labrum surgery

[sethdunn]

I just had SLAP repair sugery on my left shoulder. I am worried about the rehab process. One week after the surgery i went in for my post op appointment and the doctor told me to start physical therapy. I went 2 weeks on pain pills. the begining of the 3rd week it started feeling better and i could go without pain pills for about 5 days. Well during my 5th session of PT and afterward my shoulder started hurting real bad again and its super sensitive and i feel pain all over again when i move it. I also notice that i cant do the PT exercises as good as I was doing them and it hurts alot more.

I never know if this pain is good or if I am damaging it during thuring the physical therapy.

the doctor keeps telling me he wants me in the sling at all times for 4 weeks and no movement involving the muscles except during physical therapy. He keeps warning me that you can pull the sutures out and i would have to have surgery again to repair it. But in PT they are having me do all this strenous stuff involving my muscles.

My question is how do I know if i am injuring it by ripping sutures out or if its good pain from PT?

I was without pain for 5 days until my 5th PT session and now im in pain all over again and i can feel tightness over my whole labrum area from like superior to posterior.

what do you guys who've had this surgery done think?

how was the whole rehab process?

[BradleyS]

I think you have a messed up doctor.

How many anchors did you have put in?

i'm just like you...I worry about causing injury to my shoulder. I am roughly 4 weeks out of surgery, tear from 6-9 in the back and 4-5 in the front. 3 anchors put in.

I am in a sling for 6 weeks total, 2 more left.

Doctor talked in an incredibly stern voice to my parents, telling them to MAKE SURE I don't move it for those two weeks. I am not allowed to be a little more liberal with it, as I am not in a sling right now.

My process looks like this....

surgery --> 2 weeks post op visit, still in sling for 4 more, exercises to raise arm to 90deg and "pendulum" exercises --> 6 weeks post op, start PT, no more sling.

I'm surprised the doctor is rushing things so fast for you. I am 4 weeks out of surgery, and I still get pain.

I'm worried about hurting it again, yes, but when the doctor was done he picked up up by my arm and tried to dislocate it..and failed. also tried to dislocate it at 2 weeks post op appt. (by dislocate I mean "move"...hard to explain, he does stability tests and prior to surgery they caused dislocations for me)

I have faith in this doctor, and he did 15 other labrum repairs between my surgery and the two week post op appt.



I wish I could give you better advice, or how to handle it...but just wanted to let you know this is how my process is looking

[mstafford]

I am just over two years pat my surgery. My shoulder still creaks from the anchors. It will be painful and sore for a couple of months. My shoulder is still sore if I sleep on it wrong, but you MUST stay in PT it will never get back to "normal" unless you work on it. When you can start swimming crawl stroke it will strengthen it with minimal impact. I am basically back to post injury otherwise.

[dmc888]

I would complain to your doctor about the pain and ask about the pt sessions. Tell him what they are having you do and your in a lot of pain and describe it to him. At least get some vicodin for the p therapy and try to spread them out if you can because they don't give you many.

A good pt would say see the doctor and come back with a doctors note if you are hurting more and losing strength. Mostly to cover their ass.

If its a workmans comp doctor i could see him rushing things.

When i had my complete slap tear surgery I had 4 weeks sling and just pendulum exercises at home. Then went to my docs appointment and he said i was ready to go back to work. He luckily asked me if i had physical therapy right before i left. I was going to tear my **** and sue his rich ass. Thats how much of a rush these w comp docs are in.

After that it was 1-2 months of physical therapy than 3-4 months work hardening. Mostly range of motion exercises in the beginning of p therapy. A lot of tingly and numbing feelings from stretching out the nerves. Mostly bands and like 5lb weights until work hardening.

Doesn't make sense to have to wear a sling and do physical therapy.

I always told my doctor and my pt that i thought it was unsafe when they had me go too fast or to do something that might injure myself. And kept the doc updated on what kind of exercises i was doing. You would be surprised how bad the communication could be between the doctor and the physical therapist. I would keep calling the doc if you have any questions.

The doc pretty much has the control on what the pt has you do for p therapy and work hardening.

