Recovery after major shoulder repair

[blkbelt42]

wtf??? no lift today?

[fittofattofit]

wtf??? no lift today?

Of course I lifted - I can't help myself

24th August

Day of operation
Chest/arms

CGBP
7, 6, 5, 5, 5 x 60kg (132lbs)

Medium grip Bench Press
5, 5, 4, 4, 4 x 65kg (143lb)

hammer bench machine
8, 7, 7, 7, 8 x 30kg

EZ bar curls strict and slow
10, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 20kg (44lb)

50 minutes

Pics today at 164lbs

biceps and shoulders and chest are shrinking!
I want to drop some bodyfat as well!

[blkbelt42]

lol!! same here man, can't believe how much is gone from
my shoulders and bi/tri of the injured arm. a few more months
will mark 3 yrs of lifting for me and in flash most of it was gone!

[fittofattofit]

Good luck my friend....we'll all be waiting to hear the post op report and pics!

Post-op now!!!

And legs

Feeling good at the moment. I have a local anaesthetic pump going into the shoulder and I have very little pain at the moment - that is all ahead of me once I get home!
Only 65 minutes of surgical time! (was over 2 hours last time)

[blkbelt42]

lulz.....u texting from the operating table?? hahaah

[fittofattofit]

lulz.....u texting from the operating table?? hahaah

In my hospital room!!

[blkbelt42]

In my hospital room!!

too funny.

[robertfah]

In my hospital room!!

HAHA...that's great....damn, surgery went fast. How did it go? Did the surgeon run into any issues? Man, it seems like just yesterday when you were under the knife for your shoulder, and now this. It's good that you're not in a lot of pain though....

[blkbelt42]

HAHA...that's great....damn, surgery went fast. How did it go? Did the surgeon run into any issues? Man, it seems like just yesterday when you were under the knife for your shoulder, and now this. It's good that you're not in a lot of pain though....

He IS in allot of pain, he just doesn't know it yet.

[robertfah]

He IS in allot of pain, he just doesn't know it yet.

Yeah, I remember my knee surgery and when I was going home I thought I could walk on it (because of the pain blocker) but man, when that wore off at 3am, I was in some serious pain.

Thank GOD for pain medicine!

[fittofattofit]

HAHA...that's great....damn, surgery went fast. How did it go? Did the surgeon run into any issues? Man, it seems like just yesterday when you were under the knife for your shoulder, and now this. It's good that you're not in a lot of pain though....

I'll get a run-down with the surgeon in a few hours. I assume that he didn't have lots of 'spurs' to remove and I don't think he excised the head of clavicle like he did 6 months ago - still much quicker than last time.

He IS in allot of pain, he just doesn't know it yet.

My LA pump ran out at 2 am (2 hours ago), but I've had some morph and oxycodone - pain starting to come thru now!

[blkbelt42]

sorry to hear that man. I certainly know where you're
coming from.

[robertfah]

sorry to hear that man. I certainly know where you're
coming from.

blkbelt....what happend to you? Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I see your avitar and I can't make it out, but it looks like a serious injury to your arm.

[fittofattofit]

sorry to hear that man. I certainly know where you're
coming from.

Thanks!

blkbelt....what happend to you? Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I see your avitar and I can't make it out, but it looks like a serious injury to your arm.

That's what you get for flipping tires!

[fittofattofit]

25th August 2010

Day 1 post-op

What the surgeon did!

Bad news:

Repaired subscapularis
Severed the long head of biceps tendon and anchored it to the humerus (biceps tenodesis)
Acromioplasty
Debrided the labrum
Arthroscopy and then open incision

Good news:
Humeral head cartilage was good
AC joint good (no excision of the head of the clavicle)
Good muscles and tendons, so good repairs
Op took about 65 minutes of surgical time (mainly soft tissue repairs)
last time took over two hours (lots of bony work = pain)


What the surgeon saw!


Top Left - humeral head and torn labrum
Top Right - LHB attached to the humerus with a plastic anchor
Middle left - LHB tendon attachment at the labrum (SLAP IV injury) - frayed and torn
Middle Right - torn tendon subscapularis
Lower pics - tidying up the worn bits


What the physiotherapist said!
Sling for 6 weeks - strictly for 2 weeks, then gradual mobilisation
Gently rotating shoulder throughout to prevent a capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
Arm to no more than a 45 degree angle at the elbow - no extension stress on the LHB
No resistance for 6 weeks
2 - 5lb dumbells after 6 weeks, building up slowly
Normal resistance after 6 months


How did I feel?
Local anaesthetic pump until 2am - no pain
After 2am - morphine and oxycodone
7am breakfast - oxycodone and paracetamol/codeine
11am home
1pm - threw up my breakfast!
Evening - more oxycodone - but nowhere near as sore as last time!

[robertfah]

Awesome pics.....gotta love today's technology!

Sorry to hear that you've felt nauseous (sp?) but they make a great medicine for that, it's called Zofran (generic name - ondansetron). It works wonders, really. And don't forget to take a stool softener for the oxycodone....otherwise you'll be in more pain in another week!

[fittofattofit]

Awesome pics.....gotta love today's technology!

Sorry to hear that you've felt nauseous (sp?) but they make a great medicine for that, it's called Zofran (generic name - ondansetron). It works wonders, really. And don't forget to take a stool softener for the oxycodone....otherwise you'll be in more pain in another week!

