Rotator Cuff Tear

I had some problem with a rotator cuff about 18 years ago, (too much raquet ball !)but I was able to do 6 weeks of therapy & then some on my own for 6 months or so & got 90% back. I heard of a friend of a friend that recently had the surgery done & heard that his arm was taped to his chest, but I have no idea how long the re-hab would be.
What’s your Doc say?
If I wasn’t 2 hours away from you I’d come work for you for a while. At least till you get both arms working again.

-- http://www.grandprairiewoodworks.com http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6453794

I don’t know how bad it is, but I’ve heard to try to do physical therapy first before doing the surgery.
Send me the check deposit for the kitchens, I will be glad to do it for you. Pretty slow around here..
Good luck with your shoulder.

Well, I’ve never had rotator cuff surgery, but I was an othopaedic surgery nurse for ten years. I’ve been in more rotator cuff surgeries than I can count. 1st, get it done as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the worse the injury becomes and the more dificult the surgery is (which can mean a poorer repair).
2nd. unfortunately, rotator cuff repairs are very painful surgeries to recover from. I believe 6 weeks in a sling and swath (a sling strapped around your chest as well as your neck to limit movement) is standard, though that may vary from surgeon to surgeon. Expect PT to be a pain. however, if you get to the repair early, the results can be amazing. Even with the trouble, the surgery is well worth having. you may (hopefully) never know how drastically your arm use could be decreased by ignoring this injury.

Best of Luck

-- "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most logical explantion is that I was made for another world." -C.S. Lewis

I just had it last August! Discovered LJ’s during recovery. My cuff was damaged in a mountain bike crash, and I toughed it out for 2+ years.

What Dan said…

Do it, and DO YOUR PT, even though it hurts. As of November, I was back to lifting weights three times a week and haven’t felt this good in years. I wish I fixed it right away.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

From another Nurse (me) I second what Dan Fash told ya. Expect some pain in recovery and also expect someone else to do any lifting for you for quite awhile. Also ask your Doc for something strong for the “breakthru” pain. (Or you could be a tough LumberJock and buck up to it…and lose sleep every night.) Vicodin is really good stuff. Get some.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Hey thanks for all the offers to help but I am going to tuff it out long enough to finish the kitchens.
I see the Doc in the AM but he has told me PT is not an option it will have to have surgery.
And I’ll ask about meds for the break through pain.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Vicodin…..... isn’t that what House takes? Must be good stuff.
- JJ

-- JJ...... I guess you could say I'm a 54 year old "juniorjock". — Make things with wood.

I had the right shoulder done 3 years ago, the left shoulder surgery in December. I am still recuperating. I am in PT now (PT stands for Pain and Torture by the way) ;)

Get some good pain meds. Make sure you know what you can tolerate and what you can’t. For instance, I can’t take the strong stuff (oxycontin, etc.) but Darvocet worked great. Ultracet was prescribed for mild pain.

Get a few sleeping pills for the first few nights, and plan on sleeping in a recliner until it doesn’t hurt to lie in bed. Some can do it after a week, most 2 weeks.

Now, you are going to get itchy after a few weeks, and the arm won’t feel ‘all that bad’ from time to time. So you may be tempted to do only ‘light stuff’ in the shop, etc. DO NOT DO IT! You can easily re-tear the muscle, tear off where the Doc reattaches the muscle to the bone, etc. And then that surgery multiplies all the pain and recovery by at least 100%.

Even though PT is a P.I.T.A., do it and do the exercises they give you. It will hurt, yeah, but it is worth it in the long run.

Well, hope this helps a little, and please don’t put off the surgery. You are only making it worse every day and every time you lift something.

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

My mother had her first one done at the tender age of 75. Three months later she was well enough to have the other one done and did. She’s now 80 and pain free well, in her shoulders anyhow
I’ve been messing with a bad right shoulder for too many years. It stinks. I keep reinjuring it. A year and a half ago I got hit by a car and they said nothing new was hurt, but they told me I stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest from being hit by a car 8 years ago that aggravated old injuries etc. Last September I fell off the top of a fire truck and re-re-re-aggravated it. I just got through with weeks of pt and got some decent movement back but not ‘well’. Nothing to operate on by itself but one doctor wanted to go in and fix all the ‘little things’ he could (bone spurs, partial thickness tear, adhesive capsulitis etc) and said that ought to justify surgery the other two said they couldn’t see doing surgery right now. sheesh
The things they can now do and the new techniques are amazing over just years ago.
Good luck and as all have said – DO the PT even though its a pain.

