Bigal33's Shoulder Surgery Journal!!!

[mntbikedude]

about 7 months post op

Back to full ROM on almost everything

Back to BB benching 2 plates....hopefully make it to 315 in the near future

Hope everyone else is well

thats encouraging

[mntbikedude]

i just underwent a bankart repair and arthoscopic surgery surgery last week to fix a torn ligament and small fractures i had ( sucked the bone shards right out) and im wondering when the typical time to get back into the gym using your shoulder is?
also, what about leg work? did anyone work them while in the sling?
great thread by the way :]

I started with legs a week PO.

[Jbert112]

My MRI results are in.


It states a "suspicion for a very subtle posterior labral tear, and a focal incomplete tear of the anterior labrum.

Ortho said surgery is up to me, as dictated by pain. He's one of the best and says once he gets in there, he'll find the problem and I should be near-normal once its all said and done.

The sling and PT will be a bitch, but man I'm lifting at less than 50% before, especially on chest. Im only lifting to maintain, as gains are out of the question, and its really pissing me off.

Im gonna opt for the surgery, and hopefully all goes well.

Thoughts?

[curt_james]

Al, I nominated your journal for Reps again. Great resource and so valuable to the BodySpace community.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=109

[k_nine110]

x2.... You do not want to rush anything... It takes time, My surgery was 1/7/08.. I still have a litle pain but I am lifting and taking it slow... Good luck.

Greetings all. My good friend and Hombre Curt James recommended this site. I just had my shoulder surgery on the 28th of Jan.

After going thru the thread I think that my injuries were more similar to yours as the doctor said that it was pretty messy in there. Its been a few weeks and of course sleeping and "relaxing" my shoulder during the therapy seems to be the hardest part. Any info on sleeping besides the recliner? Thanks for any info. Good luck to all.

[Beef X]

Hello all.. hope ur all healing up nicely. u guys how long does it take for a biceps tendonesis to heal up? also, how about tendonitis? is it normal to feel nothing and just feel it throb during overhead movements like putting ona shirt? Its been over a month with therapy, nothing seems to have changed..

[bigboy83]

hey all,

haven't posted in a while so just wanted to update. again i had slap repair and clavicular resection on oct 28, 2008, so the four month mark is fast approaching. in all honesty i can say that deciding to go through with the surgery was one of the best decisions ive ever made. this past month i have been slowly reintroducing upper body workouts back into my rotation. obviously i am nowhere near where i was pre-surgery or pre-injury, but i can definitely tell that a positive change has occurred in my shoulder. case in point, in the week or so following my injury my flat bench went from ~385 with no pain whatsoever to ~the bar with plenty of pain! my recent sets however have been 85 X 6 on the flat for four sets and 105 X 6 on the incline for four sets as well (was ~315 max). i have been performing these very carefully obviously and focusing more on form and stretching than strength, but rom is full and i am using the barbell. also, all pulling motions (pull downs, seated rows, shrugs, and some upright rows) are progressing much more quickly. obviously i am a long way from being anywhere near fully recovered, but the change in the past five or six weeks maybe has been incredible, at least to me. i have regained about 95% of my rom, and also have gained roughly 10 lbs back in about a month! i dont want to get too excited about anything at this point, as i know i still need to be very cautious and listen to my body as i slowly start adding poundage to my lifts again, but to those of you who have just had surgery done recently and are down in the dumps right now, it DOES get better! that is, if you continue to take care of yourself and follow through with the physical therapy protocal. i cant stress this enough. i love working out and being fit and healthy more than most people ive ever met, so all the down time was not easy for me. but i continued with cardio (i started inclined walking on the treadmill at about a week post-op) and also with limited legs and abs soon after. combined with eating healthy, getting adequate rest, and following the orders of the doc and physical therapist, i think it's fair to say that at about 15 weeks i am ahead of the curve. and if im not it doesnt matter cuz the shoulder's feeling better every day. anyways, like i said i just wanted to update and thanks to everyone on here for your comments-they definitely helped me out psychologically BIG TIME in the immediate post-op weeks. anyways, ill be sure to update again sometime in the future and good luck to all you guys (and some gals i think with your recoveries. thanks again, later.

