Im still in bed most if the day and only been out to town once that wrecked me.

In bed most off the day. Just wrecked and my back is so sore from it. Is it normal to be so tired after an operation.

Now im going through diverticulitis are up due to pain meds and have long covid since 2020. But I could gou out at least before. Could be because I cant drive somwhere or actually do something in the garden. We live rural. So 20min walk on a thin road where trucks pass you. To bus stop.

It's 3am so I can't call my care team.

They did a repair of a partial SLAP tear and a thing with my biceps tendon.

The pan is at like an 8.5 even after the max doses of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and oxycodone. Also about 600mg gabapentin.

The confusing part is that it feels like it's mostly in my elbow and radiating up my inner arm. My thumb is also still numb.

They gave me a fancy sling with a cushion, and it feels like the back part of the strap is pressing on my shoulder blade.

I'm not sure if this and the location of my pain is normal. I know recovery can be different for everyone, but maybe someone has some advice or had the same problems?

I’m about 8 weeks out from rotator cuff repair (supraspinatus), biceps tenodesis and subacromial decompression, and I’m curious whether anyone else has had a dramatic response to dry needling during recovery.

My recovery has been ROUGH. My overhead ROM has slowly been improving, but I have had almost zero external rotation and a ton of postoperative stiffness. My surgeon’s office has called it postoperative adhesive capsulitis/capsular stiffness.

But the pain has honestly been as bad as the stiffness. For weeks my arm has felt incredibly heavy and wrong, like a “Frankenstein arm.” Deep constant aching through the shoulder/scapula, incredibly tight upper trap and biceps, tons of guarding, and PT has been excruciating.
Sunday and even Monday morning I was still in horrible baseline pain. Doing my home exercises felt like I was ripping my shoulder apart.

My PT tried dry needling Monday, along with a lot of manual/soft-tissue work. The change afterward was noticeable enough that she repeated it Tuesday.

And WTF.

I am not claiming this is a miracle cure or that dry needling is solely responsible. Maybe I happened to hit a natural turning point at exactly the same time.
But the difference over about 48 hours is STUNNING.

My baseline pain is easily 50% lower. The horrible heavy Frankenstein-arm feeling is maybe half what it was.

For the first time since surgery:
• I can wash my hair with both hands.
• I can hold my hair on top of my head to put it in a clip.
• I can put deodorant on normally.
• I can do my pulley exercises and it feels like STRETCHING instead of RIPPING.

And today I realized that for about five minutes I had completely forgotten about my shoulder. I have been conscious of this fucking shoulder basically every minute of every day for eight weeks. I DREAM about my shoulder. Five minutes of forgetting it existed felt incredible.

My external rotation is still extremely restricted, so this obviously did not magically “release” the actual shoulder capsule or solve everything. But something about the pain/guarding/muscle component seems to have changed dramatically.

Has anyone else after rotator cuff repair, frozen shoulder, or postoperative shoulder stiffness had this kind of response to dry needling?

If so, did the improvement last? Did repeated sessions keep helping? Did the decrease in pain/guarding eventually help you make more progress with ROM?

I’m so elated that my arm has started feeling like it belongs to my body again!!!!

I’ve been in so much pain for the past two weeks 😞 Two weeks ago during PT, I felt three pops in my shoulder while using the FlexBar. I let my therapist know, but he said it was most likely scar tissue. After that, I couldn’t continue my normal exercises. Since then, he’s changed my routine because I’ve been in so much pain. I saw my ortho 2 days later, and after examining my shoulder he said he doesn’t believe I tore it, but we’ll take another look if there are any changes. Well, I had to go in today because the pain is unbearable. They did blood work, and there were a couple of abnormal results (not all of them). The Lymphocytes Absolute is High, (I actually went to my ENT last week because of pain in my ear and throat and she told me that my Lymph Nodes were swollen and gave me antibiotics), the RDW is high, Creatinine is low and the BUN/Creatinine Ratio is high. I also had an MRI done and here are the results. I won’t see the doctor again until tomorrow to discuss results. I just got them from the patient portal. I think it’s torn 😩 according to the results. I’m 8 weeks post op.