-- CaptnA - "When someone hurts you, write it in the sand so the winds of forgiveness will scatter the memory... "

Wow, what a timely post. I have been putting up with a right shoulder injury for several years now. I finally went to the doc when the pain started waking me up at night and was having trouble lifting my arm up. The doc suggested PT, but I told him the injury was past that point. He thinks it is a rotator cuff injury that will require surgery. So he gave me a cortisone shot, which didn’t help much. I was supposed to get an MRI this past Saturday. But when they showed me the MRI machine, I laughed at them and asked for the regular size machine, not the ones for midgets (sorry to all my little people friends). I am somewhat claustrophobic and knew that there was no way I was going to be able to survive for 30 minutes in that little tube. The attendant said that the hospital was getting one of the open style machines in about 3 months. So I hope to get to the head of the line for that, in the mean time, it’s grin and bear it. Which is a PITA since I love to use my hand planes, which really jacks up the pain register after some time in the shop.
Thanks for all who responded, the info is quite helpful.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

When my shoulder started waking me up in the middle of the night I found that if I lay on my back and put my arm behind me. Really strange way to sleep but it seems to help. I know what you mean about shop time bringing on the pain. I have to finish building cabinets for two different kitchens before my surgery, I guess I have to stay LJ tough and work through it. This post has gotten more attention then I thought it would and like 3finger said lots of good info. Thanks everyone

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

I heard on the radio today there was some great breakthrough in medical treatment of athletic injuries including rotator cuff tears. I think it involved injections of somthing and the patients own blood into the area.

-- Dan, Sterling Alaska, http://sullcon.homestead.com/ Before you criticise some one, walk a mile in their shoes...then you will be a mile away and you have their shoes!

isn’t my own blood getting there already? I haven’t heard of that, I’ll have to ask the Doc. I am going to see a doc that does nothing but shoulders. Wonder if he can fix my wife when she gives me the cold shoulder? I’ll deny I typed that, must have been the cat!

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Here is the link to the article mics_54 refers to.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/sports/17blood.html

-- Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else

Bob, email me, I bet I can make your rotator cuff better over the phone…....
you’ll do the work to fix it, I’ll just tell you WHAT to do…..guaranteed, no negative affects
yoda

woodyoda, already set for surgery. Doc says it’s to far gone for PT, will be out of the shop for 2 months or longer.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Had it done last fall, almost good as new today. The trick for the first couple of days is to sleep in your recliner. There just doesn’t seem to be a comfortable way to sleep on your back or “good” side. The recliner will let you get a decent (not great) night’s sleep. Take it slow, you don’t need to be a jock and prove anything. Get help with the cabinets since reaching above your chest will be out for a few months.
Don’t turn down the pain meds for the first few days but remember that the meds will make it feel that you can still use the shoulder…NOT!!!
good luck

-- Bibb in CO at http://katanadesign.com

“The trick for the first couple of days is to sleep in your recliner. There just doesn’t seem to be a comfortable way to sleep on your back or “good” side. The recliner will let you get a decent (not great) night’s sleep.”

I didn’t have a recliner, so my wife rigged a killer setup in bed. You’re right about the “no good side”.

On the flip side, my cuff was waking me up a night, so I wasn’t sleeping anyway!

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Got my MRI results today, great news is no tearing at all, just some fluid and fancy words that descibe that I have a sore shoulder.
Good luck with your surgery Bob.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

Inflammation of the bursa? Did they tell you to ice it and take motrin?
I am scheduled for March 31st and already have the recliner in the basement ready to go.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Last week I just got back to work from a layoff and three days later injured my left rotator cuff. This seems to be going around like the flu on Lumberjocks! I start PT tomorrow in hopes that I don’t have to have surgery. Good luck to you, Bob. I know how much it sucks. One thing my doctor told me was to keep it moving. The worse thing you can do is stop moving it because scar tissue builds up on it and you can cause permanent damage.

