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Torn Supraspinatus

S

Shock

VIP Member
Nov 28, 2015
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Just confirmed that I have a torn supraspinatus in my non-dominant shoulder. Surgery at the end of the month. Six weeks in a sling and six months until fully healed. Anyone had similar experience? Looking for information on recovery, e.g., rehab, GH, etc.
 
Lizard King

Lizard King

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Sep 9, 2010
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Hope it's your non-wiping hand. My ex-trainer had it, recovery and PT went well and had a full recovery. I'm positive he was on GH and at least Test, possibly deca as well.
 
BovaJP

BovaJP

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Feb 15, 2013
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Tendon or muscle?

I will be 3 yrs post op on my RC repair on my supraspinatus tendon in my dominant shoulder.
I did the 6 weeks in a sling thingy, but also my doc had a chair sent to my house where i could put my affected arm in it and it would rotate it. At least it gave me time out of the sling.
PT went OK (except that i got frozen shoulder so that set me back a bit). Not sure if it was the PT, but my doc had me switch up PT's. Once i did that, i was good to go. I was religious on my PT and warm ups at the gym when i was released to get back at it. I of course took it very easy at first.
To this day.....i warm up my upper body with about 10-15 mins of warm up exercises. (i warm up legs on leg day too).
I was back lifting at the gym lower body in my sling. I started upper body at about month 4 or 5 post op, i think. I think i kept a journal here somewhere in this forum.

For the 6 weeks in the sling, had to sleep upright or at an angle, could not lay flat, at least that is what my doc had me do.
You have lots of homework to do bud LOL. Good luck with that.

YOu got this!
 
S

Shock

VIP Member
Nov 28, 2015
117
73
Hope it's your non-wiping hand. My ex-trainer had it, recovery and PT went well and had a full recovery. I'm positive he was on GH and at least Test, possibly deca as well.
Someone mentioned Deca / GH / IGF-1 LR3 / BPC-157 for rehab aids. I stay on TRT all year round, so I'll have a base of that. Just looking to add a few things that might speed the process, not that I'm looking to go more quickly than what's prescribed.

I'm going to be very careful with the rehab, and I'm going to be much more mindful with preventative maintenance and lifting moving forward. I'll most likely do what I can in the gym with legs and the non-affected side (some small things to work on), but I won't do anything all that strenuous. The last thing I want to do is re-injure it.

Definitely lots of homework to do. I'm lucky with the surgeon: he has decades of experience, likes to look for improved techniques, and cares about his patients. They have given me a very comprehensive plan, and I will stick to it.

I think this injury was actually a chronic issue that became acute at the very end. I was being very careful and doing close-grip bench on a Smith machine with moderate weight and solid form (always try to keep shoulders out of it with reduced RoM). Oh well. It is what it is. Looking forward to reinventing a few things and having it fixed once and for all.

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.
 
midevil

midevil

TID Board Of Directors
Jan 20, 2011
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Sorry to hear that bro. It seems most athletes / long time lifters eventually end up with down time due to an injury. I've known quite a few dedicated guys that had shoulder surgery, they have always recovered yet never disappeared from the gym for too long. Core work and lower body will be a nice challenge while you heal up. Could be worse? Spine and neck injuries are the crushers. You'll be gtg 6 months (ish).

Low dose GH added in to whatever else you decide to do will be a good investment.
 
S

Shock

VIP Member
Nov 28, 2015
117
73
Sorry to hear that bro. It seems most athletes / long time lifters eventually end up with down time due to an injury. I've known quite a few dedicated guys that had shoulder surgery, they have always recovered yet never disappeared from the gym for too long. Core work and lower body will be a nice challenge while you heal up. Could be worse? Spine and neck injuries are the crushers. You'll be gtg 6 months (ish).

Low dose GH added in to whatever else you decide to do will be a good investment.
Thanks, Mid. I agree that lower-body and core work will take precedence. I'm looking forward to learning some new things and becoming more complete in my fitness approach. Definitely plan on doing 2 - 3iu GH. It's been about 10 years since I touched the stuff but no better time than now to get back on the horse.
 
S

Shock

VIP Member
Nov 28, 2015
117
73
Tendon or muscle?

I will be 3 yrs post op on my RC repair on my supraspinatus tendon in my dominant shoulder.
I did the 6 weeks in a sling thingy, but also my doc had a chair sent to my house where i could put my affected arm in it and it would rotate it. At least it gave me time out of the sling.
PT went OK (except that i got frozen shoulder so that set me back a bit). Not sure if it was the PT, but my doc had me switch up PT's. Once i did that, i was good to go. I was religious on my PT and warm ups at the gym when i was released to get back at it. I of course took it very easy at first.
To this day.....i warm up my upper body with about 10-15 mins of warm up exercises. (i warm up legs on leg day too).
I was back lifting at the gym lower body in my sling. I started upper body at about month 4 or 5 post op, i think. I think i kept a journal here somewhere in this forum.

For the 6 weeks in the sling, had to sleep upright or at an angle, could not lay flat, at least that is what my doc had me do.
You have lots of homework to do bud LOL. Good luck with that.

