Rotator Cuff tear - doc says I need surgery

[Bbinck1]

I had a supraspinatusntear from bench press. I remember the exact minute I did it. I messed around for almost a year with PT strengthening etc. I did not want to miss work and did not want the pain of surgery. But it got bigger and I had increase in weakness. So I had it done. In my case it was not nearly as bad as I had been told. I had pain but it was manageable and I have full use of my shoulder now. It does not hurt at night and I am slowly getting my strength back. Recovery is not trivial and the sling is an annoyance. But I am very glad I had it done.

[Nick D'Agostino]

So it's been a while since my original post. I appreciate the help previously.

Shoulder is feeling much better. Still limited in what I can do, and I do wake up in pain multiple times a night. Still, it's better.

I'm leaning towards surgery. The doc is being a bit of a turd when it comes to scheduling it, but it's probably more the nurse than him. In theory they've resumed surgeries because COVID19 is becoming more manageable.

Every day I'm torn on whether to have surgery or not. I'm probably still going to opt for it because I've struggled with this thing, one way or another, for decades now.

It is great to hear your shoulder is doing much better! I'm a fan of the idea of not changing things up when things are going well. I typically recommend seeking a consult with an ortho for people in the opposite situation, when things are not going well, and the patient has lost the ability to do an activity that is meaningful to them. Whichever way you end up going, make sure you educate yourself on the recovery process and temper your expectations for the outcome. Many people have had great experiences with surgery, and many people don't.

[SomeGymGuy]

Hi Folks,
Just finished the 6th week post-op. Here are some updates. I hope this helps others out.

The doctor found that I had a mild SLAP tear and repaired that. This is much harder to recover from than just a rotator cuff muscle tear. Rip's surgery didnt touch his labrum and I have learned from my physical therapists that restoring range of motion in the joint is much more labor intensive than just messing with the rotator cuff muscles.

My doctor instructed 8 weeks in a sling; I believe most docs say 6. At this point 2 weeks doesnt make any difference to me, so I am following his orders. I did start doing Rip's ring stretches at week 4, but stopped when I got to eye level. This was because my physical therapists instructed that the SLAP repair needs extra time to heal and promote stability. So, I still do this stretch daily and am waiting until 8 weeks to push it. Then there are the prescribed "exercises" from my physical therapists that I do 3x a day.

Biggest challenges:
My shoulder is pulled forward because of the SLAP repair. It made a nasty knot in my back that Im just now able to work through. I was reminded in High School of doing a joking stretch of laying flat on the ground. Sadly, this is a serious stretch for me right now -I'm laying flat on a hard floor and letting my shoulder try and relax flat on the ground. it hurts, but it will get there.
Also have some fluid on the outside of my elbow. I must've been supporting my arm on a hard surface too much, and now my elbow is pissed at me too. Oh well. I started icing that too and taking motrin for the elbow. I'm sure the motrin will help other parts of me too.

Hope this helps others out there in what to expect at 6 weeks. I think all in all I'm doing pretty well (although the elbow was a setback).