My doctor thinks I have a labral tear. It may not be torn too badly since apparently it wasn't obvious on the MRI. I took three months off of swimming before seeing the doctor - I figured it would get better on its own, but it didn't.
I've done about 4 weeks of physical therapy and will do another two before seeing the doctor again. My range of motion and rotator cuff muscle strength have definitely improved, but the impingement pain and shoulder clicking during freestyle recovery motion is still there. My doctor suggested that after 6 weeks of physical therapy he'd have a better idea if surgery would be necessary. Two weeks to go...
In searching this and other forums, it seems that physical therapy doesn't do the trick for most swimmers with labral tears, and they end up in surgery. Or maybe those that choose surgery just like to post more about it?
If you've recovered from a labral tear without surgery, let me know! I'm willing to do many more months of physical therapy if I think I can avoid surgery!
Brian
Anyone out here have successful labrum repair surgery and now back to awesome satisfying swimming? I don't have to be Superwoman; I would just like to do workouts again. My arm hurts other times, too, like when washing my hair or in some positions putting any pressure on it.
Any really cool success stories out there? This surgeon is highly recommended by my coach and the surgeon's assistant says she is very conservative when it comes to recommending surgery.
.
I had a torn labrum and slight tear in the rotator cuff which was diagnosed in June 2009. I started out with Physical Therapy and made mild progress, but I could tell that it was not good enough to be able to swim without pain so I decided to try the surgery. In the weeks before the surgery, my doctor allowed me to swim "because I couldn't injure it any more". I swam for a couple of weeks until the pain made it impossible to complete a workout. I had a labrum repair surgery while also having some bone spurs removed in September. By late December, I made enough progress with PT to get back in the water and started working out with the team at the beginning of January. At first, I was quite weak, but used Zoomers to keep up with my lane mates. By February, I was able to keep up with without Zoomers. I did not experience any pain that I can recall. By March, I was able to swim in a meet and far exceeded my expectations and even made some personal bests.
My overall assessment was that I really needed the surgery to fix the tear but also to get rid of the bone spurs. The Physical Therapy only worked after the surgery. I am back to swimming 5 to 6 times a week 3200-4000 yds per practice. Let me know if you need any additional information that would ease your mind.
Anyone out here have successful labrum repair surgery and now back to awesome satisfying swimming? I don't have to be Superwoman; I would just like to do workouts again. My arm hurts other times, too, like when washing my hair or in some positions putting any pressure on it.
Any really cool success stories out there? This surgeon is highly recommended by my coach and the surgeon's assistant says she is very conservative when it comes to recommending surgery.
.
I had a torn labrum and slight tear in the rotator cuff which was diagnosed in June 2009. I started out with Physical Therapy and made mild progress, but I could tell that it was not good enough to be able to swim without pain so I decided to try the surgery. In the weeks before the surgery, my doctor allowed me to swim "because I couldn't injure it any more". I swam for a couple of weeks until the pain made it impossible to complete a workout. I had a labrum repair surgery while also having some bone spurs removed in September. By late December, I made enough progress with PT to get back in the water and started working out with the team at the beginning of January. At first, I was quite weak, but used Zoomers to keep up with my lane mates. By February, I was able to keep up with without Zoomers. I did not experience any pain that I can recall. By March, I was able to swim in a meet and far exceeded my expectations and even made some personal bests.
My overall assessment was that I really needed the surgery to fix the tear but also to get rid of the bone spurs. The Physical Therapy only worked after the surgery. I am back to swimming 5 to 6 times a week 3200-4000 yds per practice. Let me know if you need any additional information that would ease your mind.