YOu got this!
Anything specific you avoid even after a full recovery? Really, the only thing that bothers me (it makes sense) are full-extension dumbbell lateral raises. When I reduce the torque by using me elbow (on machine), it's much reduced. I don't mind cutting them out, though if needed, since I can find some alternatives. Any advice is appreciated.
 
BovaJP

BovaJP

Senior Moderators
Staff Member
Feb 15, 2013
1,261
1,332
Anything specific you avoid even after a full recovery? Really, the only thing that bothers me (it makes sense) are full-extension dumbbell lateral raises. When I reduce the torque by using me elbow (on machine), it's much reduced. I don't mind cutting them out, though if needed, since I can find some alternatives. Any advice is appreciated.

Well, on lateral raises, you are suppose to lead with your elbow anyway....but with db lateral raises, i do them fine now, just lower weight and slightly in a wide Y, just not straight out to the side. This i have adjusted due to the shoulder.

Avoid after full recovery? yes: been avoiding straight flat bench and also anything incline. Although i did some db incline bench presses last weekend and it went ok. But the first full year/year and a half i avoided incline.

Stretching upper body has been a NEED.
Your back and lats can get tight and cause issues. Need to keep chest and back lose, by stretching and stretching and stretching LOL.
Bands have been my new close buddy in my warm ups.

The recovery is very humbling. You cannot even raise your arm on your own. It's weird. I remember at the PT and trying to put pegs in the holes...thats it, something simple...but it wore me the fuck out just raising arm to shoulder height. THen gradually you transition to a tomato paste can LOL.....then the pretty pink 2lb db : )
 
S

Shock

VIP Member
Nov 28, 2015
117
73
Well, on lateral raises, you are suppose to lead with your elbow anyway....but with db lateral raises, i do them fine now, just lower weight and slightly in a wide Y, just not straight out to the side. This i have adjusted due to the shoulder.

Avoid after full recovery? yes: been avoiding straight flat bench and also anything incline. Although i did some db incline bench presses last weekend and it went ok. But the first full year/year and a half i avoided incline.

Stretching upper body has been a NEED.
Your back and lats can get tight and cause issues. Need to keep chest and back lose, by stretching and stretching and stretching LOL.
Bands have been my new close buddy in my warm ups.

The recovery is very humbling. You cannot even raise your arm on your own. It's weird. I remember at the PT and trying to put pegs in the holes...thats it, something simple...but it wore me the fuck out just raising arm to shoulder height. THen gradually you transition to a tomato paste can LOL.....then the pretty pink 2lb db : )
Great information. I haven't done flat bench for years due to shoulder pain (same shoulder) from an injury while in the military back in 2000. Hope this will fix that too, not that I need to do flat bench. I prefer plate-loaded machines/cables or dumbbells. Either way, I'll avoid anything that puts undue pressure on the affected area.

I've been stretching much more now to get used to that as a part of my daily routine. And I do whatever I can in between sets. Gives me something to do and helps.

The recovery should be interesting.
 
OldManStrength

OldManStrength

VIP Member
Apr 8, 2015
1,282
508
Sorry to hear that, 3 years ago had my right shoulder done, 2019 had my left done, 2020 had my left redone... loll

Be ready for the pain after surger, take you pain pills before the nerve block wears off and stay with it for the first week. Take the laxative the doc will give you to help you shit, the Pain meds will bind your ass up, literally... lol

Recovery let it heal and take it slow. Follow their recomendations.

For all my recoveries I used BP157, GH 3 IU, and TB500 from the day after surgery to about 3 months into rehab. Kept my HRT at 300mg a week, tried Deca but I dont think it did anything for the healing process. Worked for me..

I got a cheep sling from Walgreens and put it on when I was showering, that way you can get it wet and get all your shit clean when your stitches are out. Sling just reminds. You not to use your arm, when it starts feeling better.

OMS
 
S

Shock

VIP Member
Nov 28, 2015
117
73
Sorry to hear that, 3 years ago had my right shoulder done, 2019 had my left done, 2020 had my left redone... loll

Be ready for the pain after surger, take you pain pills before the nerve block wears off and stay with it for the first week. Take the laxative the doc will give you to help you shit, the Pain meds will bind your ass up, literally... lol

Recovery let it heal and take it slow. Follow their recomendations.

For all my recoveries I used BP157, GH 3 IU, and TB500 from the day after surgery to about 3 months into rehab. Kept my HRT at 300mg a week, tried Deca but I dont think it did anything for the healing process. Worked for me..

I got a cheep sling from Walgreens and put it on when I was showering, that way you can get it wet and get all your shit clean when your stitches are out. Sling just reminds. You not to use your arm, when it starts feeling better.

OMS
That's a good idea about the sling in the shower. I'll do that. I know I can't be totally on guard all of the time, so the potential is there for an inadvertent screw-up when the shoulder start feeling more normal.
 
The other Snake

The other Snake

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Aug 19, 2016
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1,271
S

I got a cheep sling from Walgreens and put it on when I was showering, that way you can get it wet and get all your shit clean when your stitches are out. Sling just reminds. You not to use your arm, when it starts feeling better.

To add: Post surgery, I got a rubber bath mat for in the shower. I always hated them but I was taking zero chances of a slip getting in and out of the shower.
 
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