Glenoid Labrum Repair

[Surya]

I'm 4 weeks post op from Labrum Repair on my right shoulder (SLAP 2a + Bankart -> 12'o'clock to 5'o'clock )
3 anchors have been used. I was a late novice as far as lifting is concerned.
Now, my surgeon keeps telling me how it'll take 1 year before i can really get back to lifting which seems way too long in my opinion.
He seems to be taking an over cautious approach IMO.
I used to overhead press heavy as well as do direct external rotator work for many many months pre-op.

now i remember reading somewhere that Coach Horn has had a labrum repair sometime in the past.
So i would like to know the physio-theraphy he or anyone else here underwent.
Also When did you get back to lifting?
I assume deadlifting can come much earlier than presses, chins etc?
Anything relevant is appreciated. Thanks

[Michael Wolf]

No one here is going to give you direct medical advice, but here's my story:

I had a bigger labrum tear than you do, and had surgery on it last Spring. Required 7 anchors. For the first 5.5 weeks, I did exactly as I was told and did the standard physical therapy for it. I started deadlifting (very light - 115 lbs when my max had been over 600 before - but going up about 20 lbs per session, 3x/week) at 5.5. weeks and starting doing the PVC pipe in the rings protocol detailed on this website a few days later at 6 weeks. Since I had been so diligent with doing my "active-assisted" stretches before that, it was only a matter of a few days or a week till I could get into full ROM overhead to lockout a press. Not on my first rep of the day, but after some warm-up and stretching it out with the ring protocol. At that point, I would warm up with an empty PVC and then add 2.5 per day to the PVC pipe presses in the rings till I got to 15 lbs. After that, I'd do a warm-up set or two with the PVC in the rings and then press the 15 lb training bar from the rack, and again added 2.5-5 lbs per day, usually 5-6 days per week for the first few weeks.

At my 3 month check-up, the surgeon was so shocked and impressed with my recovery that he dismissed me. He said I was as good as he hopes a post-labrum repair patient would be after 6 months, even though it had only been three months, and so he didn't need to see me again unless I was having a specific issue in which case I should call him etc. He didn't ask me how I did it, mind you and would probably have been horrified if I told him.

Once the weight was heavy enough, I trained the press 3 days per week and did really light, higher rep work another 1-3 days per week. I tried to start benching again after 3 months but it was too soon, but at about the 4-4.5 month mark I could start benching again.

4 months after the surgery, I push-pressed 275. 8 months after the surgery I tied my all time press PR at 265. 11 months after the surgery, I hit a new press PR at 290, and a new bench PR at 465. I will probably never get my full pre-injury ROM back, but I can easily lock out in the overhead press position with no warm-up and haven't had any pain or instability issues since.

If you read my training log during this time (injury in November, 2015; surgery in April, 2016), you can get the details, a few of which I might be misremembering.

YMMV

[Christian Conti-Vock]

I will probably never get my full pre-injury ROM back, but I can easily lock out in the overhead press position with no warm-up and haven't had any pain or instability issues since. YMMV

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[Surya]

No one here is going to give you direct medical advice, but here's my story:

I had a bigger labrum tear than you do, and had surgery on it last Spring. Required 7 anchors. For the first 5.5 weeks, I did exactly as I was told and did the standard physical therapy for it. I started deadlifting (very light - 115 lbs when my max had been over 600 before - but going up about 20 lbs per session, 3x/week) at 5.5. weeks and starting doing the PVC pipe in the rings protocol detailed on this website a few days later at 6 weeks. Since I had been so diligent with doing my "active-assisted" stretches before that, it was only a matter of a few days or a week till I could get into full ROM overhead to lockout a press. Not on my first rep of the day, but after some warm-up and stretching it out with the ring protocol. At that point, I would warm up with an empty PVC and then add 2.5 per day to the PVC pipe presses in the rings till I got to 15 lbs. After that, I'd do a warm-up set or two with the PVC in the rings and then press the 15 lb training bar from the rack, and again added 2.5-5 lbs per day, usually 5-6 days per week for the first few weeks.

At my 3 month check-up, the surgeon was so shocked and impressed with my recovery that he dismissed me. He said I was as good as he hopes a post-labrum repair patient would be after 6 months, even though it had only been three months, and so he didn't need to see me again unless I was having a specific issue in which case I should call him etc. He didn't ask me how I did it, mind you and would probably have been horrified if I told him.

Once the weight was heavy enough, I trained the press 3 days per week and did really light, higher rep work another 1-3 days per week. I tried to start benching again after 3 months but it was too soon, but at about the 4-4.5 month mark I could start benching again.

4 months after the surgery, I push-pressed 275. 8 months after the surgery I tied my all time press PR at 265. 11 months after the surgery, I hit a new press PR at 290, and a new bench PR at 465. I will probably never get my full pre-injury ROM back, but I can easily lock out in the overhead press position with no warm-up and haven't had any pain or instability issues since.

If you read my training log during this time (injury in November, 2015; surgery in April, 2016), you can get the details, a few of which I might be misremembering.

YMMV

Thanks for the well detailed response !
since you had 7 anchors, i take it yours was a SLAP+Bankart as well, extending to a greater angle.
In that case, you had any impingement pain/symptoms at the top of the press in the first few weeks?
Did you do any other theraphy other than the ring protocol ?

My surgeon warns me that the Anchors may come out of the bone @<1 year if the shoulder is taken to its limits...Got any similar warning?
If i have healed completely and the anchors come out, would it still be a problem?

As of now i've thought of starting Deadlifting very light @8 weeks and see it from there since i wasn't very strong prior to the surgery anyway.

[Michael Wolf]

Yes, I had an almost full circumferential labral tear. I definitely recall the top of the press being uncomfortable after the injury, don't recall if I had it on the surgical recovery. I did the standard outpatient physical therapy twice a week starting at 3.5 weeks out to about 8 weeks, then once a week for another few weeks. At was very useful at first to get the manual work and passive ROM stretching before I could do it actively on my own, but once I was at about the 6 week mark and was doing active rehab myself, I probably would have stopped going if it weren't a) located a 3 minute walk from where I live and b) a $6 co-pay per visit.

I did not receive any such concerns about the anchors coming out from my surgeon, nor from Drs. Petrizzo and Alter, SSCs, who I discussed the surgery and rehab with at length. But it's sufficiently beyond my are of expertise that just because that was my experience doesn't mean it's 100% generalizable to every other repair and rehab.