Sauce-head's Shoulder Surgery & Recovery Journal

[Sauce-head]

Well after nearly 2 years of left shoulder and bicep issues, I just got word that I will be going in for surgery on the 20th of this month.

I wanted to make a journal to document the whole process, including my rehab and recovery. I have learned so much from reading through other shoulder journals on this page and talking with several members who have had similar shoulder issues.

I have been out of the gym for nearly 3 weeks. I'm doing core stabilization exercises and foam rolling to maintain some type of activity while I wait on surgery.

My recent MRI revealed the following:

-Partial Rotator Cuff Tear
-severe tendonitis in supraspinatus
-large bone spur on my acromion
-moderate AC joint hypertrophy
-type 2 acromion process (moderately prone for impingement)


This morning at my doctor's office he performed the two following shoulder tests:

-External Rotator Cuff Strength Test: did okay on this, but the left side was weak as expected, although interestingly I failed this test miserably last month when I was actively lifting. I still failed it today, but noticed I was able to resist slightly better than last month.

-Supraspinatus Strength Test: failed this one miserably, left arm just went straight down without being able to resist period.


At the moment I'm feeling nervous energy, mixed with excitement.

Nervous because the doc said worst case scenario I could have a full thickness rotator cuff tear, labrum tear and possible distal bicep tendon tear or severe fraying.

Best case scenario its only the partial thickness tear, hopefully less than 50% as the MRI showed and shaving of the bone spur on my acromion for a sub-acromional decompression and some cleaning up of frayed tendons, scar tissue etc.

I was told that in the best case rehab would be 2 months, worst case 6-9 months.


Pain: Interestingly I don't have much acute shoulder pain, I have much more pain in my distal bicep tendon and just above at the lower belly of my bicep muscle. That feels like a constant dull ache. I do have a loud noticeable "crack" when abducting my shoulder laterally over-head. I also have pain and tightness in my supraspinatus leading to my left upper trap. This has caused some head-aches at times, more or less the whole left side just feels very weak and dead if that makes sense....haha I have full range of motion in the effected shoulder, which just goes to show that ROM is not an accurate indicator of serious injury.

One thing I'm very concerned about is the pain I feel in my distal bicep tendon as I just mentioned. When the doc performed the supraspinatus strength test this morning I immediately felt pain in left bicep and up in my AC joint where the tendon connects. From everything I read, bicep tendonitis is very common with shoulder impingement, but my
doc said if I'm feeling pain in the distal tendon that it is a completely separate issue. I find this hard to believe, seeing as I never had any bicep issues prior to the initial impingement.

I guess we will see on that one......

I feel very comfortable with my doctor, he specializes in shoulders, he understands my desire to be 100% again because I like to lift. I'm just hoping he catches everything the first time around since I've read a lot of horror shoulder surgery stories of doc's missing bicep tears, labrum tears etc etc, leading to multiple surgeries.

I'm still relatively a novice on shoulder issues, this is my first lifting injury in over 9 years of serious lifting. Shoulder and radiating pain down my arm has been much worse than normal today ever since the supraspinatus strength test....really acting up at the moment.

Would love to get advice, thoughts on my symptoms and encouragement from all of you who have been in my shoes.

Hopefully these next few months breeze and I get past this quick!!!

[I.K9009]

Have you been working out during those 2 years of problems?

Good luck with the surgery.

[Sauce-head]

Have you been working out during those 2 years of problems?

Good luck with the surgery.

Hey bro,

I initially hurt my shoulder doing heavy dumbbell presses. I was diagnosed with impingement shortly there after. Went to rehab and was told I could continue lifting like normal.....(which I think was a huge error by the therapist). After 6 weeks of therapy the first time, the pain started shooting down my arm and while the stabbing pain in my shoulder was improved, it was still very weak.

Part of the blame definitely is on me for rushing back into a full fledge workout routine. I started off slow, but still rushed back too quickly.

And then continued to workout for a few more weeks ignoring the pain, dumb dumb dumb!!

I have been in and out of the gym over the past 2 years. I took about 8 months off straight, then went to therapy a second time and started back up before the pain returned full bore.

Thanks for the well wishes!!



SH

[Sauce-head]

The pain I felt in my shoulder and distal bicep yesterday from the doctor testing it has gone down back to the "regular pain" lol, that I normally feel today.

Not much else to update, other than the normal pre-op stuff. Going in next Tuesday to get all the ins and outs of the surgery explained to me and get my forms for blood work etc etc.

Surgery is 2 weeks from today!

Crossing my fingers my doctor gets it right the first time and this is the END of this issue. He's one of the best in the state, so I feel like I'm in really good hands.





SH

[Sauce-head]

Went into my ortho today to go over all the details of my upcoming surgery next week.
I was under the impression I would have to get blood work done for my pre-op, but I guess I don't need to, which was cool to know. The lady at the office said blood work is only needed for patients over 40 or for those in potential poor health.

The surgery will be an arthroscopy for a sub-acromional decompression and rotator cuff repair. I'm PRAYING that its only a partial RC tear, (less than 50%). The doctor said he will also look at my labrum which he suspects MIGHT also be torn or partially effected since I have referred bicep tightness and dull pain from time to time.