I did hot showers, cold packs, heating pad, numbing ointments, pain relievers, and a good orthopedic pillow for the pain.

Been about 2 years and i'm down to hot showers and the pillow. Stronger than before injury.

[sethdunn]

BradleyS, I work at the methodist hospital. the doctor who did my surgery is the team doctor for the Houston Astros. He specializes in doing shoulders for pitchers. He does labrum surgeries every week.

[sethdunn]

thank you guys for your responses. Its good to hear that you guys that are 2 years post op are stronger than you were before the surgery. that is very encouraging.

i forgot to tell that the labrum surgery was my main reason for the surgery but that he also repaired my AC joint. he said that i had alot of arthritis from all the lifting for 20 years. im only 34 but have been lifting heavy all that time. they shaved some bone off.

I was told when i complained to the doctor that the Physical Therapy so quick was because of the Ac joint and that the labrum doesnt need PT so quick.

You know i realized the AC joint is whats causing me all the pain. You know i dont understand because my AC joint really wasnt causing me that much pain it was just like a throw in job since he was going into my shoulder. I almost wish he didnt repair it. But oh well will see how everything turns out.

[braves1964]

I have a 16 yr old son that is having labrum surgery next month. What are his chances for playing football next year? Practice will start at the end or July...

[BradleyS]

I have a 16 yr old son that is having labrum surgery next month. What are his chances for playing football next year? Practice will start at the end or July...

That will be something you need to discuss with his surgeon. They often times say you can return to contact sports after 6 months...however in my personal experience I would choose to wait longer as you still have some strength to recover and it can take longer then expected to be back at 100% (for example, it took close to four months to regain my range of motion in my left shoulder but only two months on my right)

If it is his dream to play this coming season, you should make sure the surgeon and PT both know that. It's possible, but it might be a tight squeeze in that time frame.


How ya doin over there sethdunn?

[WorkingOnTheDream]

I am just over two years pat my surgery. My shoulder still creaks from the anchors. It will be painful and sore for a couple of months. My shoulder is still sore if I sleep on it wrong, but you MUST stay in PT it will never get back to "normal" unless you work on it. When you can start swimming crawl stroke it will strengthen it with minimal impact. I am basically back to post injury otherwise.

My ortho said he would use dissolving anchors. Did they use permanent anchors for you?

[AphtaLyfe]

I had my surgery back in April. I am now fully recovered with little or no pain... although my range of motion is slightly less than it used to be.

I returned to the gym after about 4 months and at about month 7 I was back to my previous strength.

I do not have any pain when sleeping or when walking around normally. (well sometimes my AC joint bothers me)

During my recovery process I also thought that the PT ****ed up my shoulder, but it was just the normal healing process.

Its actually pretty hard to pull the sutures out... You need quite a bit of weight to pull them out, and the weight you use in PT is pretty light.

You're ok, don't worry.

-Good Luck

[braves1964]

Was your labrum tore all of the way around?

[degz32]

I had my surgery about 4 weeks ago and I have no pain in my shoulder at all. I have began Pt but am also worried that they are gunna mess up my arm. I have wore my sling most of the 4 weeks time, but I have taken it out from time to time.I have not really used my arm much at all just to type and do small things. I have stretched my arm above my head and let it lay flat above me with little pain but very uncomftorable, and other stuff as well but all internal rotation. I am wondering if i should be worring about pulling the anchors out of my arm and will I be able to return to boxing and mabye even wrestle? Also what would it take to pull the anchors out of my arm becuase I have moved my arm in some bad postions but no pain at all, is that enough to pull out the anchors? Best of luck to everyone else to.

[Crusher80]

I am wondering if i should be worring about pulling the anchors out of my arm and will I be able to return to boxing and mabye even wrestle? Also what would it take to pull the anchors out of my arm because I have moved my arm in some bad positions but no pain at all, is that enough to pull out the anchors?

I also would like to know this.

