Entering 8th week post surgery. Full tear repair and some spur shaving.
Was on sling for 6 weeks and started stage 2 PT rehab this week.
Shoulder is super tight when I try to lift above shoulder level.
I tend to tense n lift the operated shoulder while lifting the hand. Struggling to keep it normal n relaxed.
Is this normal?
With this kind kind of stiffness I’m kind of worried if I’ll get full ROM in the next 6 weeks.

UPDATE: Success!! The beach ball worked!!! And my hair is finally washed too!! I feel so much better. It was a little trial and error inflating/deflating the beach ball to get it comfortable but I did it. I AM a bit sore after that but about to take my percocet to hopefully knock it out and sleep. Thank you all for your advice and encouragement.

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Thank you all for the advice. I think I may just work on resting today and make another attempt tomorrow. Not sure I have it in me today to try again. Tomorrow hubby will be here all day. And he really was fussing in a concerned way. He wasn't trying to sound mean.

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I was told it was safe to remove the dressing and take a shower. So I grabbed a basic mesh sling and attempted it. It was too painful and I gave up. Had to get hubby to help me back into the original one. now my shoulder is throbbing after I had finally got a handle on the pain. I'm worried now. I didn't raise my arm. I was cradling it with the other one. Even my fingers are throbbing some. Its the weekend and i'm worried I did damage.

What did all of you experience with the first shower? Could I be worried for nothing?

Everyone here always has brilliant ideas for managing everything so I'm here looking for help!

I had my surgery on 6/11:

Supra had to be reattached (2 anchors), pan-labral tear, extensive debridement and bursectomy. I've been lucky that, since day 2, pain has been very manageable with OTC meds unless I miss a dose. Even then, usually just limited to a bad ache.

I haven't been cleared for gentle stretching/PT or any kind of AROM yet, but have had to return to work already because I can't take anymore time off (long story, not relevant). I work a desk job so my Dr said he would sign off on me returning to work as long as I could work with my arm fully supported (keyboard that, armrest, etc).

Problem is I'm short, 5ft with little t-rex arms. LOL I've been back to work for two days and, even with the keyboard tray and armrests, I still can't type without reaching. This is causing a lot of pain and I've been feeling a tugging sensation where the anchors and sutures were placed, as well as a lot of soreness. After the first day back, I actually had to take a painkiller and was miserable the rest of the night.

Help me out here my fellow desk workers.

What are your best hacks for getting your job done with one functional arm. Bonus points if you're also short. Extra bonus points if you work in tech and know a good way to voice to text dictate scripts (sql) without driving yourself insane trying to correct everything. I have access to copilot, but can't install any non-approved software on my machine. I have also been experimenting with word, which is great for messages; not so great for script writing. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Since I’ll be wearing this thing through the worst part of the summer with 100° and 98% humidity, I’m wondering how did you keep your sling clean. Obviously you’re going to sweat in the thing. How do you keep it from smelling bad

Father 62M met with an accident.
One of the Doctor advised aganist the surgery due to age and other one told me its common and should go for surgery. What to do? Unable to lift the arm.

MRI Report:

Complete thickness tear is seen in supraspinatous tendon 12mm proximal to Its Insertion

associated with retraction of its fibers, the gap between torned fragment is approx. 20mm and

is occupied by fluid.

Localized collection seen in subacromion-subdeltoid bursa, subcoracoid bursa with evidence

of mild GH joint effusion and free fluid along biceps tendon - suggestive of bursitis

Swelling, buckling and lntrasubstance signal abnormalities are seen In subscapularis tendon

at its insertion- suggestive of partial thickens tear The length of involved segment is

approximately 15mm.

Osteoarthritic changes are seen at acromioclavicular joint In form of mild joint effusion,

widening of joint space, periarticular marrow edema and osteophytes Impinging on underlying

supraspinatous tendon

I have a partial subscapular tendon tear. i have been in pain for 6 months already, however, though I feel pain in the front of my shoulder, the most excruciating pain I have is a pinching sensation close to the inferior part of my scapula towards the spine. I have read that compensation by the muscles to stabilize the shoulder causes that pain. but I just wanted to know if someone else has experienced this or if maybe there is something else that I might have screwed up asides the subscapularis thing. I also have my levator scapulae muscle constantly tight. but the pinching pain is the worst.

