Torn labrum in shoulder, need surgery, have powerlifters recovered from this?

[avianofdarkness]

I'm 22 and have been lifting seriously for about a year. I was recently diagnosed with a torn labrum in my shoulder from improper lifting. The bicep tendon is intact so I believe it is a Slap III lesion. My orthopedic surgeon suggested conservative treatment, possibly prolotherapy, and then if all else fails, surgery. He was a bit pessimistic about lifting heavy again but I'm planning on proving him wrong by taking my time, doing everything right, and eventually achieving new personal records on my lifts. My question is, have weight lifters made full recoveries from this kind of injury before? Looking for a little inspiration here.

[Eddie Debus]

i dont know personally but i have worked in physical therapy clinics and know many lifters with various 'career ending' injuries that just prove anything can heal with hard work and rehab.

Good luck

[dirtpool]

what symptoms did you have prior to going in and getting it checked??

was it a constant pain or could you only feel it why you were lifting?

[avianofdarkness]

My left shoulder just started clicking and popping a lot. Eventually I felt some pain on top of the shoulder when holding heavy dumbbells. I talked to the doctors initially and they suggested it was simply bursitis. Eventually I started feeling pain bringing weights down to my chest during benching, very slight at the beginning and then becoming more moderate with time. I decided not to risk further damage and took a break. After two weeks I tried going back but the pain hadn't subsided so I went ahead with the MRI and was diagnosed with the SLAP lesion. Glucosamine helped relieve the popping but the pain and tenderness has remained, extending into everyday activities. Classic case of muscles growing faster than tendons can keep up; hard lesson learned.

[abninfamy]

I'm no orthopedic surgeon myself, but I have a probable labral in my hip joint that I can't get checked out due to lack of MRI in the area. So I looked up a little of the stuff. Do some research on the surgery, there is really nothing they can do to repair it. They surgery consists of them just cutting out or smoothing the rough area. If that's the case ask him about it. Be specific with the orthopedists, don't just ask "can I lift heavy weights", ask "can I lift heavy weights without further injuring myself", or "will lifting heavy weights just cause me pain, but not risk further injury that will limit my abilities to do things like open jars"

[avianofdarkness]

I've looked up a lot of journals and articles about torn labrums. When they perform surgery, they basically suture it up and use a plastic anchor to nail the tendon back to the bone. This is usually done arthroscopically. People usually have success after surgery, meaning no pain. However, baseball pitchers hardly ever recover from the surgery, certainly not at the major league level. Obviously though I'm more interested in the effects surgery has on weightlifting and for this I haven't found much information. The closest I've found is football players who seem to recover fine but I was hoping someone has had some experience with this injury either directly or indirectly and knows if this affects weightlifting and what I can expect post-op.

[Danimal]

A kid who wrestled and played football with my son tore his in football practice in a fluke accident. He went thru football and then wrestling, and had surgery after wrestling. He went on to play linebacker at a D2 school and had to quit because his shoulder was still not right. I don't think he's playing at all now. It probably depends on how serious the tear is. You can probably lift after getting it fixed but might not be able to go banging your shoulder into people playing football.

[He-Man]

Man, I know where you're coming from. Back in March my right shoulder started hurting so I had an MRI done - they're free up here in Canada What it showed is a torn and frayed posterior labrum, 1/3 cartliage loss, cycsts etc etc It's NOT too good. Needless to say this put my lifting to a stand still and I was really depressed there for a bit. I had just gotten up to 290 lbs body weight with 19inch arms and I was doing 270lbs farmers walks, flipping a 800lbs tire down a 75 foot course in around 50-60 sec's, doing a 650lb yoke for 75 feet, 250 - 275 & 300lbs atlas stones etc etc etc and my gym lifts were getting scary. Then BAM the shoulder gives out!!!!

Well after I came out of the depression I'm still hovering around 275lbs, working out 3/weeks doing 30 mins of cardio, light lifting but going HEAVY on legs!!! So the final outcome will be, on a positive note, that I can use this negative to focus on bringing up my leg strength and size and cardio conditioning which is huge to strongman contests and most guys forget about it. I will have surgery, a "scope" done in the new year and I'll be happy enough to raise my hand above my head hahaha or wipe my ass without pain hahaha Seriously, the pain is gut wrenching sometimes and sleeping is HELL!!!

The bright side, I keep telling myself though, is that my legs look and feel incredible. My calves are top Mr. O caliber and my abs and lower back are super strong. So stop doing what HURTS and start doing what doesn't. There's more to working out than bench presses and curls

Merry x-mass

[avianofdarkness]

he-man: sorry to hear that man. I feel your pain, though admittedly I'm not in nearly as much pain and have no problem sleeping, etc. Do you have any plans for upper body workouts a few months after your surgery or are you just going to stick with lower body?

[bakdaman]

Hey Avian did you ever recover from this? Did you get the surgery? Thanks, man; I sent you a private message as well.

Brian

[Bubbarossa]

Had a Slap III as well...it's been about 3 years out from surgery and I'd say about 95% recovered. With that being said, that 5% will bother me at strange times during my workout from a variety of exercises, not a certain one. Not enough to stop, but definitely a reminder. Now you're 22, I'm in my late 30s, so you'll heal faster and possibly "better" than I would. I also don't lift a tremendous amount of weight, bench is bit over 300, DL is about 370, Squat is about low 300s.

It really sucked being laid up, but I feel so much better now that I had it done. From my understanding, it's only going to get worse the more you push it...and the younger you are, the better you'll recover.

[Limitless7]

Hey Avian did you ever recover from this? Did you get the surgery? Thanks, man; I sent you a private message as well.

Brian

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post856601863

Just so you know 'avianofdarkness' isn't me. I looked at his post history.

[NIsrael]

yes you can
/thread

it will depend on how well the surgery goes but to a larger extent it will depend on your physical therapy. The therapy will be the determining factor in your recovery so find a good PT.
There is no reason why you cant lift heavy again you just have to be smart about it. I had a labral tear my junior yr of high school and went on to bench close to 2x BW the following yr.

[MichBigGrizzly]

Have been there -

I had a partial tear with a beat up rotator cuff. Things went well after surgery, about 10 month recovery but was in my later 40's. I am now hitting what I was before surgery, just have to be careful. I now stay away from heavy weighted dips and cambered bar benches !

[Elpimpo1]

i had a partial labrum tear and a slap on my right shoulder from lifting.

I had orthopedic surgery in 2011 and have fully recovered.

The key was technique. After the surgery i started using powerlifting form on everything and thought "man, they're onto something here". (BTW i have my biggest lifts including overhead and bench AFTER this surgery). 6 Months After the surgery i decided i was recovered enough to do upper body work but started with pull-ups, once i was confident i moved to rows, then laterals, bench and finally overhead presses.

I HIGHLY recommend tarting slow as i did, as it will slowly strengthen all the muscles around your shoulders.