[PoleVault05]

I have a few questions for you guys who have been through this. I just got my surgery with three anchors put in. I have been doing my best to stay in the sling and not move my arm much but there have been few times that I regret. The few days after the surgery I was in a lot of pain but after that, I felt real good it almost felt like i didnt need the sling(Even though i kept wearing it) now a few weeks later, the pain has returned. The doctor also gave me this pendulum exercise to do. I now noticed that along with the returned pain, that my shoulder is completely unstable. If i let it relax, it sags down and it also feels out of "joint". Is this normal or should i be really concerned?

[jwronk]

I am about to have Surgery. I have a tear from the 9 to 1 position. I was told it is torn away from the bone. The post surgery visit is the day after and therapy starts on the same day. I ws told they will evaluate to see what type of pt to give. It seems as though most of your doctors have delayed therapy. I am not sure what they will have me do, so I can't give opinion compared to your pt's. The doctor is well known in the NFL and a college team surgeon. I am not sure what to think at this point other than to trust your doctor but ask a lot of questions. It seems as though many sports people recover from this surgery quickly and return to playing. I welcome comments from anyone and will post as I go through the process.

[hvillefootball2]

I have a 16 yr old son that is having labrum surgery next month. What are his chances for playing football next year? Practice will start at the end or July...

I also had labrum surgery on the front and back of my shoulder they had to open it up through the front and liproscopic through the back. I had mine Nov. 19 and the surgeon i had said i will be all set by football season which is the only reason i had the surgery. I did play through the tear through most of my season and it didn't affect me much just kept popping out of place and i'd have to move it back in. I just started rehab and they said in 6 more weeks i can start strengthening it. He should probably be back in time for football.

[DanKurz]

I lifted for about a year not knowing I had a couple tears in my labrum..I just knew my shoulder was messed up somehow. Got the MRI and I had surgery for a torn labrum (anterior and posterior tears) about 7 months ago..Good surgeon who told me that this surgery is what he specialized in. I only went to about 8 PT sessions and then had to go back to college. I started lifting again around 5 months after surgery and I'm pretty much back to lifting the same weight I was before-but the shoulder still aches when I lift. I'm really concerned that something has either gone wrong or I'm just rushing to get back into the lifting. I hit the weights hard doing a chest/triceps workout the other day and for a few days after that-had the worst same aching pain in the same spots as I did before surgery. What concerns me the Most- My shoulder was making the weirdest noise I've ever heard a human body part make..Like a door closing with the hinges needing some WD-40 (something grinding). The smartest thing I'm guessing I need to do is keep the weight light for now and take things slow because this surgery and sitting on my ass not being able to lift was pure hell for me and I don't want to have to have another surgery. I was told I should be back to "full activity" after 6 months but it's definitely not back to normal yet. Anyone have a similar experience with this surgery?

[thebear123]

you should of stuck with PT thats what helps your shoulder get better

I didn't have surgery b/c i had a small tear, did PT for about 10 weeks at a really good place and my shoulder feels great and I been back in the gym for about 11 weeks and so far everythings good

of course I'm restricted to certain exercises like dips and military presses

[mhnarmour]

Their are 3 major "walls" of pain when recovering. 1 at two months, 3 months and 6 months. This is when you really have to push your shoulder through rahabilitation and gain your strength back. Small breaks of not throwing or lifting should be needed through these times. I am at 6 months and i have gained about 70 percent of my throwing velocity, but i am really pushing fat burning and muscle building execizes to ensure a 100 percent recovery. I am now at 83 mph, on the way back to the high 80's(88-90mph)

[Hogan1956]

54 year old male who had surgery on his left shoulder 7/21/10 after trying to rehab a injury incured 2/3/10 bench pressing.

The procedure: diagnostic arthroscopy and extensive debidement of the articular shearing of the glenoid with debridement of the anterior inferior labial tear and debridement of partial thickness humeral surface rotator cuff tear of the supraspinatus and subacromial decompression.

postoperative diagnosis: partial thickness supraspinatus tear with severe osteoarthritis and large osteochondral shearing of the glenoid and inferior and anterior labial tear.