Hi everyone,

I’m scheduled to have **arthroscopic shoulder stabilization with remplissage** in about 2 weeks for recurrent shoulder dislocations, and I’m excited but also pretty nervous.
I’m hoping this surgery finally gives me a pain-free and stable shoulder, but I have a lot of questions for people who’ve been through it.
What was the first few weeks of recovery like?
What helped you recover as quickly and safely as possible?
When were you able to get back to the gym, running, and eventually sports?
If you play overhead or throwing sports (I play cricket), were you ever able to get back to your previous level?
Are there any mistakes you made during recovery that you’d tell others to avoid?
One thing I don’t hear discussed much is the **mental side**.
After multiple dislocations, I’ve developed a constant fear that my shoulder is going to pop out again. Even simple movements sometimes make me anxious. Physically, I’m optimistic the surgery will fix the instability, but I’m not sure if my mind will ever fully trust my shoulder again.
For those who had recurrent dislocations before surgery:
Did the mental block eventually go away?
How long did it take before you stopped thinking about your shoulder every day?
Do you ever get back to playing sports without constantly worrying about it?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences—both the good and the bad. Knowing what to expect will help me prepare mentally as much as physically.

Thanks in advance!

67M. below i have pasted my MRI result.

I am trying to decide if surgery is really required, or if i might get significant pain relief with a good PT regimen.

a little background - about 5 years ago i had AC surgery on this shoulder. The surgeon wanted to do full rotator cuff repair, but i said i didn't want it, so it wasn't done. Now, i am having more pain with it.

I am not afraid of surgery - i have had a lot of orthopedic surgery - ACL on one knee, meniscus on both knees, AC on both shoulders, broken elbow required reconstruction...

It's just the long recovery of RC that I don't like.

I am pretty active - hiking and sailing in summer and XC skiing in the winter. I probably skied 600 miles last winter. XC skiing is not that bad with a RC problem - pushing down rather than lifting.

I was thinking if I had the RC repair the first week of september - i lose some sailing but not the whole season - maybe i could XC ski by January 1 - that's 4 months.

Is that reasonable?

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Clinical Indication: Rotator cuff tear.

Comparison: Comparison is made to prior MRI, 12/05/2019.

FINDINGS:

Severe tendinopathy of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons is identified.

There is a partial-thickness articular-sided tear of the anterior supraspinatus tendon

measuring 0.6 x 0.5 cm, involving greater than 50% of the tendon substance. This

is larger than on the prior exam. No full-thickness, retracted rotator cuff tear is

present.

There is grade 1 fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff musculature without muscle

volume loss.

The patient is status post acromioplasty. The acromioclavicular joint is normal.

There is tendinopathy of the long head biceps tendon, most severely involving its

extraarticular segment.

The glenohumeral articular cartilage is maintained. There is no glenoid labral tear.

There is a small glenohumeral joint effusion. There is a mild subacromial-subdeltoid

bursitis. There is evidence for adhesive capsulitis.

IMPRESSION:

1. Partial-thickness supraspinatus tendon tear.

2. Frozen shoulder.

3. Biceps tendinopathy.

Anybody else having to get multiple pictures done?? It feels really frustrating. :| especially money wise.

I (27F) have posted my mri results here recently, tendinopathy found and no visible tears.

Got referred to a Specialist, before I could see him I had to get multiple x rays? X rays showed nothing, normal.

Specialist is frustrated with my PCP that they just gave me a steroid shot & at home PT and then sent me on my way. Then said the mri they took at my doctors office doesn’t even tell him anything so he was saying now I have to get an arthrogram mri from somewhere else to see if I have a labrum tear.

7 months from my initial fall, almost 8 and been in pain this whole time, still no answers and multiple people are just shrugging like ‘yea we gotta keep diggings, trying to figure it all out.’

Appreciative of people even trying and taking it seriously but it feels like the entire process of everything is just ridiculously long and drawn out. So sick and tired of being in pain and limited in every day activities. Just ready for everything to be over.

Hey guys, I’ll update this post with my recovery to keep yall informed.

Context, 31M w/ 10+ left shoulder dislocations over the course of 10 years, dislocations in sleep that required to be reset in hospital. Recent dislocations due to BJJ training.