-- Don't tell her I'm in the shop!

Here is some of what the document says:
Moderate tendinopathy of the insertional fibers of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus myotendoinous complexes, wow, that was a mouthful!
And, Suspicious tendinopathy of the horizontal segment of the long head of biceps tendons.
joint fluid of the biceps tendon…..mild hypertrophic degenerative….yada, yada, yada…. and more of the same ;o)

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

so basicaly it’s the long way of telling you it’s terndonitis, good luck with it I hope you have a speedy reovery.
LocalMac your right it seems as common as a cold, and about as hard to get rid of. I keep moving the arm and have learned real quick what makes the pain worse. Even putting on and taking off a button up shirt HURTS. What’s that song, that pain lets you know everything’s alright? Maryann’s last dance? After surgery I’ll be in front of the computer to keep busy and away from the soaps.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

I had it done. Most electricians, tin benders and plumbers will eventually. You can’t stand on a ladder all day every day with your hands overhead without paying a price.

The recliner is the only way to go for the first few days. I can’t say it was really painful, just hard to get comfortable, but I’m a migraineur and I guess everything is relative. It was a couple of months before I could use my computer mouse, so prepare to do nothing for a while. Do everything the docs say and you’ll be back 95%. I can’t lift 100# overhead with one hand now, but probably shouldn’t have done that in the first place :-)) I know a fellow who said he had no need to lift his hand over head and didn’t follow the doc’s instructions. He has to use the other hand to lift it!

I had to shut down the biz for 6 months when I had it done. Good luck for a speedy recovery.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Thanks everyone for all the kind words and great advice. March 31, (surgery date) is rolling up fast. I amalready pretty boared, not supposed to use the right hand at all already. I guess I can catch up on some woodworking reading.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

yeah, Get used to reading and TV. You might want to paractice a few essential daily activities with your left hand now while your right can still bail you out :-)) I finished my last job 36 hours before my surgery. I was using my right hand, but had to lift it overhead with the left, then it could do things and get back down.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Quick update, visited Specialist today, his views: Arthritis in some joint in my shoulder, as well as possible labrum tear and bicep tendon tear. So some arthroscopic surgery is in my immediate future, oh well.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

Well 3finger sounds like we’ll both be down for awile. Do you know when your surgey is?

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

they said it would be in a couple of weeks, it has to be setup with the Insurance Co.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

Was reading a review about forstner bits and saw this tread…had to join to share my experience. I’ve had two friends with rotator cuff “clean-ups”, one had great results as he plowed through the PT while the other didn’t like PT. I’m in the boat with 3finger, tore the labrum almost clean off the shoulder (might have been easier in the long run if I had). Felt like a pulled muscle that just didn’t get better, so after 6 months of pain I finally saw the doc, thankfully my wife is an Emergency Room nurse and knew exactly who I should see. Waiting 6 months really cost me as the shoulder had begun to “lay open” as the back muscles were dominant. 3finger, hope yours isn’t as drastic as mine…took me about a year to get it back working right (surgery was Dec ‘06), but now its better than my other shoulder. Thankfully I am in the hobby stage so I could step back from the shop for a while. Unlike others I didn’t have a lot of pain (other than the first night), but I wouldn’t think about passing the pharmacy on the way home either. Like the others have said, get a good surgeon, a comfortable recliner and work through the pain of PT. Wish you both the best.

DO YOUR PT UNTIL THEY TELL YOU NOT TO COME BACK ANYMORE. Been there done that, PT is mandatory..

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Tstorm, you nailed my symptoms right on the head, it felt like a pulled muscle, that only got worse, started about two years ago. I am a glutton for punishment and thought I could out wait the pain, but it just got worse, especially the last 6-9 months. I hope mine isn’t bad either, but I will cross that bridge once they look inside ;o)

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

3finger, if passing noon with a screwdriver sends you into mind-numbing pain, its probably not good! Do a search for slap tear and it will tell you a bit more about the stages of tears. Make sure to ask the doctor ahead of time (a week or so) for a shoulder block (they nub the nerve going to the arm so you won’t feel anything for about 12 hours after surgery) and have a video of the procedure made. I got pictures (forgot to ask) and there is not blood at that part of the shoulder…hence the healing time. You’ll need something to watch for a couple of days!