[Camper54]

I just joined the forum and read some of the posts. I just had right shoulder surgery on 2/3/09. My surgery was almost the exact as big al's. I hope my shoulder heals like most of you. I am 54 years old and still lift weights. Unfortunately, due to the shoulder pain prior to the surgery I have not lifted in about 3 months. It sucks looking at my arms and seeing them shrink. I am in PT now for almost three weeks. I go 3 times a week. Yesterday I did triceps pushdowns with 45 pounds, two arm curls with 20 pounds and had trouble with sitting bench and pull downs with little to no weight. If I can help anyone, just ask me the questions. My left shoulder is now making clicking noises but there is not any pain. I hope this shoulder will not need the surgery. I can't wait to get back to the gym. I am in the worst shape of my life. Can't even get out and walk or do the treadmill yet. The doctor and PT said I am making fantastic progress but to slow down and not rush into anything. I also play golf and I am sure it will be some time until I get back to swinging a club. The doctor shaved my clavicle, took out bone spurs, cleaned and scraped out the joint and shaved down a frayed rotator cuff. I hope the rotator cuff fray will heal properly. Once and a while I feel like a knife is sticking out of my shoulder when I move it a certain way but the pain goes away quickly. I can't wait to feel a good pump soon. Hope all of you are healing properly.

[RyanGrob]

My MRI results are in.


It states a "suspicion for a very subtle posterior labral tear, and a focal incomplete tear of the anterior labrum.

Ortho said surgery is up to me, as dictated by pain. He's one of the best and says once he gets in there, he'll find the problem and I should be near-normal once its all said and done.

The sling and PT will be a bitch, but man I'm lifting at less than 50% before, especially on chest. Im only lifting to maintain, as gains are out of the question, and its really pissing me off.

Im gonna opt for the surgery, and hopefully all goes well.

Thoughts?

Surgery is your best bet. You're young so recovery shouldn't be a problem. The PT will be a pain, but after all said and done, you will be happy to lift again

[BigDaddy33]

I just joined the forum and read some of the posts. I just had right shoulder surgery on 2/3/09. My surgery was almost the exact as big al's. I hope my shoulder heals like most of you. I am 54 years old and still lift weights. Unfortunately, due to the shoulder pain prior to the surgery I have not lifted in about 3 months. It sucks looking at my arms and seeing them shrink. I am in PT now for almost three weeks. I go 3 times a week. Yesterday I did triceps pushdowns with 45 pounds, two arm curls with 20 pounds and had trouble with sitting bench and pull downs with little to no weight. If I can help anyone, just ask me the questions. My left shoulder is now making clicking noises but there is not any pain. I hope this shoulder will not need the surgery. I can't wait to get back to the gym. I am in the worst shape of my life. Can't even get out and walk or do the treadmill yet. The doctor and PT said I am making fantastic progress but to slow down and not rush into anything. I also play golf and I am sure it will be some time until I get back to swinging a club. The doctor shaved my clavicle, took out bone spurs, cleaned and scraped out the joint and shaved down a frayed rotator cuff. I hope the rotator cuff fray will heal properly. Once and a while I feel like a knife is sticking out of my shoulder when I move it a certain way but the pain goes away quickly. I can't wait to feel a good pump soon. Hope all of you are healing properly.

Be patient. In a matter of time you will be back. Once you start therapy, make sure to listen to them. also, don't fear the discomfort, there will be some, but it is healthy.

Surgery is your best bet. You're young so recovery shouldn't be a problem. The PT will be a pain, but after all said and done, you will be happy to lift again

x2, well put Ryan!!

[aaronstamp]

4th day out of my sling, 5th week out of surgery. started PT 2 sessions done [3 a week for 4 weeks] the doc is just stretching out my shoulder and electrical stimulation is feeling pretty great actually..
the doctor said it will be 8 weeks until i can do a pull up or a push up at least.. pretty depressing but it turns out my little bankart repair was pretty extensive and i had to have THREE anchors put in place on my shoulder. this is horrible. on a brighter note i can fully work legs with no discomfort.

how long on average did it take after PT to get back to working upper body at 100%??