What - transfer the problem from one ring (labrum) to another!

[blkbelt42]

What - transfer the problem from one ring (labrum) to another!

hey dude, link to journal is in sig.




FIT: take it slooooooow man!

[fittofattofit]

hey dude, link to journal is in sig.




FIT: take it slooooooow man!

Slooooooow it is!

[blkbelt42]

how we doin?

[fittofattofit]

how we doin?

Pain and bruising! (but much better than last time!)
Sleeping well (drug assisted of course!)

BTW, looking massive in your new avi!

[blkbelt42]

Pain and bruising! (but much better than last time!)
Sleeping well (drug assisted of course!)

BTW, looking massive in your new avi!

good to hear man.

avi is 2 years in on weightlifting, several months
pre- injury & 30 lbs. more!

[fittofattofit]

good to hear man.

avi is 2 years in on weightlifting, several months
pre- injury & 30 lbs. more!

That's impressive mass for only 2 years lifting - you'll be back there soon!

28th August 2010

Day 4 post-op

Trained legs

Leg press
15, 12, 12, 10, 10 x 140kg + 40kg sled = 396lbs

Calf raise on Leg press
15, 15, 12, 12, 10 x 140kg + 40kg sled = 396lbs

Leg extension
10, 10, 10, 8, 8 x 70kg (154lb)

Seated leg curls
10, 8, 8, 8, 7 x 50kg (110lbs)

swiss ball crunchies 15, 15

60 minutes


Slept 12 hours last night and felt ready to tackle the gym.
Still lots of bruising and looking 'puffy' with water retention.
I expect to drop quite a lot of weight the next week, but hopefully start adding muscle soon!

[blkbelt42]

was just thinking of you man. there was just a commercial on with lawsuits
being pursued by inidviduals who had "pain pumps" on their shoulders following
surgery and talking about the destruction of shoulder cartlidge from the use
of the pumps.

[robertfah]

Good to see your doing well.....man that bruising looks aweful! Hopefully the pain isn't half as bad as that bruising looks.

Impressed that you're in the gym already....I know surgery sometimes takes everything out of you.

[fittofattofit]

was just thinking of you man. there was just a commercial on with lawsuits
being pursued by inidviduals who had "pain pumps" on their shoulders following
surgery and talking about the destruction of shoulder cartlidge from the use
of the pumps.

that's scary! Altho' I doubt that use of the pumps for under 24 hours could damage the cartilege - still - I'd better keep up with my glucosamine!

Good to see your doing well.....man that bruising looks aweful! Hopefully the pain isn't half as bad as that bruising looks.

Impressed that you're in the gym already....I know surgery sometimes takes everything out of you.

Everyone always blames the anaesthesia, but it really is the need to recover from the damage to the body - I am not that sore atm, but the bruising is very real, and represents blood loss and tissue damage that has to be made good by your body. I've felt very physically tired and have needed lots of sleep since the op (I feel like I have run a marathon!)

[fittofattofit]

Day 5 post-op

29th August

Calves/abs/Left RC

Calf extensions - leg press
20, 18, 15, 15, 12 x 140kg + sled (396lbs)

Roman chair sit-ups 20, 20, 15, 15, 12

RC stretches Left arm

Left arm DB curl
10, 10, 8, 8, 8 x 10kg (22lb)
I vowed I wouldn't train one side, but I couldn't help myself!
Trained strict, light and slow and stretched loads inbetween.

Swiss ball situps 15, 15

50 minutes

[fittofattofit]

1st September 2010

Day 8 post-op

Trained legs

159lbs!!

Leg press
15, 12, 12, 10, 10 x 140kg + 40kg sled = 396lbs

Calf raise on Leg press
18, 20, 20, 15, 10 x 140kg + 40kg sled = 396lbs

Leg extension
10, 10, 10, 10, 8 x 70kg (154lb)

Seated leg curls
10, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 50kg (110lbs)

RC stretches

50 minutes

My weight has plummeted with water and muscle loss - not really much opportunity to lose fat ! This is depressing, but hopefully this is the 'bottom' and I'll start to regain mass from here!
My Right arm and shoulder have shrivelled!!!
I'll try to get a pic today as a 'baseline'

[blkbelt42]

looking good man, way to go at getting right back in there
and doing what you can.

I feel ya on the starting over thing, it's pretty discouraging but hopefully
a new start. I'm surprised at the bit of swole I'm noticing so soon after
and with such light weights.

[robertfah]

1st September 2010

Day 8 post-op

Trained legs

159lbs!!

Leg press
15, 12, 12, 10, 10 x 140kg + 40kg sled = 396lbs

Calf raise on Leg press
18, 20, 20, 15, 10 x 140kg + 40kg sled = 396lbs

Leg extension
10, 10, 10, 10, 8 x 70kg (154lb)

Seated leg curls
10, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 50kg (110lbs)

RC stretches

50 minutes

My weight has plummeted with water and muscle loss - not really much opportunity to lose fat ! This is depressing, but hopefully this is the 'bottom' and I'll start to regain mass from here!
My Right arm and shoulder have shrivelled!!!
I'll try to get a pic today as a 'baseline'

Well you've been through this before and your body bounced right back.....I'm sure it will do the same this time. The body is an amazing machine in what it can do!