Starting to get really anxious as the date nears and really ready to be pain free sooner rather than later. Again really hoping he doesn't find anything else so I don't have to be in PT for so long.


Feeling like I'm in really good hands and looking forward to getting back in the gym (one day! LOL)





SH

[beachguy498]

Your shoulder sounds so much like mine! I have a total labrum tear though, which my orthopedic doctor says we won't be fixing since the rehab is so extensive. I did my prehab late last year into this year, so I'm holding off on the surgery. I'm back in the gym and lifting cautiously. Best of luck to you. I'll be following your progress.

Rob

[Sauce-head]

Your shoulder sounds so much like mine! I have a total labrum tear though, which my orthopedic doctor says we won't be fixing since the rehab is so extensive. I did my prehab late last year into this year, so I'm holding off on the surgery. I'm back in the gym and lifting cautiously. Best of luck to you. I'll be following your progress.

Rob

Hey Rob,

Thanks for the post. I've followed many of your posts, but don't think I ever saw how you originally injured your shoulder? For me it was heavy dumbbell presses a couple summers ago with poor form towards the end of the set, I just felt the left shoulder give out.

Yeah my doctor told me if I'm lucky I'll only need the decompression and some cleaning out of frayed tendons. Said if the rotator cuff tear is a full thickness tear then I'm pretty much f-ed and looking at a 6-9 month rehab.

I have some tightness/stiffness in my neck (not much), that bothers me from time to time. I also have lots of dull pain in my left upper trap, which I understand to be coming from my supraspinatus tendon, where the tear is..... also the dull pain in my left bicep, which is leading my doc to suspect a labrum tear and some overall shoulder discomfort. I'm looking here at the surgery pre-op papers and it also mentions Levator Scapular Syndrome.

Needless to say I have been very aware of where my shoulders sit all the time now! haha


Keep me updated on your progress.


Best of luck bro,




SH

[Sauce-head]

Update:

Had the surgery yesterday and woke up loopy and out of it due to the pain meds. Shoulder is wrapped up good, and was also in a sling. Wore the sling for the rest of the day and for half the day today b4 i took it off. Was instructed to use the sling as needed.

Interestingly i called the doctor's office and the doctor's assistant said the doctor did not need to repair the partial tear in my rotator cuff. That leads me to believe the tear was either an artifact of the MRI or very very minor. Most likely he cleaned up some frayed tendons in that area.

So it looks like i dodged a huge bullet; no labrum tear, no serious RC tear, just the bone spur removal, SAD and distal clavicle resection.

Im not going to lie, my shoulder is sore as hell right know. Putting on a shirt is painful and ROM in the arm is terrible right now, 15-20% at best. Which i assume is expected and could be due to a nerve blocker if they used one.

Will most likely sleep in the sling for a bit, work on getting the arm moving a bit (typing this with one arm). Have a follow-u appt set for Thursday and will be starting PT either at the end of the week or early the following week.

Having taken any painkillers (probably could use them), will stick to ibuprofen.

Will update within the next day or two.



SH

[I.K9009]

Nice. That'd be great if you had no RC work. Hope everything heals quickly.

[Sauce-head]

Nice. That'd be great if you had no RC work. Hope everything heals quickly.

Thanks bro appreciate it!

Doing pretty good today, I went back to using the sling on Friday since i still had some discomfort. Periodically took it off, to get my arm moving and now I'm completely out of the sling. Slept with a pillow under my elbow to prevent me from rolling on my bad shoulder.

I'm only taking a partial dosage of the pain meds, just once a day and that seems to do the trick. Been icing religiously 4-5x a day for 20-25 mins at a time.

Finally get to take the bandages off today and see the shoulder for the first time. Also using one of those squishy balls to keep some strength in my hand.

Overall, doing pretty well. Range of motion has improved noticeably since Thursday and I plan on starting physical therapy by mid-week.

One thing I've learned from reading hundreds of shoulder surgery journals is not to rush the healing process.

I want to get back in the gym in the worst way, the past 2 years have been incredibly frustrating for me since I was in constant pain.

I refuse to rush back into the gym, I'm going to listen to my body, work on my ROM in therapy, but even then listen to my body to know when I should stop.

I don't have a timetable in my head yet for when I want to be back in the gym, just going to work on getting my ROM completely back in full and then see if I have any pain. If that all clears, then I'll start to think about getting back into the gym.





SH

[Sauce-head]

Been slowly regaining ROM in the operated shoulder. Still gets sore throughout the day and I've been icing like a mad man.

Yesterday was the first day that I didn't need any pain meds, Advil etc etc, and slept okay. I woke up a couple times with the arm cramping, but been getting decent sleep overall.

Have my follow up appt with my doctor on Thursday and also start PT on Thursday as well.

I have tightness in my left bicep, which I'm worried about the most. I see this is very common with people pre and post SAD surgery. Hoping this will resolve with time and a good rehab program.

ROM has improved to about 65%, I can get my arm lifted out sideways, just slightly below parallel with my shoulder.