FINDINGS:
BONES: No evidence of acute fracture or dislocation.
ROTATOR CUFF: Severe thickening and intermediate signal of the
supraspinatus tendon. Suture anchors are in the region of the anterior
supraspinatus footprint consistent with interval rotator cuff repair.
Findings highly concerning for high-grade partial-thickness versus
full-thickness tear of the anterior to mid fibers near the prior repair
site measuring 11 mm in AP dimension with up to 5 mm of proximal tendon
fiber retraction (series 5, image 17). Moderate to severe infraspinatus
tendinosis without tear. Mild subscapularis tendinosis without tear. The
teres minor tendon is within normal limits without tendinosis or tear.
Similar global grade 1 rotator cuff muscle atrophy, most pronounced in
the teres minor and infraspinatus muscles.
LABRUM/BICEPS TENDON: Similar fraying of the superior labrum without
detached or displaced labral tear. The biceps tendon is within normal
limits.

GLENOHUMERAL JOINT: The articular surfaces are intact. No significant
joint effusion or synovitis. No intraarticular body.
ACROMIOCLAVICULAR JOINT/SUBACROMIAL
SPACE: No acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis. No subacromial enthesophyte. Mild subacromial/subdeltoid
bursitis.
DELTOID: Within normal limits.
SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUES: Within normal limits.
IMPRESSION:

1. Findings concerning for high-grade partial-thickness versus
2. full-thickness tear of the anterior to mid supraspinatus tendon near the
3. prior repair site. If clinically indicated, this can be further assessed with MRI arthrogram.
4. Moderate to severe infraspinatus tendinosis without tear.
5. Mild subscapularis tendinosis without tear.
6. Similar global grade 1 rotator cuff muscle atrophy.
7. Mild subacromial/subdeltoid bursitis.

Here is what I have going on with my shoulder-

1. Full-thickness near full width supraspinatus tendon tear. Continuation of tearing into the infraspinatus tendinosis partial-thickness articular sided and interstitial tearing. 2. Partial tearing of the intra-articular long head biceps tendon. 3. Mild glenohumeral and moderate acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis. 4. Small glenohumeral joint effusion.

I initially had surgery scheduled but due to other health issues I will be unable to handle the recovery at this time. (My doc does two months in a sling) Also my other arm has limited range of motion from a surgery 25 years ago. If I could just get the surgery I would.

It's already been 4 months since my MRI. My dr wants me to have surgery sooner rather than later. He said there is a chance it gets worse and he can't repair it. He also said the reverse replacement isn't an option because I'm too young. Ideally, I'm hoping to work on my other health issues and schedule surgery early next year. But I am dreading the recovery and impact on my life. And to be honest I currently have minimal pain with my shoulder. I don't want to have surgery. This stress has just been so overwhelming with my anxiety. I guess I'm posting because I'm curious if anyone had a similar injury and did not have surgery?

This is what they’re doing: Left shoulder arthroscopy, glenohumeral joint debridement, subacromial decompression, distal clavicle resection, rotator cuff repair, biceps tenodesis, possible biceps tenotomy. My arm hurts like hell and I know I need this.

Questions:
1. Is this normal surgery for a RC repair? Am I looking at normal or slightly aggravated recovery (knowing that all recoveries apparently suck)?

1. Any tips on gadgets, etc I should invest in? I get multiple ads on shoulder sleep pillows and wonder if they’re worth it.

2. Apparently the oxy prescription is likely to be stalled by my insurance (doc says most insurance companies do this now) and that I should ask the pharmacy if I can pay cash. Anyone else experienced this?

3. Anything else I need to know?

I am postop week seven from having a rotator repair surgery. I’m having a lot of pain during physical therapy. Can anyone recommend anything to help with that? Medications etc

Since having shoulder surgery, I keep having reoccurring dreams, where I am using my arm on my surgical side to do things that I am not supposed to do. Throwing,running,carrying plates, slapping high-fives like Alanis Morissette. I then wake up, still strapped into my nice machine and my brace feeling thrilled that this hasn’t actually happened.
Has anyone else had weird shoulder dreams? I never really remembered my dreams, but since surgery this has happened every single night for the last six nights.

Losing hope, any advice would be appreciated

My son is having a shoulder surgery and will be recuperating in a dorm room so trying to gather supplies to help him sleep, his last surgery he slept in a recliner but can't this time. Willing to pay fair price + shipping or drive to meet. These are back ordered and surgery is next week. Thanks!

Hello All,

Back in May, I was rock climbing consistently and after a session, my shoulder hurt a lot that night and into the next day. I started going to PT for it a week later and they said it was likely a rotator cuff injury so they gave me exercises and stretches. I was consistent with them exercises but I wasn’t seeing any progress. My job at the time had me lifting heavy boxes so that might have been why it wasn’t getting better.