Surgeons description: The arthoscope was introduced after the joint was insufflated with 30ccs of saline in subacromial bursa space and insufflated with 20 ccs of .25 percent Marcaine with Epinephrine. The interarticular surfaces were visualized and biceps tendon was intact as was the labial anchor. Anterior and inferior labial showed a large flap tear that was sheared of the entire 50% inferior aspect of the glenoid and anterior aspect that was still attached at the inferior rim and the anterior inferior rim. It was creating a large flap and this was debrided as was the torn labrum. The humeral surface also had a large area of osteoarthritis with grade IV chondromalacia and extensive chondromalacia was noted throughout the glenoid. Once the chondroplasty was performed, and unstable articular cartilage debrided back. the cartilage and fragments were removed from the joint. There was a small partial thickness tear of the humeral surface of the supraspinatus. This was debrided with a shaver. The biceps tendon was stable and examined. There was no significant tendonosis. Subscapularis was intact. There was some intra-articular synovitis. There was some bursitis encountered and this was debided and a standard decompression was then affected with the arthowand, 4.5 shaver and the 4.5 burr. The distal clavicle was preserved by coplaning and the extensive bursectomy was performed. The bursal surface of the cuff was healthy and no sign of a complete tear was identified. The wound was then injected with 20 ccs of Neuropen and sterile dressing applied.

PT was started 2 days after surgery and continued for 6 weeks i was then turned loose on my own The doctor didn't bother to tell me not to lift again because he knew i was going to, but said i can never lift heavy again.

9/11/10 had my 1st workout consisted of 3 sets of innies and outies for the rotator cuff.
3 sets of 15 overhead military press with 2 lb dumbbells
3 sets 20 lat pulldown 10 lbs on pulley
3 sets of 15 wall pushups( in place of bench)
3 sets of 20 rows same 10 lbs on pulley
3 sets of 15 curl with 5 lb dumbbells
3 sets of 20 tricep pushdown with 10 lbs on pulley
15 minutes of ice applied after.

Shoulder is sore today but not hurting. It sure felt good to be doing something other than leg work after 2 months,

[coolfreitas]

I just had SLAP repair sugery on my left shoulder. I am worried about the rehab process. One week after the surgery i went in for my post op appointment and the doctor told me to start physical therapy. I went 2 weeks on pain pills. the begining of the 3rd week it started feeling better and i could go without pain pills for about 5 days. Well during my 5th session of PT and afterward my shoulder started hurting real bad again and its super sensitive and i feel pain all over again when i move it. I also notice that i cant do the PT exercises as good as I was doing them and it hurts alot more.

I never know if this pain is good or if I am damaging it during thuring the physical therapy.

the doctor keeps telling me he wants me in the sling at all times for 4 weeks and no movement involving the muscles except during physical therapy. He keeps warning me that you can pull the sutures out and i would have to have surgery again to repair it. But in PT they are having me do all this strenous stuff involving my muscles.

My question is how do I know if i am injuring it by ripping sutures out or if its good pain from PT?

I was without pain for 5 days until my 5th PT session and now im in pain all over again and i can feel tightness over my whole labrum area from like superior to posterior.

what do you guys who've had this surgery done think?

how was the whole rehab process?

the **** would your doctor put you into pt after a week? thats retarded. im only in week 3 so i cant really help=/

[LesSnooks]

Hi Dan,

I am exactly where you are now. I am 7 months out of SLAP surgery, but whenever I do anything heavy my entire shoulder swells up for the next few days. I am doing normal bench press and incline dumbbell type exercises, nothing obviously stressful like military or anything behind my head.

My question is what action did you take at this point in your recovery? Did you keep lifting through it, did you make adjustments in what you lifted and did anything work?

-Sean

I lifted for about a year not knowing I had a couple tears in my labrum..I just knew my shoulder was messed up somehow. Got the MRI and I had surgery for a torn labrum (anterior and posterior tears) about 7 months ago..Good surgeon who told me that this surgery is what he specialized in. I only went to about 8 PT sessions and then had to go back to college. I started lifting again around 5 months after surgery and I'm pretty much back to lifting the same weight I was before-but the shoulder still aches when I lift. I'm really concerned that something has either gone wrong or I'm just rushing to get back into the lifting. I hit the weights hard doing a chest/triceps workout the other day and for a few days after that-had the worst same aching pain in the same spots as I did before surgery. What concerns me the Most- My shoulder was making the weirdest noise I've ever heard a human body part make..Like a door closing with the hinges needing some WD-40 (something grinding). The smartest thing I'm guessing I need to do is keep the weight light for now and take things slow because this surgery and sitting on my ass not being able to lift was pure hell for me and I don't want to have to have another surgery. I was told I should be back to "full activity" after 6 months but it's definitely not back to normal yet. Anyone have a similar experience with this surgery?