I don't hear any cracking in the shoulder either, but can't tell if it will crack when I get 100% ROM back.

Still have tightness in my upper left trap (from weak RC) and can't sit on a computer long.



Will update after Thursday again.





SH

[OJLockNH]

thats why i always make sure to stretch out before and after

now my bench press is at 400 lbs

[beachguy498]

Hey Rob,

Thanks for the post. I've followed many of your posts, but don't think I ever saw how you originally injured your shoulder? For me it was heavy dumbbell presses a couple summers ago with poor form towards the end of the set, I just felt the left shoulder give out.

Yeah my doctor told me if I'm lucky I'll only need the decompression and some cleaning out of frayed tendons. Said if the rotator cuff tear is a full thickness tear then I'm pretty much f-ed and looking at a 6-9 month rehab.

I have some tightness/stiffness in my neck (not much), that bothers me from time to time. I also have lots of dull pain in my left upper trap, which I understand to be coming from my supraspinatus tendon, where the tear is..... also the dull pain in my left bicep, which is leading my doc to suspect a labrum tear and some overall shoulder discomfort. I'm looking here at the surgery pre-op papers and it also mentions Levator Scapular Syndrome.

Needless to say I have been very aware of where my shoulders sit all the time now! haha

Keep me updated on your progress.

Best of luck bro,

SH

I had royally screwed mine up body surfing.. of all things. The surf was rough but I went in anyway and got dumped by a mean 6-footer and landed hard on my out-stretched arm. That tore my labrum on the spot. It was sore for months and I only had a GP look at it.

Other damage was from years of heavy construction work, machine shop work took its toll too.

Rob

[beachguy498]

Been slowly regaining ROM in the operated shoulder. Still gets sore throughout the day and I've been icing like a mad man.

Yesterday was the first day that I didn't need any pain meds, Advil etc etc, and slept okay. I woke up a couple times with the arm cramping, but been getting decent sleep overall.

Have my follow up appt with my doctor on Thursday and also start PT on Thursday as well.

I have tightness in my left bicep, which I'm worried about the most. I see this is very common with people pre and post SAD surgery. Hoping this will resolve with time and a good rehab program.

ROM has improved to about 65%, I can get my arm lifted out sideways, just slightly below parallel with my shoulder.

I don't hear any cracking in the shoulder either, but can't tell if it will crack when I get 100% ROM back.

Still have tightness in my upper left trap (from weak RC) and can't sit on a computer long.

Will update after Thursday again.

SH

I'd say that you're doing very well post-op. Your surgery is comparable to what I need, no full-thickness RC tear from what the MRI indicated. Again, the better shape you're in before surgery, the better the rehab will be. Don't rush it and you'll be fine. You're gonna love PT... hoard up those painkillers now...

Rob

[JohnnyD111]

We should form a group of shoulder injuries.... what a bunch of gimps

[Sauce-head]

I had royally screwed mine up body surfing.. of all things. The surf was rough but I went in anyway and got dumped by a mean 6-footer and landed hard on my out-stretched arm. That tore my labrum on the spot. It was sore for months and I only had a GP look at it.

Other damage was from years of heavy construction work, machine shop work took its toll too.

Rob

Interesting, a friend at my last job dislocated his shoulder the exact same way. He ended up dislocating it 3 more times in the next year and had to also get surgery recently since his labrum was jacked.



SH

[Sauce-head]

We should form a group of shoulder injuries.... what a bunch of gimps

No kidding bro! Seriously been the biggest downer for me. I haven't been able to train without pain for almost 2 years.


Hopefully I'm on the road back!



SH

[Sauce-head]

I'd say that you're doing very well post-op. Your surgery is comparable to what I need, no full-thickness RC tear from what the MRI indicated. Again, the better shape you're in before surgery, the better the rehab will be. Don't rush it and you'll be fine. You're gonna love PT... hoard up those painkillers now...

Rob

Thanks Rob! Yeah ROM has improved dramatically over the past couple days. Almost have it all back, I'd say 85-90% although there is a little soreness in the belly of the shoulder at the top of the movement. I have been told that's normal as there is still some inflammation in the area.

And yeah I'm looking forward to PT, but not the pain! LOL




SH

[Sauce-head]

Update:

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days for anyone following, got busy and have been sore from PT.

Went to my follow up appt on Thursday. My doctor explained that it was the best case scenario for me! Stoked about that! He said all that was needed was shaving the bone spur off and shaving a bit of bone off my acromion to go from a type 2 (semi hooked) to a flat type 1 acromion.

I asked him about the distal bicep pain and he continued to insist it was unrelated to the shoulder. I finally told him that I NEVER had bicep tendonitis/tendonosis or whatever it really is, prior to injuring my shoulder. He then said, well if you want to look at it that way, then yes the bicep pain IS related since it has been over-compensating for all the dysfunction in the shoulder. Weird, isn't that what I've been telling him all along??? LOL

He said I have very good integrity in all my tendons (RC, labrum, bicep etc) which was cool to hear. He did mention, and I can't remember the EXACT word that he used, but he basically said I have extra space around my labrum, which if he would have done an MRI with an arthrogram would have shown up as a labral tear. But the picture he showed me was awesome, it had the metal tool lifting up a little of my labrum tissue and it clearly showed the labrum was firmly attached to the bone.