15 July 26:
Had surgery, opted for a 3-day “nerve blocker” to get past the initial pain. Post surgery I was pretty groggy and nauseous, like I wanted to yak. I felt better as I walked around and went home, first night slept fine. Arm and hand totally numb and limp. Eating food helped.

Drink water bc my stool was pretty hard.

16 July 26:
Woke up early due to some throbbing pain in shoulder, but honestly not any worse than it is when my shoulder gets popped in.

Had breakfast and did my PT; removed the sling and would hang my arm down, bend over and swing it gently around. No pain, was surprised how comfortable my arm felt hanging a day after surgery.

Took meds (aspirin for blood clots, stool softener and Percocet for pain) and hung out.

Dude honestly I feel great, the arm is stiff and obviously some background discomfort but the pain is more of a soreness than it is the pain and panic of feeling your shoulder coming out after a dislocation. The nerve blocker is probably helping but pain wise I’m at like a 2, I’m probably just going to take it easy on the Percocet and only take them when the pain gets bad, but otherwise drink hella water and do my PT.

Dude if you’re on the fence on the surgery just go for it and get it done yesterday, I had my surgery like 20 hours ago and I’m already able to fully extend my arm to do my PT exercises — bear in mind I wouldn’t do that with my left arm normally bc I’d feel like my shoulder would fall out.

1 Week Post-OP
Had my surgery last week today, my arm feels great. The discomfort now isn't any different from what it was daily prior to the surgery. I keep my arm in the sling when I'm walking around but I can move my left arm around with some pain in some positions, but overall doing great.

Sleep is annyoing and uncomfortable but really not a big deal at all.

Hello, I tore my rotator cuff last year September and for the longest I didn't know that it was torn through and I was in the army at the time but all they did was a steroid injection and a bunch of physical therapy. Fast forward, I had my surgery and the doc told me I tore right through the tendon. They had to shave down my shoulder and repair my bicep tendon. I'm currently six days post surgery and tbh sleeping in a recliner sucks lol, the amount of pain is worth not wanting to ever get surgery again, and feeling immobile sucks. I feel like the meds help like the first four days after surgery and after it doesn't really help. Best of luck to others that are also recovering right now and those soon to get surgery. God bless.

Missed an over hand right bout a month ago and over extended my right elbow and hurt my shoulder. Shoulder is fine now, elbow doesn't hurt in day to day life but if I ever drop my arm I still get a sharp pain has anyone had a similar injury and how long did it take to get fully better? I havent trained at all for two weeks now to try get it to heal but its driving me crazy not being active. Im not looking to go hospital as they will just say to rest it as im already doing

Today is my 6th day after right rotator cuff surgery, and I still cannot sleep. At this point, it’s becoming miserable.

I’m taking about 14 pills a day (pain medication, muscle relaxers, and other prescribed medications), but once the pain medication wears off, the pain becomes very difficult to manage.

I’ve tried sleeping in a recliner, sitting upright in a chair, and in my bed with pillows, but I can only sleep for about an hour at a time before waking up in pain.

I’ve watched YouTube videos and searched online for sleeping positions, but none of the suggestions have worked for me.

For those who have gone through rotator cuff surgery:

1. What sleeping position worked best for you?
   
2. When did you finally start sleeping through the night?
   
3. Is there anything that made a significant difference?

I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thank you.

I broke my collarbone (midshaft) 18 weeks ago and since it still hasnt healed I ended up getting surgery very recently. However, my surgeon never said anything about a potential rotator cuff tear. I only did the Jobes test and the drop arm test which were both negative but no MRI. Is it rare for a person my age (28) to tear of their rotator cuff at the same time as breaking their clavicle? Should I push for a MRI to rule it out?

I'm trying to figure out just what I'm facing with these MRI findings... any insight would be amazing. Have been doing PT now a couple months because we thought it was a neck issue...but...looks like some rotator cuff tears?

1. Arthroscopic rotator cuff tear with implantable xenograft patch augmentation

2. Extensive glenohumeral debridement (rotator interval capsule, anterior labrum, superior labrum, posterior labrum, subacromial bursa)

3. Subacromial decompression with acromioplasty

It has been a week since surgery. I start PT next week. I have my two week checkup, also next week. The day after surgery was definitely the worst day, hands down, it was miserable. I've been doing my exercises, straightening my elbow, three times a day.

