Shoulder Surgery

Tore my rotator cuff last summer, been dealing with it through physiotherapy, improved it, but never completely cured. A surgeon, MRI, other tests, they tell me they can fix it. I have daily pain from every day movements, simply reaching for something can be painful, so I figure I'll have the surgery done. The doctor says 6 weeks before I can even drive, 3 months or longer for full recovery, could take up to a year. Anyone gone through it, thoughts on recovery? I'd really like to be able to draw my bow.
Thanks

Are you having arthroscopic surgery? That's what I'm having for a torn rotor cuff and torn hip. Much less invasive; unfortunately full recovery can take 4-6 months. Normally wear a sling for 4-6 weeks. Not all surgeons can do it.
Saw the surgeon today for my new knee appt. Date will be a year away and 6-8 weeks recovery for that. Hoping it happens over the winter.

Getting old is such a joy. :(

more info for the shoulder:

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid...lder+surgery&*

Not on a shoulder,but,arthroscopic on both knees went very well. Now,it only hurts when it's going to rain. Good luck to you,Paul. If I ever find the guy that called these the "golden years",I'll slap him til his eyeballs rattle.LOL

I tore a rotator cuff and physio did not cure it. After the physio I started swimming 3 days a week while different options were examined and the surgery was scheduled for about 6 months out. Low and behold the swimming did the trick and by the time the surgery date rolled around I was able to cancel it as the cuff had healed completely.

Best of luck - hope you heal quick.

Tore rotator cuff a few years back...first surgeon was a class 1 arrogant hole...made lots of $$$$ of me for a year with useless cortisone shots and doctors notes for my work and short/long term disability...after a year this useless piece of said there was nothing he could do and sent me to another surgeon...within weeks of seeing new surgeon I was on operating table for almost 5 hours...after surgery the surgeon said he did best he could and had he seen me from the get go the results might have been different...basically I have limited movement but still have pain and will be like that until the day I die...if you are getting it done in Brampton PM me and i'll tell which useless piece of surgeon phucked me over to start off with...good luck with your surgery!

Sorry never had it done..yet.

Maybe plan a rifle hunt..

I fell off my pickup truck while unloading some firewood about 5 years ago - came down hard on my elbow and tore my rotator cuff - had MRI done to confirm this - was told that surgery would be needed but that a 100% fix was not certain - and yes a long recovery would be required - I couldn't lift my arm up without a lot of pain - I decided to forget the surgery and just kept trying to use arm as I normally would - as time went on I was able to lift my arm higher and higher - today I can totally use my arm and have no restrictions - the only thing that happens is sometimes at night when I'm sleeping and end up laying on that shoulder for a long time - my shoulder hurts - I can live with that -

I would get a few opinions before going under the knife. I've had shoulder issues for a few years as a result of weight training but have learned to manage the pain through a combination of rotator cuff exercises, rest, hot/cold compress and an anti inflammatory whenever necessary. Rotator cuff issues are finicky and can sometimes be rectified using different methods other than surgery. Try seeing a sports therapist, if you haven't already.

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Are you having arthroscopic surgery? That's what I'm having for a torn rotor cuff and torn hip. Much less invasive; unfortunately full recovery can take 4-6 months. Normally wear a sling for 4-6 weeks. Not all surgeons can do it.
Saw the surgeon today for my new knee appt. Date will be a year away and 6-8 weeks recovery for that. Hoping it happens over the winter.

Getting old is such a joy. :(

more info for the shoulder:

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid...lder+surgery&*

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That 6 to 8 weeks recovery is more like 6 to 8 months recovery for Knee replacement surgery.
Mine started to feel better after the 5th month, but a friend is into 8 months now and still not totally recovered, depends on the person a lot.
I guess i am fortunate as my surgeon said he normally takes 2 hours to replace a knee, I was on the table for 2 hours and 40 minutes due to the damage that was in my knee, my doctor had been treating me for arthritis all that time when i should have had the knee replaced two years ago according to the surgeon.
At least now , I do not have any pain in the knee joint , just in my muscles when I over work them due to the inactivety for those two years, however slowly the leg muscles are getting better/stronger, and the last visit with the surgeon he confirmed that all was well according to the xrays, the biggest thing I am happy with is that my left leg is no longer pointing out at 45 degrees, it now points straight forward just like the right leg.
I'll be glad when this weather gets better , I will be able to ride my bicycle around the concession, it is great exercise for the leg muscles as it is not a weight bearing one .

