Rotator cuff surgery - recovery time

[jhotsauce7]

Question for those of you that have had RC repairs. I have a full thickness tear with 10mm of retraction, that happened in November. I’m scheduled for surgery in 4 weeks.. curious about recovery time to where you can use your repaired arm for day to day stuff. We had a baby in December so not having use of my dominant arm for 6 weeks is kind of fucked. We have a nanny come a couple days a week to the house to help for a few hours but my lady is back in school and bartends a night or two a week. Just trying to prepare for a realistic downtime.. is it truly 6 weeks that I can’t/shouldn’t use the arm?

also planning on taking BPC157 and hydro lined collagen, and a low dose of NPP w my TRT to try and speed up the recovery. Also maybe sone citruline malate as it generally has some anti inflammation properties and speeds muscle recovery, so hoping it might have some synergistic effect on other soft tissue.. and maybe help with getting the most out of PT

 

[Bigtex]

It can be 6-9 months. Don't forget you can get a crossover training effect (~17% - 36%) from training the non surgically repaired muscles that will help prevent atrophy of the repaired muscles and help prevent so much loss of strength. This help speed up recovery too.

 

[jhotsauce7]

It can be 6-9 months. Don't forget you can get a crossover training effect (~17% - 36%) from training the non surgically repaired muscles that will help prevent atrophy of the repaired muscles and help prevent so much loss of strength. This help speed up recovery too.

They basically told me I can’t use the arm for anything for 6 weeks even like typing on the computer for work.

Hoping to hear some experiences of others who were able to do basic shit within a couple weeks.. or if it’s too risky to tear the tendon insert

our 3 month old baby is a handful.. lots of carrying him around and diaper changes.. he weighs about 15 pounds right now… trying to figure out if I’m gonna be able to handle all this or if I should postpone the surgery a few more months And risk it not healing as well

Physician said if I waited more than 6 months there’s more risk it won’t completely heal.. or something

 

[Therealkiller]

You will be in a sling with pillow. Some thing like this https://www.breg.com/products/shoulder-bracing/slings-braces/slingshot-2/

About the only time you will be out of the sling will be to shower. Get a 45 degree foam wedge to sleep on, it will make all the difference.

This issue with delaying a repair is that the tendon may retract more and develop irreversible fatty atrophy, both of which can impact the quality of the repair.

Check this:
Large Tears (2-3 cm with Retraction): The analogy of the rotator cuff as an accordion is useful here. If the ‘accordion’ is shortened, it becomes increasingly difficult to extend it back. Prolonged shortening might lead to a point where it cannot be extended, necessitating more urgent surgical intervention.

 

[jhotsauce7]

You will be in a sling with pillow. Some thing like this https://www.breg.com/products/shoulder-bracing/slings-braces/slingshot-2/

About the only time you will be out of the sling will be to shower. Get a 45 degree foam wedge to sleep on, it will make all the difference.

This issue with delaying a repair is that the tendon may retract more and develop irreversible fatty atrophy, both of which can impact the quality of the repair.

Check this:
Large Tears (2-3 cm with Retraction): The analogy of the rotator cuff as an accordion is useful here. If the ‘accordion’ is shortened, it becomes increasingly difficult to extend it back. Prolonged shortening might lead to a point where it cannot be extended, necessitating more urgent surgical intervention.

Great share, thank you!

 

[Bigtex]

They basically told me I can’t use the arm for anything for 6 weeks even like typing on the computer for work.

Hoping to hear some experiences of others who were able to do basic shit within a couple weeks.. or if it’s too risky to tear the tendon insert

our 3 month old baby is a handful.. lots of carrying him around and diaper changes.. he weighs about 15 pounds right now… trying to figure out if I’m gonna be able to handle all this or if I should postpone the surgery a few more months And risk it not healing as well

Physician said if I waited more than 6 months there’s more risk it won’t completely heal.. or something

Yea, the told me the same thing. 3 days out I tossed the sling. I couldn't even sleep in it. I learned very quickly how to use my non-dominant arm to do everything including shave. I was totally able to use the computer but not really well. I had rear rotator repairs done and a total shoulder replacement. Don't take the damn pain pills they give you and you will have no problem figuring out what you can do and not do. Hahaha....they even told me not to drive for 2 weeks. I learned to drive a stick shift so one hand driving is easy on an automatic transmission. I had to use the other arm to put the car in park and put the seat belt on. But surgery on Tuesday morning, driving the next day.