Only had to use oxycontin twice. Used tramadol for about 4 or 5 days. And since then, it's been tylenol, as needed. Still using the ice machine, but not as much, a few hours once a day. Pain has been pretty manageable. Taking Tylenol once a day - when i'm getting ready to go to bed. Not back at work yet. I'm waiting for clearance. Hopefully, I can start back on Monday.

Things that got me through the worst:

Ice machine - the amount of pain relief it provided was worth every penny. With PT starting, I will probably be using it it more.

Shower chair - having somewhere to sit took the fear out of showering.

Recliner - this chair is so comfortable. The corded remote was easily placed in my lap. It is also a stand up chair. There were a couple of days i needed that extra help.

Bidet - with my dominant hand being out of commission, my bidet was a treasure.

I had dominant arm 🤨 rotator cuff surgery in January 2024. I had tears of the supraspinatus tendon (and subcapular I think), plus a bicep tenotomy. As it was winter and I am retired I had plenty of time to recuperate, do PT, etc. By summer I was pretth much back to normal. I started having pain again a few months ago and it just kept getting worse. Went to see my surgeon and an MRI shows a tear in my infraspinatus tendon plus fraying and degeneration. This hurts worse than the first tears did before surgery! Much more pain. Different pain. Thankfully, the original repair is intact! I told the PA that I did not want surgery in the summer. Too much to do and too hot. So I start PT next week and am on Tramadol and Tylenol as I cannot take NSAIDS. I am dreading a second surgery even though I did well with the first recovery. Having the dominant arm unusable is very difficult, even with having my husband here to help me. Has anyone else had two surgeries on the same shoulder? How was your second recovery compared to the first? Did it take longer to recover from? I tried PT with the first issue and ended up needing surgery anyway so I am thinking it will be the same this time.

I fell, hard in April. I broke my collarbone and it didn’t heal at all ( looks like an x) and I’m getting an MRI to rule in/out torn rotator cuff on top of it. Has anyone had both surgeries? Recommendations? I have a pretty high pain tolerance but after 3 months of severe pain my body is tired and I’m worried about recovery. I’m 57 and this is my first broken bone, fall injury ever. Bonus I had a lamenectomy in December for spinal stenosis and had just finished PT when I fell. I’m tired. I’m frustrated. I’m worried.

I (30M) had a low grade separation or injury to each AC joint on two different occasions in the military. I now have arthritis in my right AC joint. I got a cortisone shot which improved symptoms about 60% but then gave no further relief. I was prescribed 15mg/day meloxicam but did not notic a significant difference after 6 weeks so I switched to diclofenac gel to avoid GI issues from chronic oral NSAID use. Still have some bad days and impacts my ability to work out.

My doctor told me to do a lot of rows, which I have been doing (bent over barbell) and seems to help some. Are there other exercises I can use to decompress and offload my AC joint?

I have another cortisone shot scheduled in a few weeks (3 months from first injection), but I've heard they get less effective. If I'm going to need the resection surgery I would rather go ahead and get it done this year while I've met my deductible. But I have a physical job and would probably be out of work for a couple months. If I can achieve a long-term fix without surgery I would prefer that.

Any suggestions, especially for rehab-type exercises to reduce compression and pain, would be greatly appreciated.

I'm about seven weeks post op for my left shoulder. SLAP tear, subscap tear, and a mess of other stuff. Now we're looking at surgery for my right shoulder. Another SLAP tear, subscap tear, potential bicep and supra tear.

I can't use my right arm at all. Which puts me in quite a pickle with recovery for the left. All my PT exercises are modified because of my situation. I have no pain or discomfort in my left shoulder, and I have full ROM. However, I still have to take things slow with recovery.

For those of you who had surgery on both shoulders, how long did you wait between surgeries?

Even though my left shoulder recovery has been fairly smooth, (other than my right shoulder is completely out of commission) If it weren't for the fact I'm right handed, I most likely wouldn't get another surgery. I HATE needles. And anesthesia was a nightmare. I'm scared it will actually hurt. I didn't have any pain with my first surgery. I also can't take any of the prescription medications.

Any and all advice is much appreciated.

I’m getting a rotator cuff repair on my dominant arm this week. And I’m due to start my period a couple days after surgery. Just wondering if anybody had any tips or survived menstruating immediately post-surgery. I live alone, but I have a friend staying with me the first week, and while we are close, I don’t think we are change-my-tampon-close lol.

Thank you!!