[Jbert112]

Surgery is your best bet. You're young so recovery shouldn't be a problem. The PT will be a pain, but after all said and done, you will be happy to lift again

That's what I'm thinking too. Thanks man, hopefully you're right! haha

[Connan22]

Hey guys so I had surgery for a slap tear on 9/22/08 so Im 5 1/2 months out of surgery and was progressing nicely until last week when I woke up and noticed my shoulder aching and cracking and popping even more than when I was 2-3 months out of surgery, I started benching again 3 weeks ago did this happen to anyone else when they went back to benching?

[Ground_Chuck]

what the normal time to schedule surgery? I'm getting a decomp on the left and a decomp with labrum repair on the right and its taking forever to get in.

Seven weeks till surgery, just scheduled it and "can't" schedule the right until after theleft one is done.

[RyanGrob]

Mine was scheduled in November and the earliest was early/mid January. It's a pain, I know.

[AusLifter06]

I have been dealing with a Bankart lesion in my right shoulder for 11 months now and have finally scheduled surgery for 21st April. It has healed in a slightly deformed manner, according to MRI scans.

It has gradually improved over time but I'm pretty sure I will need the repair as any pressing exercise is currently out(besides some pushups). The amount of scar tissue limits some mobility and natural function in pressing motions.

Any of this sound familiar?

So the plan is to clean up excessive scar tissue and repair the labrum tear.

I'll track my progress and put updates in here like most of you guys have been doing.

[Kevie Kev]

Hey guys/gals,

Chiming in because I had shoulder surgery two weeks ago due to a labral tear.
If anyone has any questions please ask.

[AusLifter06]

How strong are some of you guys who have had the repair some time ago?(upwards of 1-2 years, back to benching 350+?)

Or maybe people you know who have had the procedure who made near full recovery in their strength levels?

[Warrior18]

First off Happy St. Paddy's to all! Enjoy the day fellas.

Today is one year post-op. My shoulder is doing well. It still "cracks" on occasion, but no pain associated with this. I've been able to stay in the weight room consistently so far with no shoulder problems. I still do rc work and scapula work before I touch the weights. I believe this is critical towards staying injury free for me.

I've put on about 15 lbs since last year [not bad considering one year ago I couldn't do a push-up]. I just hope to stay injury free so I can be bodybuilding for many years to come.

I hope that this post gives hope to you guys recovering. I know how frustrating it can be wanting to lift again and not being able to. I'm here to tell you that you WILL be back lifting soon. My advice would be to come back SLOW and LISTEN to your body.

I know I've done this many times before, but I thank Al for starting this journal. Without it, I would have been lost and felt alone. Thanks Al for giving support and answering questions for others.

[bigboy83]

hi everyone,

just ten days shy of being 5 months post op (slap repair and cut clavicle oct 28, 2008). wanted to share some progress, and as always all feedback is appreciated. weeeell... back to doing back squats; not quite carrying the bar as low on my back as id like to, but did 405 today. flat bench feeling more comfortable with 135 for roughly 6 to 8 reps, although my grip is still quite narrow. incline is much better strangely (has anyone else found this to be true??)...did 185 for six wo pain (and about a normal width grip). deadlift is climbing back up nicely as well: did 315 for 11 after three prior sets (including a one rep max of 455 which felt fine). just recently started doing upright rows also with sets at 45, 65, and 85, and am FINALLY able to keep good symmetry in the shoulder while performing them (upright rows were veeeerry awkward even with just the bar and even at 4 months). decline bench and bodyweight dips still very much out of the question which sucks. anyway, also took a couple of recent pics but am trying to resize them or something bc it wont let me upload them. oh well. ill work on it tho. well, take care, hope you are all healing up and getting stronger

[AusLifter06]

hi everyone,

just ten days shy of being 5 months post op (slap repair and cut clavicle oct 28, 2008). wanted to share some progress, and as always all feedback is appreciated. weeeell... back to doing back squats; not quite carrying the bar as low on my back as id like to, but did 405 today. flat bench feeling more comfortable with 135 for roughly 6 to 8 reps, although my grip is still quite narrow. incline is much better strangely (has anyone else found this to be true??)...did 185 for six wo pain (and about a normal width grip). deadlift is climbing back up nicely as well: did 315 for 11 after three prior sets (including a one rep max of 455 which felt fine). just recently started doing upright rows also with sets at 45, 65, and 85, and am FINALLY able to keep good symmetry in the shoulder while performing them (upright rows were veeeerry awkward even with just the bar and even at 4 months). decline bench and bodyweight dips still very much out of the question which sucks. anyway, also took a couple of recent pics but am trying to resize them or something bc it wont let me upload them. oh well. ill work on it tho. well, take care, hope you are all healing up and getting stronger

Thanks for the progress update. You're coming along quite nicely there.

