Labral Tear Advice

I had the surgery for a torn labrum and slight rotator cuff tear on May 21, 2007. The 1st two months were real tough and involved in office PT 3 days per week for me. In addition, I did the prescribed PT at home 2-3 times a day for several months. Around the end of June I was doing some very light swimming which seemed to have a favorable effect on my recovery. Around the beginning of September my doctor gave me the green light and I began to swim more yardage. I swam with fins which a great swimmer PT friend suggested I do. The fins make a big difference. I am still doing most of my workout (which is on M, W, F) with the fins on. I try to take them off for portions of the workout. I have a goal to get rid of them by January. I did gain 15 lbs. That could have been avoided if I were better diciplined :). The weight room at the college where I workout had recumbant stationary bikes. I was able to ride those and keep my arm immobilized. I was also able to use some of the leg weight machines too. That has been my experience up till now. Hope all goes well with yours.

I had a torn labrum, and didn't get surgery. My suggestion would be to find out the orthopod's name who works with the UCLA and USC teams. You want a surgeon who sees lots of elite swimmers. He or she will best be able to tell if you'll get better or worse from the surgery. My tear healed on its own, but it was about 8 months (or more) before I was back in the water. I'm lead to believe that sometimes these injuries heal themselves, and surgery can sometimes make things worse. PT was useless for me, but I mostly blame the facility I went to. The best PT clinic in my area wasn't covered by my insurance.

i had a labral tear in my right shoulder (jiu-jitsu) i was able to swim fine but it seemed to "catch" a bit with each rotation. had surgery.......two staples now reside there. was back in the water after 2 weeks doing sdk's and 1 arm stuff. 6 weeks.........both arms.

Hi, I'm 18 and it has just been confirmed that I have a type two Slap tear on my right shoulder. I've been swimming fine with it (only minor pain during intense fly/back workouts) for about a year with physio. A couple of weeks ago I was swimming in a competition and as I hit the wall comming in from 50free, I felt my shoulder twist. The next day the pain was so bad I had to get out during warm up and miss the rest of the meet. After seeing specialists, it seems surgery is the only answer, as I tore ligaments in the second injury. I have been told it is not too painful and after 6 weeks in a sling and about 4-5 months out of the water, I should be ready for training again. I have a competition this weekend and my coach is prepared to support my choice of swimming or not...I'm wondering if the estimations on recovery are correct and if after the five months if I'll be ry to compete in a regular season. My mom feels the sooner the better for surgery as it's only going to get worse, although I'm quite reluctant. Is it worth it? Is total movement regained? Does it affect preformance in any stroke?

Is it worth it? Is total movement regained? Does it affect preformance in any stroke? These are important but very difficult questions. There are a lot of technical issues such as: just how bad is your injury, does the surgery go as expected, what is the technical skill of your surgeon.... What I'm suggesting is that it would be very difficult to extrapolate someone else's experience to your situation. I think you have to rely on the answers you get from your Orthopedist. If you aren't for some reason comfortable with what you're hearing, get another opinion.