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Originally Posted by JoePa

I fell off my pickup truck while unloading some firewood about 5 years ago - came down hard on my elbow and tore my rotator cuff - had MRI done to confirm this - was told that surgery would be needed but that a 100% fix was not certain - and yes a long recovery would be required - I couldn't lift my arm up without a lot of pain - I decided to forget the surgery and just kept trying to use arm as I normally would - as time went on I was able to lift my arm higher and higher - today I can totally use my arm and have no restrictions - the only thing that happens is sometimes at night when I'm sleeping and end up laying on that shoulder for a long time - my shoulder hurts - I can live with that -

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Joe,
This is exactly what I did. I stepped on one of my grandkids toys and tried to avoid a stumble by steadying myself on the kitchen chair backrest
The chair took off like a scalded cat because of the felt pads beneath legs. Tore cuff really badly.
Had MRI done, contemplated surgery on advice of two surgeons. Needless to say they where not on the same page as to success and recovery time, up to one year I was told
So I decided to tough it out by using the arm more and more against the pain.
After 18 months now I have just about regained full function but for sure still know the injury was there.
Like waking up with some light pain.
One year not being able to go to camp and waste a year fishing and hunting was not an option.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

Had a torn rotator cuff playing hockey 1 year ago February. Have not shot a compound bow since. Shot a crossbow a couple times but that even hurt holding it up. I got into airguns in my in house archery range. Played hockey this past winter but still feel the odd twang in my shoulder. I have a 40lb compound bow I use in my indoor archery range when I decide it is full healed. Until then pellet guns will get me by. I am trying to let it heal verse surgery. I can now raise my arm right up into the air with no pain so I am getting ready to try my 40lb bow. Been 14 months. Good luck to you. CHEERS!

Interesting read. I should have said in my first post that there are tears and there are tears. Size of the tear make a big difference in the plan and the recovery.

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Interesting read. I should have said in my first post that there are tears and there are tears. Size of the tear make a big difference in the plan and the recovery.

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You are right but mine was bad and they said surgery is the only way to fix it. Glad I decided to talk to a lot of people that had surgery and everyone of them said if you can do without surgery go for it. Said with scar tissue once you have surgery you will be in having it redone every five years. CHEERS!

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Interesting read. I should have said in my first post that there are tears and there are tears. Size of the tear make a big difference in the plan and the recovery.

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Good point.

Oh one other thing - I was told that if you are going to have surgery the sooner the better - if you wait the chances of a successful outcome go down

Cut and paste from a recent review of Rotator Cuff Failure, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
NEJM is North Americas leading, premier, reputable medical journal:



It is unclear why some persons with rotator-cuff failure are symptomatic, whereas others with seemingly identical patterns of failure are asymptomatic. The optimal management of chronic degenerative rotator-cuff lesions remains uncertain, including the approach to exercise programs and the role of complementary therapies. It is unclear when surgical intervention is warranted; a survey of 539 orthopaedic surgeons showed remarkable inconsistency in perceptions about the indications for rotator-cuff surgery



In other words, nobody really knows the best interventional approach.
And that often means... stay away from surgeons... even if it takes a year or more... eventually it settles down and you'll be mostly OK again.

The shoulder froze up really bad in the beginning, physio helped a lot but hit a limit. They tell me the tear isn't that big but also that it will never heal on its own. Doing the anthro what ever surgery, says it will take 2 hours and then the recovery time, 6 weeks no driving, up to 3 months off work, but I have a desk job so hopefully less time.
This happened last June, a referral took until early this year, not bad I figured, an MRI first, a couple of x-rays, he figures there is a good change of a full recovery. Discussed the options, opted for the surgery, a call within a week and scheduled in for the end of this month.

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Originally Posted by johny

Cut and paste from a recent review of Rotator Cuff Failure, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
NEJM is North Americas leading, premier, reputable medical journal:



It is unclear why some persons with rotator-cuff failure are symptomatic, whereas others with seemingly identical patterns of failure are asymptomatic. The optimal management of chronic degenerative rotator-cuff lesions remains uncertain, including the approach to exercise programs and the role of complementary therapies. It is unclear when surgical intervention is warranted; a survey of 539 orthopaedic surgeons showed remarkable inconsistency in perceptions about the indications for rotator-cuff surgery



In other words, nobody really knows the best interventional approach.
And that often means... stay away from surgeons... even if it takes a year or more... eventually it settles down and you'll be mostly OK again.