Do you bring the bar down to your chest on bench and Inclines? I was just reading some article that said to avoid flat DB presses for fear of ruining the repair.(probably just a guideline but I'm still wondering what others do)

[BigDaddy33]

Sounds like everyone is doing great. Keep it up guys. My shoulder feels great, occasional pain and pop, but nothing serious, may have to deal with it for a while. will be working on strengthing all muscles around the shoulder.

[CoQ10]

Hey Everybody,

Hope you're all well.

I'm about eight months post-op and doing fairly well with push-ups and incline DB presses for my chest. Barbell work is still not an option, but the lack of variety doesn't seem to be hindering growth.

Take care.

-C10

[WeightLiftinFun]

To those that have had labrum tears, where was the pain in your shoulder originating? I fear I may have a torn labrum from falling on my arm oddly and suffering a subluxation. I have full ROM right now and can sleep on my side without a problem, but still, I feel like I have a shoulder instability issue. Here's where mine hurts, which makes me fear that I have a SLAP tear:

[IMG]http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww289/WantToJumpBetter/****edupshoulder.jpg[/IMG]

The worst part of all is I just lost my regular health insurance, and only have catastrophic coverage now, so I can't get even get an MRI, much less surgery. I have no job (very recent college grad) and right now its hard as hell to find one, which makes getting proper health insurance ****ing impossible. I can't just bring my life to a screeching halt until I can get health insurance, get an MRI, and get my surgery if necessary. I'm tempted to just train through this mother****er and regret it later. I don't know, the whole situation just sucks.

[mntbikedude]

To those that have had labrum tears, where was the pain in your shoulder originating? I fear I may have a torn labrum from falling on my arm oddly and suffering a subluxation. I have full ROM right now and can sleep on my side without a problem, but still, I feel like I have a shoulder instability issue. Here's where mine hurts, which makes me fear that I have a SLAP tear:

[IMG]http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww289/WantToJumpBetter/****edupshoulder.jpg[/IMG]

The worst part of all is I just lost my regular health insurance, and only have catastrophic coverage now, so I can't get even get an MRI, much less surgery. I have no job (very recent college grad) and right now its hard as hell to find one, which makes getting proper health insurance ****ing impossible. I can't just bring my life to a screeching halt until I can get health insurance, get an MRI, and get my surgery if necessary. I'm tempted to just train through this mother****er and regret it later. I don't know, the whole situation just sucks.

Yeah we have to change the health care system. The problem is now that you have had shoulder problems you can have a problem even getting health insurance.

My insurance company left the state and when I went to get a new provider they said I was uninsurable because I had the possibilitly of having rotator cuff problems. So I had to go on the state funded insurance which is terrible.

So on top of my families premium of $550 I have my own of $650. It is insane. Thankfully my injury was work related and was covered by workers comp.

[RyanGrob]

Make sure for those who are getting back into lifting you do RC stuff before each workout.

Internal Rotations
External Rotations
Cubans

Cables are best for the rotations. Doing this, along with joint support supplementation has been my savior.

[BigDaddy33]

Make sure for those who are getting back into lifting you do RC stuff before each workout.

Internal Rotations
External Rotations
Cubans

Cables are best for the rotations. Doing this, along with joint support supplementation has been my savior.

Agree.. keep in mind, Dumbells do NOT work for rotations. Cables or a thera band....

[CoQ10]

Agree.. keep in mind, Dumbells do NOT work for rotations. Cables or a thera band....

What about side-lying external rotations?

-C10

[AusLifter06]

What about side-lying external rotations?

-C10

Yep, ofcourse DBs work. Side lying ext rotations are a great exercise.

[BigDaddy33]

Yep, ofcourse DBs work. Side lying ext rotations are a great exercise.

Ditto... DBs are perfect. And yes, a great exercise..