Rotator Cuff

[sfhogman]

Anyone know much about rotator cuff injuries?
Instructing my son on doing a brake job and I seem to have blown the mission. So far it's physical therapy with a chance of surgery...my doc and I are pretty conservative that way.
Anyone out there with (sadly) a bit of experience in that line?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Fox Mike]

All I know is that it can be painful with certain motions. I have had a screwed up one on my right side twice. It severely limited my motion. Fortunately it didn't require surgery but took some time before I was back to normal. I definitely would have it looked at though. You can't tell how serious you may be injured without an x-ray.

 

[WAYNO]

Unfortunately, I have such experience.

First off, from what the Daktari's have told me, they will not do a surgical repair as long as there is one strand of connective tissue remaining. So, if they're prescribing physical therapy, they must think there is still some healthy tissue, and it could repair itself. I know too well, a shoulder cannot heal itself doing the stuff that damaged it in the first place. A person must take this seriously, including complete immobility to let the healing commence.

My tendons/ligaments were completely severed, so I had no choice but the surgery. It was a long healing process, but I'm healed now and my shoulder is mostly back to normal.

Another thing I discovered. When they do a rotator cuff surgery, they usually find two other injuries while they're in there. One relates to the clavicle, and the other, even though I didn't understand the injury, requires the bicep to be disconnected and reattached elsewhere. It is this triad of repairs that causes a very extended healing time.

But if I got through it, anybody can. :mrgreen:


And as we speak, my other shoulder is sending signals. :? It hurts quite a bit at times, but if I baby it, it will settle down, until the next time. And I often don't know what causes it to re-aggravate.

 

[SamV]

I have not had a rotator cuff injury but I did have a wicked bone break right where your arm rotates. Surgery, pins and a long painful recovery. Lots of physical therapy. After many years, I am nowhere near back to normal but functional. Do what you need to do to heal properly. I have known many people with rotator cuff tears and I am not sure that I can think of any that did not have a very good recovery. But not without pain and rehab.
It is interesting that several of them damaged their shoulder doing really simple everyday things, like reaching overhead to put a piece of dish ware on a top shelf.
Good luck. I hope your recovery is fast.

 

[Mobuck]

I'm a prime candidate but after the dismal failure of the hip replacement, I refuse to proceed with the shoulder.
My shoulder injury was the cumulative effect of handling hundreds of thousands of hay bales when I was a teenager/young man compounded by many years of swapping work and sweat for money working along side of much larger men who expected me to carry my end.
I'm relegated to light duty and getting by with aspercream, salonpas, and pain meds. No more shotgun shooting. No more shooting ANYTHING with much recoil at all. Some days, I can't even lift my coffee cup or drive w/o excruciating pain.
If you can build the confidence to deal with surgery, go for it. For me, an orthopedic Dr's claims of success are on the same level as a used car salesman's description of his products.

 

[woodsy]

I know three close people with the problem, one of whom is my sis. She's the only one almost fully recovered, because she had the surgery done right away and is now back about 95%. One of the friends didn't even see a doctor after his fall, and by then surgery was no longer an option. He did therapy and is back about 30%. The other friend had surgery and therapy, and the therapy eventually made it worse (he's a cut-rate kind of guy). He's back to about 50%.

 

[Dave P.]

MRI and ultrasound to determine the damage. Unfortunately lots of Docs will screw around and do a bunch of stuff before spending your money on the high end diagnostics. My wife was the manager of a very large ortho practice for a long time, between that and having plenty of nagging minor injuries over 50 some years of hockey and running I now DEMAND they find everything they can first before any treatment.
Lots going on in shoulder joints and plenty of potential to get it wrong initially.

 

[vito]

Unfortunately I have full rotator cuff injuries in both shoulders. The left one responded to therapy and while I have limited use of that shoulder, I can function pretty normally for my activities of daily living. My right shoulder is really damaged and I have been told that the only solution is a full shoulder replacement. Even if that surgery goes perfectly, I am facing months of not being able to use that arm and shoulder followed by many months of therapy, so I keep putting the surgery off as long as I am able to live a somewhat normal life. I can't lift my right hand very far over my head, and while I can deal with lifting heavy things, I can only do so if I don't have to lift the item above shoulder height. Just putting away stacks of dishes from the dishwasher is almost impossible if I try to use my right arm. But I can still shoot, I can still drive, and I can still ride my motorcycle. I can still hold my 80 pound puppy on a leash even when he is trying to jump around. So for now I will persevere rather than go through the replacement surgery.