[Hockey1608]

How should I prep for surgery?

[Smoore1913]

I'm 17, and I have surgery on my labrum sept. 4, 2014. It was a 360 degree tear and I have 9 anchors in there. It's been about 9 months since surgery and I still can't bench anything over 100 pounds without my shoulder feeling weird (scary-feel like I'm going to hurt it again weird). I was out of the sling 3 weeks after surgery and I went through some extra pt. my rom isn't excellent, being that I can't even hold the bar when squatting. Any one have suggestions?

[2Rude4MyOwnGood]

I'm 17, and I have surgery on my labrum sept. 4, 2014. It was a 360 degree tear and I have 9 anchors in there. It's been about 9 months since surgery and I still can't bench anything over 100 pounds without my shoulder feeling weird (scary-feel like I'm going to hurt it again weird). I was out of the sling 3 weeks after surgery and I went through some extra pt. my rom isn't excellent, being that I can't even hold the bar when squatting. Any one have suggestions?

If you had a 360 degree tear requiring 9 anchors, it's logical to assume that you'll have some restrictions in the gym. You probably haven't done anything wrong in regards to your recovery, it's just that it's difficult for a shoulder to function at 100% with 9 anchors in there. You may just have to accept that certain exercises are off limits.

It'll continue to get better over time. It took me over a year and a half to get my ROM back.

[trickerd8]

If you had a 360 degree tear requiring 9 anchors, it's logical to assume that you'll have some restrictions in the gym. You probably haven't done anything wrong in regards to your recovery, it's just that it's difficult for a shoulder to function at 100% with 9 anchors in there. You may just have to accept that certain exercises are off limits.

It'll continue to get better over time. It took me over a year and a half to get my ROM back.

I have a tear in each shoulder. the left one hurts everyday, but in gym it feels okay. the right one hurts in gym only..messed up right. I have been doing PT for three months and on October 8th I get to chose what arm to have surgery on. I am going with my right arm. BC its the one that hurts in gym on flys and pull downs. also I went five months with out gym and three of them months (2-5) I have been doing PT everyday. only got maybe 5% better. hurts bad and is holding me back. the tear is small i will need to get two anchors in each (one at a time) do you think I will be okay? since its only two anchors?

[trickerd8]

I just had SLAP repair sugery on my left shoulder. I am worried about the rehab process. One week after the surgery i went in for my post op appointment and the doctor told me to start physical therapy. I went 2 weeks on pain pills. the begining of the 3rd week it started feeling better and i could go without pain pills for about 5 days. Well during my 5th session of PT and afterward my shoulder started hurting real bad again and its super sensitive and i feel pain all over again when i move it. I also notice that i cant do the PT exercises as good as I was doing them and it hurts alot more.

I never know if this pain is good or if I am damaging it during thuring the physical therapy.

the doctor keeps telling me he wants me in the sling at all times for 4 weeks and no movement involving the muscles except during physical therapy. He keeps warning me that you can pull the sutures out and i would have to have surgery again to repair it. But in PT they are having me do all this strenous stuff involving my muscles.

My question is how do I know if i am injuring it by ripping sutures out or if its good pain from PT?

I was without pain for 5 days until my 5th PT session and now im in pain all over again and i can feel tightness over my whole labrum area from like superior to posterior.

what do you guys who've had this surgery done think?

how was the whole rehab process?

hey. so what ended up happening to the shoulder? you turn out okay? strong bump

[2Rude4MyOwnGood]

I have a tear in each shoulder. the left one hurts everyday, but in gym it feels okay. the right one hurts in gym only..messed up right. I have been doing PT for three months and on October 8th I get to chose what arm to have surgery on. I am going with my right arm. BC its the one that hurts in gym on flys and pull downs. also I went five months with out gym and three of them months (2-5) I have been doing PT everyday. only got maybe 5% better. hurts bad and is holding me back. the tear is small i will need to get two anchors in each (one at a time) do you think I will be okay? since its only two anchors?

