder Injury - Labrum Tear

Heal quickly, Kip but be patient. Rich

If anyone's curious what it looks like I've posted the arthroscopic videos of my SLAP tear repair here. Keep in mind it was diagnosed as a SLAP tear, but once the orthopod got in he discovered a torn rotator cuff, torn bicep tendon, and bone spur as well. Two weeks out ... not much to report yet.

Dennis, I had labrum tears ( anterior and superior) , bicep tendon reattachment and Sub-acromial decompression work done 8/8/13. I just finished 23,400 yds on 12 swims in November.All strokes but fly. Rehab the heck out of it . I elected to move forward with the surgery even after being able to continue swimming . Long term, the labrum does not heal. there will be some work for you to do, but 4-6 months is nothing for several more years of swimming. BTW, mine was arthroscopic and done at the Andrews Sports medicine institute in Birmingham. Dr. Lyle Cain. He's a superstar and arthro expert. Good luck to you. Send a PM if you want to discuss further. Lin in Alabama

Kip, welcome to the old fast guy with torn up shoulder(s) club. very sorry to hear you have joined the ranks. maybe we can have a special heat at Nats for those of us with "extra" parts inside holding us together. my right shoulder is starting to look like it should have Lego stamped on it from all the plastic inside. if you want any tips feel free to email/pm me. i'll gladly tell you or anybody what all i went through on my now 2 recoveries. steve

I truely feel that my problems have been caused be an inbalance in body strength, posture, and flexibility. Balance is indeed the name of the game here, Dennis. Maintaining the proper balance between strength and proper stroke technique is extremely important to continue a consistent swimming regimen without injuries. Many swimmers ignore the necessity of developing proper stroke technique until an injury finally happens. A physical therapist I know told me that people tend to avoid practicing proper training (whether swimming or otherwise) in favor of sheer strength, until after they get injured, when they finally wake up to the realization that proper execution is just as important. Prevention should be a primary focus in swimming, through learning correct technique and incorporating variety into workouts. Hopefully other swimmers will take heed! Good luck in your continued recovery.

I have been a daily swimmer for ten years. Before that I ran and, before that it was basketball. I'm 64 and have had on and off shoulder problems in my right (dominant) arm ever since I can remember. I began to have sleep related issues a year or so ago and finally decided to have it looked at. The MRI revealed a labrum tear and the pod felt surgery was the only way to go. I shattered my left leg in 8th grade and broke my back (T-6 compression fracture) in 75. I know I am a very lucky person to be able to have been this active and want to keep it up. I scheduled the surgery, came home and researched the recovery and decided to put it off. This was all this week and now, after more research, I'm more and more convinced I'm going to have to have it. These discussions are great but the common thread is that there is no common thread. we'll alkl have to decide what's best for us with the information we have. I think the licker for me was a presentation by a Duke orthopod to a group of seniors. www.dukehealth.org/.../shoulder_pain_causes_and_treatments Her makes a clear differentiation between active shoulder pain (I have no pain when I swim, and shoulder pain that messes with your sleep. Mine is the latter and I am getting closer to thinking 1. If I want to keep swimming I have to fix it 2. it's the only way to help with the sleep. I appreciate this sire and this thread.