I had to have the left shoulder done last year….strange thing for me it wasn’t the muscles, I had torn the cartilage in the joint and it had pulled away and slipped down into the joint. I had also torn a few tendons. This was the result of 3 separations 20 years ago. I had toughed it out that hole time (sometimes I don’t have the sense God gave a mule.) The surgeon was amazed that I could even move my arm at all.

Long story short, the surgery went well. He reattached the cartilage using nylon pins after cleaning up the bone’s surface. He clean up and reattached the tendons. I woke up feeling like I had been shot, but with the help of a little chemistry, I stayed pretty comfortable. It is really important to take your pain medications on schedule. It is easier to stay ahead of the pain than to try and fight through it. I only took it for a few weeks and then a lesser one after PT.

PT is truly needed. I was very stiff and my mobility was servery restricted. After about 3 months of PT, I was back to about 80%...now am back to 90%. That’s as good as I’m going to get according to the Dr.

You make our fine. Just listen to your Dr and PT Therapist (mine was a little 90Lb young lady who could make a defensive lineman cry.)

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

thanks for the advice guys,

Bob, I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you for a successful surgery and fast recovery.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

Thanks Pat I’ll let you know how it goes.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Surgery,the day from Hell.
We went to the surgery center at 11:30 am Tuesday like we were scheduled for 12:30 surgery. We were there about 1/2 hour when the nure came aout and said “The Doc is about 2 hours behind in surgery.” So we went back home and the surgery center called at 3pm. Went back got preped had the surgery, in recovery Doc said tear was a lot worse then he thought it would be. That the back shoulder muscle was torn 3/4 of the way through and surgery took 3 hours insterad of 2. They wheeled me out to the car to go home and,,,,,the car wouldn’t start. Lucky for us my sister was at our house watching the Grandson so she came and picked us up. Got back home about 9pm that night and my sister had to drive another hour to get herself home.
Other than that things are going pretty good, it mightnbe awhile before I can get back to the shop and get tools to you. OH yeh, I almost forgot, the Cherry Kitchen I built, the guy backed out, says the work is substandard and he could hve gotten Merlot cabinets for less money and wants his deposit back. I think he bought the Merlot and and needs the money to pay for them.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Bob,
How was the pain 24 hrs. after the surgery?
John

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

You are doing awfully good to be typing that much on the computer keyboard the next day!! Trust me ;-)) all I wanted to do was try to find a comfortable position. I think that took a couiple of days ;-))

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Bob,
They must have given you better pain meds than I had. I’m allergic to most of the better pain meds, they make me break out in hives/rashes so I’m restricted to Darvocet.
John

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Well the pain wasn’t bad the first 24 hours but I had a pain pump for the first 48 and took Norco pain meds and this nifty little cooler chest with a pump in it that pumpes cold water to a sleeve I wear I on the shoulder and used 24 hours a day for the first 72 hours and now I use it about 12 hours a day.. I slept in the recliner Tue and Wed night and the bed Thursday and now its 1;30 Sunday am and can’t sleep cause of the pain.
Topamaxsurvivor I was the same for the first two days and it was hard to find a comfortable position that stayed comfortable very long. Would I do it again? Yes cause I thing after 3 days the pain is less than it was before surgery.

-- Bob, Rockford IL, http://www.woodandwax.net

Even if the pain wasn’t less now than before, you wil be glad to have full use of your arm back in a few months ;-) Most pain meds make me so sick I finally figured out they use the sickness to take you mind off of the pain, that’s how they work!! I can’t say i really had any pain, I just couldn’t get a comfortable position. It’s been several years, but I think I spent a week or maybe 2 sleeping in the recliner. I guess pain is a relative thing, having been a migraineur all my life, it is hard to find anything worse :-((

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

By the way, every day will be a little better than the day before :-)) There is light at the end of the tunnel now! Keep you in my prayers. That should help a little ;-)

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Bob, good to hear you had a successful surgery and are now on the mend, take care.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"