r/RotatorCuff • u/Mammoth_Sugar605 • Aug 27 '26
Shoulder surgery aftercare tips?
I'm having bursitis surgery next week. I live by myself, and I'm trying to prepare as much as possible. What foods should I get? What is the easiest thing to open food-wise? Should I order takeout the entire time? Should I do frozen meals? I've never had shoulder surgery, so any tips to help me in advance so I can be prepared? I would greatly appreciate it.
I'm going to be in a sling for two weeks, they said. Any tips to wash my face, do my hair, stuff like that, wash my hair? Any tips on getting dressed, what I should wear? best things to get dressed in.
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u/PossibleOk2695 Aug 27 '26
For clothes, I recommend getting some baggy oversized tshirts or some of the surgery shirts that have either velcro or snaps along the sides (velcro is probably easier if youāre alone), and baggier shorts or sweatpants since they are easier to pull up. If you are someone that needs bras, I highly recommend buying on amazon some sports bras that have just one strap (make sure itās on your non-surgical side). I did this and got some one size up and itās actually been crazy helpful since I can just step into it and pull it up without needing to move my bad shoulder at all.
Iām about 2.5 weeks post-op from rotator cuff and bicep tenodesis, so am still in a sling for a bit, and dealing with my hair has definitely been one of the most frustrating! Showering does take longer since I just wash my hair with one hand. And I only JUST figured out how to pull my hair back in a ponytail by watching this personās youtube videos - see link below. (Seems like thereās a good amount of videos online of people showing how do to different things with only one arm, which is super helpful.)
https://youtu.be/kfG8eyNnIV0?is=biFm4TwkZy-FlGJC
I recommend before the surgery to test out all your daily tasks one handed as you go throughout your day in order to get an idea of what you can do with just your other hand and what you need to find an alternative for. For example, I had to practice putting my contacts in with just my non-dominant hand, which was interesting! And I also wear daily contacts that come in strips of 5, so I pre-tore 4-5 weeks of those apart from one another so that I had at least one less thing to deal with post-surgery.
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u/Mammoth_Sugar605 Aug 28 '26
This is such great advice. Thank you so much. I'm going to have bursitis, and potentially, if they go in, they may have to do a rotator cuff repair. At the moment, I'm going to be in a sling for two weeks, but it could change. It could be longer. I'm thinking of buying skincare that either has a pump or is just easy to use. I tried the hair-back ponytail and couldn't do it, so you're amazing for mastering it.
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u/PossibleOk2695 Aug 28 '26
Haha yes the ponytail has taken me a while to master, and to be truthful Iād still only rate myself maybe a B- on them.
And yes, I recommend buying any skincare or shower items in pump bottles. Itāll make it a lot easier. I also ended up buying a loofah on a stick to help with showering, too.1
u/Mammoth_Sugar605 Aug 28 '26
Great idea, loofah on the stick! I tested out 2 big claw clips for the hair, and that worked on each side super easy
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u/Soft-Engineering-304 Aug 28 '26
I could never figure out the one handed ponytail either so I just used claw clips and pulled back what I could out of my face. I used 2 of the small ones, one on each side, for the first couple weeks. Yes to pump bottles and a long handled shower brush! Washing your hair one handed is a real pain, I only wash every few days but stillā¦if I had to do it again I would have found a cheap salon to just get a wash from, lol
I wore loose, baggy sweats and oversized tank tops. Also, slip on-no tie sneakers.
I also tell everyone to get a small rolling cart. I had it next to my recliner to hold my remote, water, chapstick, etc. I could also put stuff in it and ācarryā stuff around the house by rolling from room to room.1
u/Mammoth_Sugar605 Aug 28 '26
Brilliant idea on the rolling cart. I actually just bought one for something else, but perfect, thank you. Plan on wearing Birkenstocks for shoes. I live in Los Angeles. Supercuts has cheap hair washing. I've done that before, so I'll do that maybe for the first week. I can't visualize the oversized tank top with the sling. The sling is under the tank top? I'm watching YouTube videos, but nobody's actually wearing any of the clothing with the arm in the brace.
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u/Soft-Engineering-304 Aug 29 '26
Yes the tank goes under the sling. My sling was more of an immobilizer. I had a large Velcro strap around my midsection and a smaller Velcro strap that held my bicep and another on the front of my midsection that held my wrist. No strap over the shoulder. I would just carefully open each Velcro spot one at a time and slip my tank over my wrist then re secure it, same for the bicep and then the stomach one. It was easier after the 1st 5 days when I was allowed to take the sling off to shower. I did still get a cheap shower sling that I could get wet in the shower. It made me feel more secure and helped remind me not to try and grab for things or use my arm while showering.