After my doctor's appt I headed over to my first PT appt. Working with a chick as my therapist, though she might be a lesbo....lol, seriously! But she's awesome, extremely knowledgeable.

First thing we did was assess my range of motion, posture etc. She said I have very good range of motion for being only one week post op. I told her that while the shoulder pain is only noticeable in over-head pressing prior to surgery, the bicep pain is very dull, nagging and dis-hearting and that's what I would like to take care of the most. She said the common things, that when the shoulder is injured/weak there's a lot of muscle imbalances and tightness in the pec minor etc etc, so taking care of that should help the bicep pain UNLESS I have any sort of tear. She said if I do have a tear she suspects its only a partial one at that, but I don't want to even think about that right now. Hopefully its something related to the compensation from the weak shoulder.

After assessing we used hot therapy on my shoulder to warm it up. She then started on myofasical release and a little bit of deep tissue massaging. First thing she noticed was I have a HUGE knot in my left upper trap, my shoulder on the bad side it rolled forward right now. She said this is very common post op and that my left shoulder is sitting about an inch to two inches forward. After this she also immediately noticed the big knot in my bicep. I asked her if it was scar tissue or adhesions and she felt it wasn't, explaining the difference. She told me there will be scar tissue formation in my clavicle and it sticks out and you will feel it. So again still worried and perplexed at this bicep issue. She then stretched out my pec minor and did some "adjusting" where she manipulated my left shoulder into its correct position about two inches back. Its funny when I look at my shoulder in the mirror it sits about 1/2 inch to inch lower than my right side, I'm assuming that due to all the dysfunction and imbalances.

Then went into light rehab, I don't know all the names of the exercises I did, so I'll describe them the best I can.

I used a broomstick for the first few moments:

-holding the broomstick parallel and slowly moving it up overhead as far as I could go without pain. Got about 85% of the way there, before it hurt, so I did 2 sets of 10 on that.

-then I held the broomstick at a 45 degree angle. And moved it up and back down, almost like I was paddling a boat. 2 sets of 10 on that.

-then came external rotations to work on the weak rotators.

-then did wall crawls

-then came over to a pulley machine, sat on a flat bench and pull the pulley with my good arm (right) and slowly let the left arm go up as far as possible without pain.

-then used a cable row machine, no weight. I think these were Scapula pulls. I pulled my scap back and was instructed to hold that position as I moved further back, effectively stretching my scapula.

-then I sat on seat and had a huge swiss ball on my left side. Was instructed to press down with my arm at a 90 degree angle.

-then did some stretching: standing up turned head to the side and then down. Did that on both sides.

-chest stretch in door way on both sides; interestingly on the bad shoulder I had my hand placed down and it was locked out. While on my good side it was the traditional 90 degree arm placement.

-did a upper trap stretch where I place my hand on a table flat, arm slightly bent and then stretch away from the arm, also did that in a 45 degree angle.

-finished up with some ice and stim for 10 minutes.


I will be going twice a week and she gave me a little routine to do at home everyday that I don't see her. I feel like I'm in very good hands here, they are much more thorough and educated than my previous therapist, he was a nice guy but didn't help my issue at all. He would simply massage my arm when I was him for the bicep pain and he knew I had shoulder issues too. Weird. Anyways, these guys have worked on Teemu Selannee of the Ducks, Bob Sanders of the Colts, Tito Ortiz and several other big time athletes, night and day difference.

This morning I'm a little sore, but nothing too bad, will continue to ice, my bicep is aching so I will keep an eye on it and hopefully start progressing.


My doctor had told me in 6-8 weeks I should be good to go to get back in the gym with light weight. When I told my therapist this estimate, she laughed and said "sorry to burst your bubble, but there's NO WAY you will be back in the gym that soon." She told me to be patient and work hard and things will be back to normal but didn't give a time frame. In my head I'm already prepared for this, hell I've been in and out of the gym (mostly out) for the past 2 years, so what's another few months, 5 months or even 8 months? Yeah not ideal, but its what's necessary. I refuse to rush back in to the gym, I've heard and read too many nightmare stories to do that.

All in all a pretty easy day in therapy, she said it will get much much more challenging. Which is expected.


I'm thinking of taking today off from the rehab exercises since I'm pretty sore, but will ice a couple times, then use heat therapy and see how it feels.


Will update if noticeable symptoms arise or after therapy Monday.







SH

[beachguy498]

Update:

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days for anyone following, got busy and have been sore from PT.

Went to my follow up appt on Thursday. My doctor explained that it was the best case scenario for me! Stoked about that! He said all that was needed was shaving the bone spur off and shaving a bit of bone off my acromion to go from a type 2 (semi hooked) to a flat type 1 acromion.

