Shoulder Surgery

[seataccat]

Is there anyone out there that can give me some words of wisdom? Encouragement, discouragement, success or horror stories?

I took a couple hard spills with an outstretched arm on the ice back in February playing pickup hockey and the MRI says it’s a labral tear. It has really been bothering me ever since and it looks like I will have surgery sometime in September. The doctor is supposed to be good; he is one of the team orthopedic surgeons for the Everett Silvertips Hockey Team. He specializes in shoulders and deals with rotator cuffs and labrums all the time.

I had a pec tear in the late 80’s back in Bozeman which really sucked, it was major surgery. Even though I was young, it still laid me up for almost a year doing rehab and I did not regain all of my range of motion or strength... I am hoping for better luck now with the labrum surgery.

[3rdGenerationcat]

my wife did it a few years back from playing soccer from childhood to college the surgury took forever but they managed to fix the whole thing ortho style she was in some pretty good pain for three weeks and after that just alot of rehab and PT work she's 100% now

[KittieKop]

I broke my right arm (humerous), just below the head/shoulder socket in 2002, and have pretty much had issues with my shoulder since then. Been through 3 rounds of therapy and a shoulder decompression surgery last year to clean out deposits and fix an impingement. I can say the recovery from the ortho surgery was not fun by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a far cry better than the recovery from the inital break. My advice:

Whatever they prescribe you for pain killers - take them, and take them regularly and on schedule. Don't wait for the pain to come, then dose, cause its too late. Don't be a tough guy. Also helps with my second point:

Don't know how invasive your surgery is, but a shoulder is one of those that makes it difficult to sleep at night. Find a comfortable recliner - I spent the better part of a month sleeping there after my break, and 3-4 nights there after the ortho. Unless you love to sleep sitting up, the pain killers help you to actually sleep a little too.

Buy an ice bag - I imagine they will be telling you to ice the hell out of it afterwards. I don't mean one of those reusable blue ice type of things, buy a good refillable old-style water bottle-looking thing. That worked best for me.

Stick to your rehab/therapy exercises - assuming you have them - they definitely speed up the recovery. I can say when I came out of my initial first round of therapy, I had better range of motion in the "broken" arm/shoulder than I had in the "good" one.

Don't know if that's a lot of encouragement; the first couple days aren't fun, but recovery for me was fairly fast. For mine, I think I was back to work in about 10 days or so.

Oh, did I mention, oxycontin is your friend

[BozoneCat]

Well, as both a physical therapist and as someone who underwent a labral SLAP repair two years ago, I have PLENTY of thoughts on the matter! Feel free to PM me before/after your surgery with any questions, I'm happy to help as best I can.

Personally, my surgery was relatively a breeze. I was back in the gym the day after surgery - not lifting with my repaired arm, but riding the bike and lifting weights with my other side. I really didn't have much pain, I only needed ibuprofen or Tylenol after the 2nd day post-op. Not all surgeries are equal, so don't worry if other people had a miserable pain experience after shoulder surgery, it doesn't mean you will. If it is "only" a labral tear, you won't generally have near as much pain as if they have to do a tenodesis or if you had a torn rotator cuff. Take the pain meds as needed, and certainly to help you rest, but only as long as you really need them. Ice like crazy! If you can get your hands on a compression ice machine (CryoCuff), buy or borrow it! I have three, and I lend them out to my patients all the time. Lastly, find a good physical therapist who specializes in shoulders (not necessarily just the closest to where you live or work), and stick to the program he/she puts you on. And follow your M.D.'s precautions to the letter!

[Billings_Griz]

Had a bone spur removed from shoulder. It was just starting to rub on my rotator. Doc said no need to do MRI for cuff damage as the spur needed to be removed. He said if the cuff was torn he'd fix once he got in there.

Luckily, no cuff damage. Was on ice/in sling for 2-3 weeks and then rehab.

Mine was probably as minimum as one could have w/ shoulder surgery but I do have 2 words of advice:

1) ICE/DON'T USE (sling)
2) REHAB, REHAB, REHAB...I slacked a little and I was about 4-6 months behind. Took me 18 months to get it back close to 100%.

[bobcat mom]

i agree with BozoneCat. I am also a PT, SLAP injury repairs have come along way. Just be sure your surgeon specializes in shoulders not a general ortho who does everything. You really don"t want to be his 2nd or 3rd repair of the year. The recliner is good advise, and ice , ice, ice. that will give you the most relief. I also agree to seek out a PT who has sports background. You"ll do great as long as you work hard. Get your motion back then follow the docs and PTs schedule for rehab and you"ll have a good outcome. Good Luck... work hard!

[ChiOCat]

Have you had the surgery yet?

If/when your PT approves it I would recommend Stott Pilates, one of the main focuses is shoulder stability. You can find gyms that teach it at http://www.stottpilates.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and DVDs for at home in the Merchandise section. I would recommend a basic mat or stretch band to help strengthen and stabilize the shoulder joint.

[seataccat]

Thanks everyone for all the advice, I had my surgery last week. It turned out I had a pretty badly torn labrum which required four anchors. He also scraped my acromoin to relieve the bursitis that I had due to the impingement as well as scrapped a few bone spurs. I went without the shoulder nerve block on some advice which left me very sore after the surgery. It was quite painful until my stomach was settled enough to take oral pain killer. I used the oral pain killer oxycotin for two days but have been without it since except for some anti inflammatory. I have been using lots of ice for pain relief as well. I have been moving it around for a few days and will be starting physical therapy some time in the near future.

[BozoneCat]

Sounds like it went well, or as well as it can go. No way around the post-op pain, ice and meds are the best you can do there. While you're laid up at home, I do recommend getting up and at least going for a few walks throughout the day - sitting around on your ass all day doesn't do anyone any good. I was back in the gym the day after surgery, riding a stationary bike and lifting weights on my good side. But my post-op pain wasn't that bad either. Good luck with rehab!

[KittieKop]

Thanks everyone for all the advice, I had my surgery last week. It turned out I had a pretty badly torn labrum which required four anchors. He also scraped my acromoin to relieve the bursitis that I had due to the impingement as well as scrapped a few bone spurs. I went without the shoulder nerve block on some advice which left me very sore after the surgery. It was quite painful until my stomach was settled enough to take oral pain killer. I used the oral pain killer oxycotin for two days but have been without it since except for some anti inflammatory. I have been using lots of ice for pain relief as well. I have been moving it around for a few days and will be starting physical therapy some time in the near future.

Good luck with the rehab! Hang in there.