The one way that this has affected me at the range is that since my right hand is my dominant hand, and that is the side with the badly damaged shoulder, I can't shoot very many rounds before its just too difficult to hold that arm up in a shooting stance. So my range visits are now 30 to 45 minutes instead of what used to be several hours. This does save me money in not expending too much ammo, and I can live with the problem for now.

The irony for me is that I was thinking about calling the surgeon and saying maybe it is time for that shoulder replacement, but my wife was just told that she needs a hip replacement. Being able to assist her for the recovery from that surgery means that my own surgery has to wait. Life is strange and challenging as one gets older.

 

[eveled]

I had massive tears in both rotator cuffs and bone spurs. I had surgery on one. 6 months out of work another 6 months before i felt like it worked. Then i had the other one done 6 more months out of work. Both are fine now. I joke that I have to ask for 2 pairs of handcuffs when i get arrested now. Because i cant get my hands to touch behind my back.

My Dad said he preferred open heart surgery over rotator cuf surgery.

 

[eveled]

Forgot to mention I slept in a recliner for 2 years. Just couldn’t get comfortable in bed.

 

[vito]

Forgot to mention I slept in a recliner for 2 years. Just couldn’t get comfortable in bed.

Its for things like that that I keep delaying getting the surgery.

 

[volshooter]

Wow I got lucky. Mine was completely torn loose from years of construction work. Had they surgery. I only needed one pain pill the next day. Did my rehab at home with wifes help. Was told 4 months downtime, Was back working in 2 1/2 months, light duty. Had to sleep in a chair for 4 weeks, that was hardest part. All rehab information can be found online. Once I started rehabing good I did do 2 a day instead of 3 a week. 99% recovery. I reckon I was blessed with a great doctor. Good luck.

 

[gramps]

I have damaged both shoulders during car accidents, rock climbing accidents etc. The left is about 90%, and the Right is around 60%, no surgery, but active, isolated stretching exercises. Good luck.
gramps

 

[daveg.inkc]

I had my left rotator repaired August 2013. My surgeon told it was torn 270 degrees. Anymore and it would have required shoulder replacement. He previously was dr for Cinncinnati Reds. Worked in Kansas City for a while,, then returned to baseball. I have trouble letting over a gallon of milk with it.

 

[toysoldier]

Another thing I discovered. When they do a rotator cuff surgery, they usually find two other injuries while they're in there. One relates to the clavicle, and the other, even though I didn't understand the injury, requires the bicep to be disconnected and reattached elsewhere. It is this triad of repairs that causes a very extended healing time.
But if I got through it, anybody can. :mrgreen:/quote]

I was the scrub tech on a lot of these surgeries, both endoscopic and the older open technique. I also had a rotator cuff repair following a spill on my Piaggio.
The MRI scan is definitive. Partial tears may heal in a younger person. If you are, like many on this forum, an old fart, do not put off surgery. It will only get worse, and if the joint structures decay further, joint replacement surgery is the only remedy. One of the incidental procedures mentioned is acromio-clavicular decompression---opening the space between the end of the clavicle and the acromion process, to make more room in the joint. This is done with an endoscopic version of a Dremel tool. The second is relocation of one "head" of the biceps muscle. The upper end of the biceps goes into two tendons, one of which passes over the humeral head. This may need to be cut to facilitate the repair. If the patient is old and unlikely to be doing heavy lifting, that tendon may not be reattached. In younger patients, it is reattached to the upper humerus. The actual rotator cuff repair involves placing small anchors into the humeral head. These carry very strong sutures, which are passed through the rotator cuff and tied down, to bring the cuff back in contact with the humerus.
Post-op pain is not bad and resolves quickly. Complete recovery of painless function is possible. REHAB THERAPY IS ESSENTIAL. Do EVERTHING the therapist tells you.

 

[redhawker]

Tore mine probably 20 years ago. Did PT and was able to get enough motion back that they decided not to do surgery. It still bothers me a little once in a while but nothing major. Never did have any surgery on it.

 

[buckeyeshooter]

Anyone know much about rotator cuff injuries?
Instructing my son on doing a brake job and I seem to have blown the mission. So far it's physical therapy with a chance of surgery...my doc and I are pretty conservative that way.
Anyone out there with (sadly) a bit of experience in that line?

Thanks,
Jeff

Chapter and verse here, I dislocated the ball in the ball and socket in my right shoulder in a powerlifting contest. Blew up the rotator cuff too. After surgery to pin the joint back together, it took one year to raise my hand from my stomach to my chest. I kept working at it and 30 years later, have recovered with the exception that my right arm does not have full range of motion over my head. It will be lots of rehab, slow progress and hurt like hades.