I asked him about the distal bicep pain and he continued to insist it was unrelated to the shoulder. I finally told him that I NEVER had bicep tendonitis/tendonosis or whatever it really is, prior to injuring my shoulder. He then said, well if you want to look at it that way, then yes the bicep pain IS related since it has been over-compensating for all the dysfunction in the shoulder. Weird, isn't that what I've been telling him all along??? LOL

He said I have very good integrity in all my tendons (RC, labrum, bicep etc) which was cool to hear. He did mention, and I can't remember the EXACT word that he used, but he basically said I have extra space around my labrum, which if he would have done an MRI with an arthrogram would have shown up as a labral tear. But the picture he showed me was awesome, it had the metal tool lifting up a little of my labrum tissue and it clearly showed the labrum was firmly attached to the bone.

After my doctor's appt I headed over to my first PT appt. Working with a chick as my therapist, though she might be a lesbo....lol, seriously! But she's awesome, extremely knowledgeable.

First thing we did was assess my range of motion, posture etc. She said I have very good range of motion for being only one week post op. I told her that while the shoulder pain is only noticeable in over-head pressing prior to surgery, the bicep pain is very dull, nagging and dis-hearting and that's what I would like to take care of the most. She said the common things, that when the shoulder is injured/weak there's a lot of muscle imbalances and tightness in the pec minor etc etc, so taking care of that should help the bicep pain UNLESS I have any sort of tear. She said if I do have a tear she suspects its only a partial one at that, but I don't want to even think about that right now. Hopefully its something related to the compensation from the weak shoulder.

After assessing we used hot therapy on my shoulder to warm it up. She then started on myofasical release and a little bit of deep tissue massaging. First thing she noticed was I have a HUGE knot in my left upper trap, my shoulder on the bad side it rolled forward right now. She said this is very common post op and that my left shoulder is sitting about an inch to two inches forward. After this she also immediately noticed the big knot in my bicep. I asked her if it was scar tissue or adhesions and she felt it wasn't, explaining the difference. She told me there will be scar tissue formation in my clavicle and it sticks out and you will feel it. So again still worried and perplexed at this bicep issue. She then stretched out my pec minor and did some "adjusting" where she manipulated my left shoulder into its correct position about two inches back. Its funny when I look at my shoulder in the mirror it sits about 1/2 inch to inch lower than my right side, I'm assuming that due to all the dysfunction and imbalances.

Then went into light rehab, I don't know all the names of the exercises I did, so I'll describe them the best I can.

I used a broomstick for the first few moments:

-holding the broomstick parallel and slowly moving it up overhead as far as I could go without pain. Got about 85% of the way there, before it hurt, so I did 2 sets of 10 on that.

-then I held the broomstick at a 45 degree angle. And moved it up and back down, almost like I was paddling a boat. 2 sets of 10 on that.

-then came external rotations to work on the weak rotators.

-then did wall crawls

-then came over to a pulley machine, sat on a flat bench and pull the pulley with my good arm (right) and slowly let the left arm go up as far as possible without pain.

-then used a cable row machine, no weight. I think these were Scapula pulls. I pulled my scap back and was instructed to hold that position as I moved further back, effectively stretching my scapula.

-then I sat on seat and had a huge swiss ball on my left side. Was instructed to press down with my arm at a 90 degree angle.

-then did some stretching: standing up turned head to the side and then down. Did that on both sides.

-chest stretch in door way on both sides; interestingly on the bad shoulder I had my hand placed down and it was locked out. While on my good side it was the traditional 90 degree arm placement.

-did a upper trap stretch where I place my hand on a table flat, arm slightly bent and then stretch away from the arm, also did that in a 45 degree angle.

-finished up with some ice and stim for 10 minutes.

I will be going twice a week and she gave me a little routine to do at home everyday that I don't see her. I feel like I'm in very good hands here, they are much more thorough and educated than my previous therapist, he was a nice guy but didn't help my issue at all. He would simply massage my arm when I was him for the bicep pain and he knew I had shoulder issues too. Weird. Anyways, these guys have worked on Teemu Selannee of the Ducks, Bob Sanders of the Colts, Tito Ortiz and several other big time athletes, night and day difference.

This morning I'm a little sore, but nothing too bad, will continue to ice, my bicep is aching so I will keep an eye on it and hopefully start progressing.

My doctor had told me in 6-8 weeks I should be good to go to get back in the gym with light weight. When I told my therapist this estimate, she laughed and said "sorry to burst your bubble, but there's NO WAY you will be back in the gym that soon." She told me to be patient and work hard and things will be back to normal but didn't give a time frame. In my head I'm already prepared for this, hell I've been in and out of the gym (mostly out) for the past 2 years, so what's another few months, 5 months or even 8 months? Yeah not ideal, but its what's necessary. I refuse to rush back in to the gym, I've heard and read too many nightmare stories to do that.

All in all a pretty easy day in therapy, she said it will get much much more challenging. Which is expected.

I'm thinking of taking today off from the rehab exercises since I'm pretty sore, but will ice a couple times, then use heat therapy and see how it feels.

Will update if noticeable symptoms arise or after therapy Monday.

SH

Your PT routine is very similar to mine. The staff I had was very good. I had changed therapists midway and the new one, although we never hit it off, came up with a few things that the first one didn't, like my front-to-back imbalance and had me doing different exercises that helped me more.