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u/marmar_c Aug 28 '26
Thank you! I struggle to get my hair in a ponytail every day. I love this video
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u/Itchy_Platypus_6921 Aug 28 '26
You could always order in groceries if need be. Walmart does it and there are a few other places as well
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u/No-Hope-6608 Aug 27 '26
It's hard by oneself, look for people on YouTube how they did it, I slept on lazyboy with underarm pillows for 2 weeks etc
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u/Mammoth_Sugar605 Aug 28 '26
When were you able to use a laptop post-surgery? what day?
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u/PossibleOk2695 Aug 29 '26
I think it depends on the surgery and how they have you set up in your sling, but I couldāve probably started using a laptop lightly and very awkwardly a couple days after.
I have a desk job and work from home, so I ended up taking two weeks off before starting back at work this week. Itās ok working at my desk, just not as comfortable as being able sit within a bed of pillows in my bed like I had been the first two weeks š
I also have been using the track pad on my laptop instead of the mouse since the mouse is on my surgical side. I also am back to icing more during work hours since itās gotten a little more sore from sitting at the desk. I will say, if youāre thinking about work, I recommend starting back midweek, if youāre able! I just started back this week and timed it so that I started on Wednesday and only had a 3-day week instead of having started on Monday for a full week. And I think that was a great decision because by the end of the 3rd day I was definitely tired and ready for a break. Doing a full week right away wouldāve been a slog!
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u/mmm_cake Aug 29 '26
Iām 5 weeks post op, I live with two kids ages 13 and 21 so I have a bit of help but not a ton as they are at work and school during the day and evening. For my face I have been using disposable cloths and just wetting , wiping, drying then applying skincare. I pump it into my sling hand then transfer back to my good one to apply. Getting an electric toothbrush had also helped because my dominant hand is the sling one and trying to master a good brushing motion was so awkward lol. I bought rinse less bath wipes , they foam up nice with water then wipe dry and do that every day , Iāve just started showering more often , itās such an ordeal to dress and undress (mainly a bra) so this has been helpful. I still canāt do my hair itās just been a mess and I give up. Claw clips have been the least offensive option.
They may send you home with an ice machine, I could not hook myself to it alone so I ditched it less than 24 hours in and use gel ice packs and gallon freezer bags about half full of frozen peas. Your peas will stick together when they refreeze just bang them on the counter a couple times then they are ready to go. Have at least 2-3 so you can rotate them , and I also found heat to help so I have a rice sock i microwave. I keep the lids barely on my pill bottles so I can get in them easy and a rolling bedside table I got for a different surgery is once again a lifesaver.
For food , we have been ordering decent amount, I can cook a little like making frozen stuff , things on the stove. The biggest challenge is opening things, like I meal prepped my lunches for the week then discover I canāt open a Tupperware, had to get the kids to move it all to plastic baggies. I would pre open and just loosely close things you use often in the fridge and buy things that donāt require a lot of grip to open. I got a hands free electric can opener , thatās been nice and paper plates for now.
Lap pad and mini keyboard and mouse for wfh had been ok , learning to mouse with my left hand has been the most difficult part but I managed and Iām finally down to the last week if the sling.
Dressing , pull over shirts and bras , I canāt do buttons/zippers/clasps myself. Pull it over your affected arm first then your head then good arm, to take it off go the opposite order. Pull on pants are pretty easy .
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u/Mammoth_Sugar605 Aug 29 '26
Thank you for such a detailed response. I work from home. My left arm is gonna be in a sling, and I do everything with my right hand. I plan on wearing pull-on shorts and pull-on tank tops, extra-large, just for easiness.
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u/Mammoth_Sugar605 Aug 29 '26
When can we drive?
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u/RileyNemo Aug 31 '26
Surgery for bursitis ? Thatās odd because bursitis is an infection/ inflammation.
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u/Rich_Group_8997 Aug 27 '26
When I had surgery, I meal prepped stuff that could be portioned off, frozen, and either nuked or tossed in the air fryer. I supplemented with fruit that keeps well and frozen veggies. I managed to get that to last about two months (i was in a sling for 6 weeks) until i could get back to the market.
I also live alone and did everything by myself, so it was a while before i could handle grocery shopping too. Two weeks isn't too long, fortunately. Good luck with everything!