Hello All,
My shoulder has been messed up for about a month now and I’ve been experiencing continuous pain 24/7. At first my doctor prescribed steroids and NAIDs to no avail. Last week an MRI indicated a torn rotator cuff. I’ve not had a face-to-face with the doctor yet but I’m expecting surgery as a solution to the problem. Has anyone experienced a torn rotator cuff? Is it repairable to 100%? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim
Working on one now…
I let mine go too long without going to the doc and now it is almost inoperable and best to live with it. I really don’t need it to be 100%, just so it doesn’t get worse. Rehab is doing WONDERS and I can do things that I couldn’t do before the tear as the shoulder had been going downhill from an accident a few years ago without rehabbing it at that time.
Seems a deciding factor for a major repair is if I could sleep at night. I guess it also depends on which ligament is torn and your age and what you have to do to make a living.
Good luck, GH
Surgery
I sent you a private email Jim about my past shoulder surgeries, fell free to email me back with any questions you may have. For that matter anyone else too. I am a great believer in Mayo Clinic!
My wife had one
It was so bad, that they couldn’t do anything with a scope, and she had to have it laid wide open for the repair which also included cutting some of the bone.
She did her own therapy at home based on paper work from the therapist and now she says the shoulder is as good or better than it ever was.
That was three or four years ago, and prior to the surgery, it was so bad, that she could not even back paddle. Now she races and paddles with the best of them.
According to her, the therapy at the beginning was torture, but once she saw some improvement, her whole day was based on therapy, and then daily she saw the normal shoulder come back
Good luck
Jack L
I know several who have had it
and they all said they feel far better and can use their arm better after the surgery. They all said the rehab was painful though.
Me too!
I tore my right RC and after repair it is doing very well. It’s all going to depend on how bad the tear is and where. I think you will be more likely to be close to 100% than not but YMMV. A shoulder is a complicated piece of equipment but there are some very good Ortho’s out there that know their stuff. I would take Agongo’s advice and go to the Mayo if you can swing it unless you already have a good Ortho.
Tom
had two…
…one was described as mangled.
Had surgery on both, and I’ve been very happy with the results. It gets stiff sometimes if I don’t move it around and I need to keep up with the exercises.
I also had the surgery
and very glad I did. The recovery period was about 4 months for me and I would say I have about 90% of the strength and flexibility before the tear.
Thanks all for the great information…
It sounds as if I’m not alone in my pain and frustration. I’ve been in communication with Paul who has convinced me to be sure the ortho surgeon is top shelf. I don’t want to have the surgery twice or worse - not be able to paddle again. I don’t know what I’d do without paddling of some sort. A neighbor said to just strap a motor on my kayak. It took eveything in me to keep from smacking him with my good hand.
Thanks all for the great input and the super success stories.
Jim
Paddling should be
easy for you to come back to. Since your paddling motion is not above your head (I hope)… like throwing a baseball or shooting a basketball.
Recovery does stink and I’ve never re-gained my full range of motion, but I’m also not 18 anymore and the days of playing competitive baseball and basketball are long gone. Golf and paddling consume my activities and I have never had any prolonged pain or problems.
Be sure to do post-op PT
Be sure not to overdo it.
Mayo Clinic ?
Can anyone be more specific about which clinic is that? A web site address would help -
Thanks!