I knew my PT was coming to an end when I was getting my strength back and the exercises were almost too easy. I was at a point where I bottomed out and agreed to stop PT upon the advice of my orthopedic surgeon. I was told that shoulder PT can run 4-5 months and I'm saving my benefits for late in the year in case I opt for the surgery.

Rob

[Sauce-head]

Your PT routine is very similar to mine. The staff I had was very good. I had changed therapists midway and the new one, although we never hit it off, came up with a few things that the first one didn't, like my front-to-back imbalance and had me doing different exercises that helped me more.

I knew my PT was coming to an end when I was getting my strength back and the exercises were almost too easy. I was at a point where I bottomed out and agreed to stop PT upon the advice of my orthopedic surgeon. I was told that shoulder PT can run 4-5 months and I'm saving my benefits for late in the year in case I opt for the surgery.

Rob

Hey Rob,

I've already met my deductible from my doc's visits and surgery. I'm just happy to be working with a competent therapist. My last therapist prior to the surgery was just horrible; internal, external rotations and some massage and that's it! Plus he was usually over-booked and trying to help 4-5 people at once, never a good idea.

My ROM is getting better and better, still have some soreness in the shoulder which is to be expected. Referred bicep pain is still present; feels more "tight" than anything else, with some dull aches. I'm going to keep hounding my therapist about it and if that doesn't improve by the end of therapy than its back to my doc I go.

Trying not to worry about the bicep pain too much, but its hard not to think something was missed since this pain has been present for 2 years now.


Will update.




SH

[Vpac]

Are you the saucehead that wrote the epic guide on pick up?

Sounds like you're in good hands with your new therapist, hope it all works out for you. Best advice is like you said to be patient and not rush back as that can (and has in your case already) made it worse.

[Sauce-head]

Are you the saucehead that wrote the epic guide on pick up?

Sounds like you're in good hands with your new therapist, hope it all works out for you. Best advice is like you said to be patient and not rush back as that can (and has in your case already) made it worse.

That would be me!! haha

Yes the new therapist is really good.

Day 2 Physical Therapy

Went in yesterday and did a lot more work than the initial session.

All the people there are very impressed that I have almost full range of motion back less than two weeks post op, which is encouraging.

Yesterday went in and started off on the table with some heat for about 5-7 minutes.

Then went into deep tissue massaging. I didn't even have to mention the bicep area, she felt my upper trap, sub-scap and bicep and immediately mentioned that they were all very tight. She said that the dysfunction has been present for so long, that it will take time to train my shoulder to sit back where its suppose to. She also mentioned its very common for people post op to have their shoulder sitting more inward than normal.

After the massage I did some ROM work: Broomsticks, external rotations, and a couple others from the day before.

Next went over to the foam roller and did a pec stretch for 3 minutes to loosen up the pec minor which is obviously tight.

Then did a lot of scapula work with cable bands. I believe they were called scapula walk outs. Did this with both arms stepping away from the machine with my scapula retracted and then did this with the bad arm side ways, similar to the external rotation position.

Followed this up with some neck stretches for the upper trap, scapula, sleeper stretch, more pec stretching. etc.

Finished up with ice and stim and was done. Was there for an hour and half, they really worked me but I'm digging it. Feel much better than last week.

My shoulder is feeling better and better, bicep is still tight, but not as much as earlier. The therapist also mentioned that the bicep has been over-compensating for so long due to the messed up shoulder. Hopefully this explains why its tight, fatigues very quickly and feels weak.

I know its early in the rehab, but I still can't get the thought out of my head that I might have a partial bicep tear out of my head since the symptoms I feel are the same exact ones listed for a tear, especially the weakness. Either that or really bad tendonosis since its been with me for 2 years.


Trying to stay positive.


Will update later this week.




SH

[beachguy498]

That would be me!! haha

Yes the new therapist is really good.

Day 2 Physical Therapy

Went in yesterday and did a lot more work than the initial session.

All the people there are very impressed that I have almost full range of motion back less than two weeks post op, which is encouraging.

Yesterday went in and started off on the table with some heat for about 5-7 minutes.

Then went into deep tissue massaging. I didn't even have to mention the bicep area, she felt my upper trap, sub-scap and bicep and immediately mentioned that they were all very tight. She said that the dysfunction has been present for so long, that it will take time to train my shoulder to sit back where its suppose to. She also mentioned its very common for people post op to have their shoulder sitting more inward than normal.

After the massage I did some ROM work: Broomsticks, external rotations, and a couple others from the day before.

Next went over to the foam roller and did a pec stretch for 3 minutes to loosen up the pec minor which is obviously tight.

Then did a lot of scapula work with cable bands. I believe they were called scapula walk outs. Did this with both arms stepping away from the machine with my scapula retracted and then did this with the bad arm side ways, similar to the external rotation position.

Followed this up with some neck stretches for the upper trap, scapula, sleeper stretch, more pec stretching. etc.

Finished up with ice and stim and was done. Was there for an hour and half, they really worked me but I'm digging it. Feel much better than last week.