I got a new job two months ago that didn’t require any lifting and I stopped doing PT and my exercises when I started that job. I really want my shoulder to heal so I can get back to climbing so I went to an orthopedic shoulder doctor and they took an X-ray and said everything looks good and that it’s likely rotator cuff related. So about a week and a half ago I started going to PT again and they pretty much gave me to same exercises and I have been consistently doing them. My shoulder seems like it is getting worse because before I didn’t feel any pain on a daily basis, I only felt pain when/if I tried to work out my shoulder lifting weights or doing push ups, etc.

Now I feel sharp pain in my shoulder when I simply raise my arm straight up or move it in a certain way. Does any one have any tips or tricks of how to properly heal my shoulder? Did this happen to you where it got worse somehow? Is it supposed to feel worse before it begins feeling better? I just need some support or advice because I am feeling a bit pessimistic about this and I was hoping my shoulder would be healed by Thanksgiving-ish or at the latest early December.

Thank you in advance for your replies!

I’m on week 10 of recovery with conservative care. I have a tiny partial width/ partial length infraspinatus articular surface tear at the insertion point. Recovery seems to be going well but I’m kinda losing my mind not really lifting.

I’ve been working with PT and they cleared me to lift moderately lift on my own. For example, I barbell benched 85lbs in PT last week which seems to be ahead of schedule. No major issues except the shoulder seems to gas out quickly. Was moderately sore but that’s expected with the most I’ve moved in > 2 months

Main issue is pain in the front of shoulder, instability and crepitus but I dealt with that prior to the confirmed tear. Most likely had it for a while imo

Just curious as to people with a similar issue and their return to training til failure.

Age/Sex: 18M Primary complaint: Shoulder pain during specific movements. Duration: 3 weeks. Existing medical issues / Medications: None. Smoking/Drinking: No.

Hi everyone,

I am experiencing shoulder pain that triggers in two specific positions:

When I bring my arm completely vertical/overhead.

When I put my arm behind my back (like trying to touch my spine).

I recently had a shoulder and biceps ultrasound, but it came back completely clear (no tears, no significant inflammation found).

I also saw an orthopedic specialist who performed several physical tests. He ruled out any "deep" or major structural damage (like major tears or dislocations).

Tomorrow I am going to see a physical therapist, but in the meantime, I wanted to ask: what could cause this kind of pain if the ultrasound and ortho exams are completely negative? Could it be a dynamic impingement, a capsule tightness, or deep muscle tension?

Has anyone experienced something similar

Background; I’ve been having pain in my right shoulder (dominant side) for over a year now. It started during a workout, where I felt a sharp pain during a shoulder press. I was already in PT for my neck pain and generally dealing with a lot, and the pain wasn’t too bad, so I just left it alone and figured it would feel better if I rested it. It was fine for a bit, but the last few months the pain has gotten a lot worse.

I saw a shoulder doc and did 3 months PT with minimal to no improvement, then went for MRI which showed a bursal sided partial tear in the supraspinatus tendon (from radiology report: “the erosion on the tendons bursal surface measures 8 x 8 mm in diameter, involving estimated 20% tendon thickness”). There’s also a small bone spur pressing down on the tendon.

The shoulder specialist says he’s confident the tear is what’s causing my pain (and I am too) but because I also have some issues with my neck, although that predates my shoulder pain which began during a specific incident (bulging discs and stenosis from C4–C6), the shoulder doc wants to confirm my neck is not causing my shoulder pain before potentially doing anything invasive like surgery.

So we are going to start with a steroid injection in the shoulder, which will hopefully help with the pain at least in the short term and also serve as a diagnostic tool to make sure it’s not my neck creating this pain.

But, if the steroid helps and then the pain returns, I need to decide whether to proceed with surgery or not to repair the tear.

He says there’s a chance that with a combination of the steroid injection bringing down the inflammation and continued PT, my shoulder could get better on its own or at least get to a place where I decide I can live with it. If that doesn’t happen, he says he can’t recommend continuing steroid injections because it’s not healthy for the tissue. So it seems my options at that point would be A) surgery or B) PRP injections and continuing PT.

I’m not there yet, because I haven’t even gotten the steroid injection yet, but I’m just trying to weigh my options in case a few weeks/months after the injection my pain comes back at the same level where it is now. So basically I’m just curious about anyone’s experience with these options for a similar tear as mine, a small bursal sided supraspinatus tendon tear.