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Interesting info . My rotor cuff tear has been 2 years now and I still can't put on the seatbelt or pull the covers up over my body, or................. I 'm going for the surgery. :)

Another thing to remember about a knee replacement is that the device only lasts about 10 years. I'm going for it at 70 now and hoping for 10 more active years - by 80 I won't care. :)

Paul: London is a year's wait. Why is service in Cambridge so quick?

Ladies and Gentlemen the Wife or Boss , whatever she goes by had her shoulder REPLACED last Nov. and let me tell you it is a long long healing process, I would say a year before she is even back to anywhere near 100 %. very slow process, she had her knees replaced 4 or 5 years ago and those both healed fine ....

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Another thing to remember about a knee replacement is that the device only lasts about 10 years. I'm going for it at 70 now and hoping for 10 more active years - by 80 I won't care.

Paul: London is a year's wait. Why is service in Cambridge so quick?

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My surgeon told me that knee replacements usually are good for 20 years, told me this two weeks ago.

Service in Cambridge is quick, possibly due to the fact that they CMH received an additional $ 850,000.00 plus last Sept. this allows them to do more operations.
A friend of ours is an OR nurse at CMH she says operations are all geared to funding, if the money isn't there operations are cut back [ other than emergency ones ] and wait times are longer.

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Originally Posted by jaycee

My surgeon told me that knee replacements usually are good for 20 years, told me this two weeks ago.

Service in Cambridge is quick, possibly due to the fact that they CMH received an additional $ 850,000.00 plus last Sept. this allows them to do more operations.
A friend of ours is an OR nurse at CMH she says operations are all geared to funding, if the money isn't there operations are cut back [ other than emergency ones ] and wait times are longer.

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WEll, maybe we'll get 15 years. :)

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Interesting info . My rotor cuff tear has been 2 years now and I still can't put on the seatbelt or pull the covers up over my body, or................. I 'm going for the surgery. :)

Another thing to remember about a knee replacement is that the device only lasts about 10 years. I'm going for it at 70 now and hoping for 10 more active years - by 80 I won't care. :)

Paul: London is a year's wait. Why is service in Cambridge so quick?

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Happen last June, the doctor sent me for physio and referred me to a surgeon at the same time. Now while I live in Cambridge, the doctors and the surgery is in Hamilton. Took a fairly long time to get into see the surgeon, and he wouldn't even see me until after I had an MRI, but once I had the initial appointment, he said it wouldn't take long if I decided to go with it. Called back, said I wanted it done, had to see him again, only took a couple of weeks, said I'd like to get it over and done with, he said if there was a cancellation he would put me in, otherwise, 1 to 3 months. Called a few days later, booked for the end of the month.

So surgery is set for the end of the month, and from the looks of things I won't have a job to go back to. Some divisions of the company are up for sale, including the one I am in, expect it will move south of the boarder. I am getting close to the end of my career, but I was hoping to go on my time, not someone else's.
Went for "pre-op" the other day, now instead of in for the early morning, out in the afternoon, they say I have to stay over night. A little advice to all, never admit to having sleep apnea. That's why they say I have to stay.
Sucks getting old.

PaulR, that is exactly why they kept my wife ovenight from her surgery, thought she ""might"" have it and she was in for the night, showed signs of having problems in the recovery room. GOOD LUCK on your surgery.

Good Luck PaulR.
I live with various pains as well, and have been waiting to be contacted by a knee surgeon since December of 2015. All you need to do is pretend to be a tough guy at all times! ;)

Just checked back to see how it was going. Where are they doing it at and where can we send cards.

Saw the surgeon yesterday. He said stitching up a shoulder tear isn't effective. Has to be REALLY bad to warrant a new shoulder. Cortisone shots or physio is the only real option. He also said that the other muscles will learn to make up for the torn muscle - I have found this to be already happening.

Sitting here typing one handed,,,,,, surgery yesterday, had to stay overnight, certainly didn't get any sleep. Out by 6 in the morning, next group coming in for same day surgery. Been doped up since then. don't know why but opioids have never had any effect on me for pain relief. All I can do now is wait to see if it worked.
So Monday was my last day of work, the doctor says about 3 months for recovery, and if it is 3 months, then Monday will have been my last day of work. The division of the company where I work has been sold, moving to the US, nothing to go back to. It wasn't a big surprise, knew it was coming, hoped it would have been later, but such is life. Tough to get something new at my age. Hoping to be able to at least get something part time, retirement was based on selling the house and downsizing. Didn't want to do that right yet.

Glad to hear the surgery is over Paul ,and hope for a speedier recovery than predicted.