My shoulder is feeling better and better, bicep is still tight, but not as much as earlier. The therapist also mentioned that the bicep has been over-compensating for so long due to the messed up shoulder. Hopefully this explains why its tight, fatigues very quickly and feels weak.

I know its early in the rehab, but I still can't get the thought out of my head that I might have a partial bicep tear out of my head since the symptoms I feel are the same exact ones listed for a tear, especially the weakness. Either that or really bad tendonosis since its been with me for 2 years.

Trying to stay positive.

Will update later this week.

SH

I was lucky to have 2 good therapists out of the 4 that worked on me. The bicep tendon into the pec massage was painful but got better as she worked it out. I could physically feel the knots break up.

I did the same deal with the heat without and with stim. Then she would "range" me seeing how the ROM was. Then onto the massage, exercises and then ice. My appointments were only supposed to be for an hour, but I often spent 1.5 hours there.

I'd hope you don't have a bicep tear, there's a lot going on in the area and the tendinitis can be brutal. Give the PT a chance and it may take a month or more before you see improvement. It was slow for me at times, painfully so.

Rob

[Sauce-head]

I was lucky to have 2 good therapists out of the 4 that worked on me. The bicep tendon into the pec massage was painful but got better as she worked it out. I could physically feel the knots break up.

I did the same deal with the heat without and with stim. Then she would "range" me seeing how the ROM was. Then onto the massage, exercises and then ice. My appointments were only supposed to be for an hour, but I often spent 1.5 hours there.

I'd hope you don't have a bicep tear, there's a lot going on in the area and the tendinitis can be brutal. Give the PT a chance and it may take a month or more before you see improvement. It was slow for me at times, painfully so.

Rob

Thanks for the info Rob.

I wanted to ask you more about your bicep pain since that's the area I'm most concerned about. I'm already seeing improvement in my tight upper traps, sub-scap etc.

I get a dull ache and lately tightness in the belly of the bicep and when i was lifting the pain would be acute in the inner bend of my arm, just below the bicep muscle. Again I show a lot of symptoms of a tear, but perhaps its just really severe tendonosis. She commented on the huge "knot" that she felt in that area as well.

Is the knot actually adhesions that need to be broken up? Because I feel a severe lack of blood flow in that area and like I said before the arm feels "dead" and fatigues really quickly.

The therapist feels confident that she can get it back to speed, but said like you, that it will take time. If that's the case I would be elated, but as you know its hard to keep positive when your still in pain....


Thanks


SH

[beachguy498]

Thanks for the info Rob.

I wanted to ask you more about your bicep pain since that's the area I'm most concerned about. I'm already seeing improvement in my tight upper traps, sub-scap etc.

I get a dull ache and lately tightness in the belly of the bicep and when i was lifting the pain would be acute in the inner bend of my arm, just below the bicep muscle. Again I show a lot of symptoms of a tear, but perhaps its just really severe tendonosis. She commented on the huge "knot" that she felt in that area as well.

Is the knot actually adhesions that need to be broken up? Because I feel a severe lack of blood flow in that area and like I said before the arm feels "dead" and fatigues really quickly.

The therapist feels confident that she can get it back to speed, but said like you, that it will take time. If that's the case I would be elated, but as you know its hard to keep positive when your still in pain....

Thanks

SH

My pain was more to do with the bicep tendon into the pec muscle on the one side, higher up than where you describe.

I don't know exactly was up with my tendonitis, I don't think I had an adhesion. My problem went along with my general shoulder condition, some arthritis, instability, impingement and the labrum tear. This is what the therapist told me anyway.

I never had much of a strength loss, the motion from any push exercise alone was killing me.

The massage was the key to my recovery, no doubt. As long as you get that with the other treatment you will improve. And the knots have to be gradually worked out with a lot of stretching than you can't do yourself. Did you get exercises for "homework"? I still do some now that keep my ROM up to speed.

Rob

[Sauce-head]

Hey Rob, thanks for the reply as always.

My bicep pain varies from in the belly of the muscle, to just below where the gap between the bicep and the forearm arm.

I did get homework stretches, she said the only way we are going to get rid of those knots is for you to stretch everyday.

I didn't do them yesterday since I was sore from the previous day of PT. But for now she has me doing ROM stuff at home with a broomstick and then the typical stretches:

Sleeper Stretch
Pec Stretch
Foam Roll Pec Stretch
Upper Trap Stretch
Levator Scap Stretch


I'm going in today, will update later tonight.





SH

[Sauce-head]

Haven't updated in a while and wanted to let everyone know how I'm doing.

I just hit 4 weeks post op (time flies) and am doing pretty good. I have been going to PT twice a week and then doing a set of stretches at home on the other 5 days.

Pretty standard stuff such as: foam rolling, sleeper stretch, pec wall stretch, scap stretches etc.

I'm excited to say that the bicep pain that has been NAGGING THE FUVVVVK out of me for the past two years is starting to improve noticeably! Very, very excited about that. I had a very very very tight pec minor, likely due to poor posture, then the added muscle compensations from the shoulder injury. So in rehab we are really working on evening out the muscle imbalances, getting my pec minor to RELAX and help get me back in working order.