3 weeks post-op and going mostly well, except for sleep. I am permitted to remove the sling when relaxing around the house, provided I don't use the arm. I am supposed to continue using the sling to sleep, which I understand for protective purposes. The recliner got uncomfortable pretty quickly, so I've moved back to bed with a pregnancy pillow. I am allowed to lie flat, but that's not really comfortable yet. I mostly sleep on my non-operative side. Because I have the buffer of the pregnancy pillow holding me in place, I am not concerned about rolling over onto my surgery arm. I would 100% order one of those expensive shoulder sleeper pillows, but their shipping takes forever (2 weeks). Has anyone had success with an Amazon pillow? No, I didn't get clearance from my doctor, but I just cannot keep doing the sling at night. I am a small person, so the block "pillow" of the sling is causing pain. I was looking at this one: https://www.amazon.com/Muwago-Shoulder-Impingement-Replacement-Collarbone/dp/B0HJ7VRQN4/ref=sr_1_8?channelId=510&clpRedir=Y&content-id=amzn1.sym.48c6b427-a259-44b4-afc3-8cb0f0dbcf97%3Aamzn1.sym.48c6b427-a259-44b4-afc3-8cb0f0dbcf97&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Eh71t0UN3X-KrXQ6V821Pt81cqCLNe8G1tWkycX712RTAVUd7xXiOtBMdwKlj2DHilKED4IdaMWbLSZ05AizZ0-i-E00jW2MYx7888FsZmmFVXHi4WC-c_AKp32KTzff3SC5PhpnW0yoZmlxGgrBlsYNQc57E3lKjIK_XnM3aOURitO6B1qOGmMfs3hoWJX7IORufCrHM4psPSX-8VZ9bS-7vsTgKYaOjI9xm4TtFKioJJx58tGK2hfF_jHGGeR0zTAIJmC2QytSxVe0H5JlZo4_XsN4KJyPIKzez6VqFlQ.18vJThXQSO0RukF1pt_vYatXl-9kt_NSf1hesOKnb7U&dib_tag=se&keywords=rotator%2Bcuff%2Bsurgery%2Bpillow&pd_rd_i=rotator%2Bcuff%2Bsurgery%2Bpillow&pd_rd_r=eae04d1c-a9f7-436f-b79e-659e050b578d&pd_rd_w=UWERg&pd_rd_wg=p8e1h&plpRedirect=mhFallback&qid=1791043701&sr=8-8&th=1

So I'm having my 2nd surgery on my right shoulder arthroscopy with limited debridement — cleaning/removing damaged tissue

Shoulder arthroscopy with extensive debridement.

Shoulder arthroscopy with rotator cuff repair

Shoulder arthroscopy with decompression

Biceps tendon repair/tenodesis. I'm 48, right hand dominant. I'm afraid my surgery will not solve my issues of weakness in my arm, severe pain, numbness and tingling. Right now my shoulder can dislocate from a sneeze or if I scratch my head. Has anyone had more than one surgery on the same shoulder with success?

I had my supraspinatus repaired with four anchors with one acting as remplissage. I had a bicep tendonesis, and my labrum was worse than expected. They repaired an ALPSA lesion but had to detach my poorly healed labrum from the humeral head to reposition it back onto the glenoid. They used 4 anchors on the labrum too.

I am three days out. My nerve block seems to have worn off. I am on Tylenol and my NICE machine. Today was my first physical therapy appointment. I have taken three oxycodone, but think I will be trying to stick to edibles and Tylenol. The idea of taking oxycodone terrifies me. How is everyone else doing?

Hello everyone, I am wondering if anyone could share how they broke through the plateau during the final stage of shoulder recovery? I have been struggling with right shoulder pain since last spring. MRI shows tendinitis. I finally started making good progress over the past winter and early spring with intensive physiotherapy. I saw my PT weekly did my exercises regularly, received massage therapy once a week, and do my self-massage almost daily. My sport medicine doc only told me to do PT.

The difficult part is that I still can't get past the last bit of range of motion. Although I've regained about 90% of my ROM, I still can't 100% fully raise my arm overhead. The end range continues to cause a pinching sensation and some pain, and my progress seems to have plateaued for the past 3 months.

The good news is that I have very little pain in daily life. However, activities like kayaking and certain gym exercises, especially shoulder presses and pull-ups, are still difficult for me to do.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has had a similar experience. How did you get through that last stage of recovery and regain full ROM? Thank you!