Most likely, yes, you'll be just fine. Generally speaking, small repairs have a much better outcome/easier recovery than larger ones. Although I'm not sure how your doctor knows exactly how many anchors will need to be used solely based on an MRI. An MRI/A will often show the tear, but not accurately show exactly how large the tear is. Maybe your doctor got some really good images of your shoulder.

In my case the MRI/A showed an obvious tear that seemed to be reasonably large, but my doctor was shocked that he ended up having to use 7 anchors during the procedure.

[sowilson]

Doc won't know how extensive the repair will be until they get in there and repair it. My son's doc thought 4 would cover it, it ended up taking 6 anchors. His 1 year follow up will be in a week and we'll see how he's doing. He's back to benching 240lb, and back squating 385 with a bar and 465 with an SSB. The joint is tighter but then it should be (makes sense if you think about it). No restrictions as he's back to playing football, OHP's, cleans, clean and press and is doing assisted pull ups (he's 260lbs). He just finished up PT a month ago but he still does his rehab exercises everyday as a prehab. As long as he's playing sports he'll need to keep doing his shoulder rehab. Smore and Trickerd you should follow and contribute to the labrum surgery thread that has over 400 posts and was very active until quite recently. Lot's of good stuff on rehab in there.

[Alexten32]

Not sure if this topic is still going but I assume it is since labral tears are such a tough experience (at least my experience). This is long so I apologize. But there doesn't seem allot of posts out there regarding the actual recovery period and how it changes your lifestyle.
A bit about me. 42 years old. In May of 2015 fell and braced my impact with my arm in a "chicken wing" position. Immediately there was pain from my shoulder that radiated to my neck, down my arm, with pain points mostly being in my elbow and wrist.
I saw the doctor in June and he suspected a significant labral tear. Early July MRA showed a SLAP tear but doctor reviewed the MRI study and believed it to be a SLAP and reverse Bankart.
Work Comp approved the surgery so in August I went in for surgery. Once the doctor got in there I had a 360 degree tear. So 9 anchors were placed along with taking 4mm off the AC joint hook as well as Mumford decompression. The rotator cuff and bicep tendon were good.
First 3 days post surgery was the most unbearable pain I have ever been through. As compared to my two prior back surgeries the labrum repair was off the charts pain and the back surgery pain was nothing compared to this.
After the first 3 days the pain was still intense but has progressively got better at a very slow rate. A month post op and pain is still pretty much at a 6/10 on my pain scale.
PT started 2 weeks post op. I was told due to there being mild arthritis in the joint the approach for therapy will be more aggressive and accelerated to make sure I dont have my shoulder tighten up too much - lucky me. Surgeon told me he was worried the repair may have been "too tight" but he seemed okay with things. I'm still in the sling and will be for at least another 2.5 weeks. Therapist wants me out of the sling for longer periods to help keep the joint loose which is contrary to what I have been told or read.
Therapy has been rough to say the least. Just finishing up at 3 weeks post op and my shoulder has been pushed to 180 degrees laying down overhead and 55 degree outward. From day one I could feel the tightness of the sutures and anchors pulling my shoulder downward. There is a definite difference in my shoulder heights. Best way I can describe it is it feels like a seam that wants to pop free.
So it's almost been 4 weeks and unless my pants are super loose at the waist I still cannot button them. Everything is such a task from eating, driving, cooking, showering, getting dressed, and even going to the bathroom. Oversized loose fitting shirts and pants seem to be a must. As do loafer style shoes.
Once I get to the end of this recovery my therapist told me I would more than likely not be able to go full range of motion on my flat bench press from my chest upward which is discouraging to say the least. Also seems my overhead dumbell tricep extensions will also be off limits. I keep hearing my shoulder will be better than before but sure doesn't seem like it, does it? Better, but here is your list of things you should no longer do lest you damage the repair.