Still no date as to when I can get back in the gym and to tell you the truth I'm fine with it. I have really taken this time over the past couple years to really educate myself and understand what created this situation in the first place. So my program when I go back to the gym will be radically over-hauled. Lots of stretching, making sure I'm hitting all muscles evenly and of course keeping those shoulders back! haha

I still feel a little bit of weakness in the effected bicep down the arm, but that throbbing pain has started to diminish noticeably.

I just finished my corrective phase of stretching in PT, starting next week I'm moving on to more active stretching, and continued focus on strengthening the mid traps, rhomboids and rotators.

The shoulder itself feels pretty good, I've got 95% percent ROM with minimal pain, as mentioned before they were all pretty surprised at how quickly I regained my ROM. I dunno what to say on that, except maybe I was lucky?

I've been really focused on sticking to my stretching at home and not lifting anything heavy with the effected arm. Also still using a pillow on my left side just to make sure I don't roll over on the operated side.


Things are looking up! FINALLY!! Hopefully the nightmare is close to over.





SH

[Sauce-head]

Started the next phase in PT this past week.

Started lifting very light weight, heavy reps to work on strengthening tendons, ligaments etc. I did 2 sets of 30 reps with 5 lb dumbbells and no joke at the end it was a little tough on the bad arm....lol The arm is obviously no close to 100% and is very weak compared to my right side, but at least its a step in the right direction.

Also still working on lots of ROM stuff still from phase 1, such as walk crawls, broomsticks, external rotations and lots of stretching foam roll pec minor stretch, upper trap stretch, sleeper stretch etc. All the supporting muscles are generally weak with shoulder pathology; mid/lower traps, rhomboids, rotator cuff etc. Also did some prone cobras as well which are somewhat painful, but great for helping to re-train the body esp after surgery to keep the shoulders back.

That's the main thing that my therapist and doctor noticed about me, is I def have rounded shoulders from years of weightlifting, poor posture and most likely a weak core. So as I get back in shape and build a new lifting program, it will def be emphasizing my core, stretching and really strengthening the supporting muscles of my back and shoulders.

I also had my 1 month follow up appt with my ortho on Thursday. He was very pleased to see my progress, did some manual strength testing and did note that the left arm is still weak, but obviously much better than prior to my surgery.

I've humbled myself over the past 2 years with this injury, so I have refrained from asking my therapist when I will be back in the gym full strength. For one I don't want to get my hopes up, only to be disappointed and secondly I just want to focus on working my rear off and getting my arm/shoulder and back 100% healthy.

Interestingly I asked my doctor about exactly what was done in my surgery since my MRI kinda showed a lot going on:

partial rotator cuff tear
severe tendonitis of supraspinatus cuff
joint inflammation
bone spur
type 2 acromion


To my surprise all he had to do was shave the spur off and clean up a bit of fraying presumably in the supraspinatus tendon that runs through that part of the shoulder. No distal clavicle resection, no rotator cuff repair etc etc.

Which brings me to my next point: I'm shocked I didn't have more going on because this fuvker was painful as hell and mentally draining over the past two years. Imagine lifting and trying to hit bi's only to feel a throbbing pain throughout your arm, that shoots up into your shoulder for 2 YEARS! lol

Anyways, bicep pain is much much much improved, although it still gets a little tight from time to time, but I'll take a bit of tightness over the dull ache I felt near my inner elbow any day of the week.

I'm still hitting therapy twice a week, and foam rolling, stretching etc at home everyday.


Will try and update more frequently.





SH

[Sauce-head]

Alright over-due for another update for those who are interested in following and seeing my progress.

Today I started the next phase of my rehab. Prior to this it was pretty much all corrective stretching, ROM, flexibility stuff. About two weeks ago they started adding very light weights, 3 and 5 lbs (haha) for high rep supersets mainly for bicep curls.

While my ROM keeps improving, the left arm is definitely no where near 100%, is very weak in relation to my good side and I have tons of tightness in my upper trap, scapula and rotator cuffs.

To help undue these knots/adhesions, I've been foam rolling and doing lots of stretching at home 2x a day. Sleeper stretch, levator scap stretch, upper trap stretch, pec minor stretch.

Today at therapy my therapist really cranked it up.

I did a f-in enormous superset for my biceps with 8 lbs! LOL F-in hard! It was 8 consecutive sets with 16 reps each. Working on strength endurance, developing tendon strength and helping my upper body learn how to move again.

Also started doing push ups against the end of the medical table, focusing on keeping my scap retracted and gaining strength in my mid/lower traps and rhomboids.

My therapist told me that my shoulder is pretty jacked up! LOL Sucked to hear, but also its the reality of the situation.

So while I've regained my ROM, now I'm working on getting my strength back. My guess is I'll be in rehab for at least another 6-8 weeks before I'm let loose.

I couldn't be happier with my therapist though, she's extremely knowledgeable, always answers all my questions and pays attention to detail.


Will keep everyone posted as I keep progressing.





SH