I stayed on my TRT and used 50mg of Deca, 25mcg of IGF-1 Lr3 EOD, 2iu HGH, 600mg of BPC 157 daily

 

[Therealkiller]

Like Bigtex said, you will be able to do a lot and depending on how you react to the surgery and can go back to work right away. 4/5 of my surgeries were on my left side (non dominant) so I was pretty lucky. As far as ditching the sling, if you are as crazy as Bigtex - go ahead LOL! If you do, obviously be careful as of course one of the benefits is for us dumb asses not to do anything stupid with the arm (ignore your catlike reflexes and do not react to the falling cup!). The bigger benefit is that sling has an abduction pillow that assists with your repair healing. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6031537/

 

[Bigtex]

Its been 9 months since my surgery and I still have pain and a fucked up ROM. I added 50mg of Deca/wk and they pain level has dropped about 50%. I also took a non-opioid NSAD called Ketorolac. This stuff help a whole lot. Much more than Ibuprofen or Tylenol Arthritis Strength.

Yea, if you ditch the sling, be careful. Like I said, pain will be your best friend and let you know what you can do and not even try. My wife had to help me shower for 4 weeks and had to help me get dressed. Putting on socks and shoes was very hard to do. But I did hit the gym on week 3 with the sling on. The sling kept me from attempting stupid shit.

Hahaha....exactly drop something and suddenly reach out and you will regret it. My right shoulder was repaired, I am right handed. Now I can use my left hand very well.

 

[jhotsauce7]

Its been 9 months since my surgery and I still have pain and a fucked up ROM. I added 50mg of Deca/wk and they pain level has dropped about 50%. I also took a non-opioid NSAD called Ketorolac. This stuff help a whole lot. Much more than Ibuprofen or Tylenol Arthritis Strength.

Yea, if you ditch the sling, be careful. Like I said, pain will be your best friend and let you know what you can do and not even try. My wife had to help me shower for 4 weeks and had to help me get dressed. Putting on socks and shoes was very hard to do. But I did hit the gym on week 3 with the sling on. The sling kept me from attempting stupid shit.

Hahaha....exactly drop something and suddenly reach out and you will regret it. My right shoulder was repaired, I am right handed. Now I can use my left hand very well.

Same boat, dominant hand .. going under the knife in 10 days so I’ve been trying to solely do shit with my left hand for the past 2 weeks to get as acclimated as I can

 

[Anabolic Beast]

I feel your pain, I had shoulder repair surgery six weeks ago and just got out of the sling today. This is actually my fourth shoulder repair surgery with two now done on each shoulder. After surgery it takes months for the tendon to reattach to the bone. Until then the only thing holding the repaired tendon in place is the doctor's fancy thread work.

 

[Shock]

They basically told me I can’t use the arm for anything for 6 weeks even like typing on the computer for work.

Hoping to hear some experiences of others who were able to do basic shit within a couple weeks.. or if it’s too risky to tear the tendon insert

our 3 month old baby is a handful.. lots of carrying him around and diaper changes.. he weighs about 15 pounds right now… trying to figure out if I’m gonna be able to handle all this or if I should postpone the surgery a few more months And risk it not healing as well

Physician said if I waited more than 6 months there’s more risk it won’t completely heal.. or something

I started typing on my laptop the day after a full supraspinatus repair. I just removed my sling carefully and propped up my arm using pillows in the same anatomical position. I think I self-graduated out of my sling in maybe a couple of weeks (three at the most). Well before the six-week checkup, I was out of the sling full time. I think I worked the affected side at the gym at probably the two-month mark. Through all of this, I just adjusted all movement so as to apply no/minimal pressure to the affected area. I believe I was doing everything, albeit light, in the gym at three months. No issues to speak of. I'm four years post surgery.

 

[jhotsauce7]

I started typing on my laptop the day after a full supraspinatus repair. I just removed my sling carefully and propped up my arm using pillows in the same anatomical position. I think I self-graduated out of my sling in maybe a couple of weeks (three at the most). Well before the six-week checkup, I was out of the sling full time. I think I worked the affected side at the gym at probably the two-month mark. Through all of this, I just adjusted all movement so as to apply no/minimal pressure to the affected area. I believe I was doing everything, albeit light, in the gym at three months. No issues to speak of. I'm four years post surgery.

Awesome to hear that. That is really helpful to get an idea of a normal recovery timeline for basic shit and gym activities