Rotator Cuff / Bicep Tenodesis Surgery; Recovery Log

[R0IDS]

Started PT today. My shoulder was a little stiff at first but it actually was able to move quite a bit more than expected.

The thing that worries me is when i have my arm straightened out and lifted my bicep feels pretty tight, including my armpit where the incision was made. I REALLY don't want the anchor to come out.

Has anyone experienced this when starting PT?


***EDIT****
Update, the tightness under my arm on on my bicep ended up being the scar tissue. This really went away after the physical therapist started scraping the scar around week 7-8.

[tkdnj]

Started PT today. My shoulder was a little stiff at first but it actually was able to move quite a bit more than expected.

The thing that worries me is when i have my arm straightened out and lifted my bicep feels pretty tight, including my armpit where the incision was made. I REALLY don't want the anchor to come out.

Has anyone experienced this when starting PT?

Absolutely experienced that. Remember they did a whole lot of cutting and drilling, so you have a massive amount of inflammation in there, and that area will be EXTREMELY tight. A big part of your PT is to SLOWLY and methodically stretch the area. Only a PT knows how to do that properly and safely. What you are feeling is normal. DO NOT push it, do EXACTLY what the PT says, and speak up if something doesn't feel right. The PT will be able to explain what you're feeling and why. Also, not every surgery is the same, so again, speak up, so the PT can respond accordingly (either with an explanation or pulling back a bit)

[userKJRQDHET0J0]

tkdnj,
thanks for this tread, it has been helpful to me! Recently I tore my long head tendon, and develop the Popeye arm. I have had the tendon reattached (feb 4th) using a Subpectoral Tenodesis procedure, with button device.

while it only been a few days out of surgery, i am able to do supported movement of the arm, and I'm noticing that i still have noticed the same Popeye deformity. i see my Dr in a week and he says to not worry to much about it, lol.

i have seen that there are different way to reattach the tendon and locations to attach to the humerus.
Anyway, was wondering what procedure(suprapectoral or subpectoral) you had done, how your bicep is looking 6months plus post surgery? while I do not expect the appearance to return to pre injury, I was hopeful of that it would look at least a little like normal? So, I'm looking to see what out comes others have had long term post injury/surgeries?

Any feedback is appreciated!

[tkdnj]

tkdnj,
thanks for this tread, it has been helpful to me! Recently I tore my long head tendon, and develop the Popeye arm. I have had the tendon reattached (feb 4th) using a Subpectoral Tenodesis procedure, with button device.

while it only been a few days out of surgery, i am able to do supported movement of the arm, and I'm noticing that i still have noticed the same Popeye deformity. i see my Dr in a week and he says to not worry to much about it, lol.

i have seen that there are different way to reattach the tendon and locations to attach to the humerus.
Anyway, was wondering what procedure(suprapectoral or subpectoral) you had done, how your bicep is looking 6months plus post surgery? while I do not expect the appearance to return to pre injury, I was hopeful of that it would look at least a little like normal? So, I'm looking to see what out comes others have had long term post injury/surgeries?

Any feedback is appreciated!

I don't know which procedure I had but I can tell you this. My right shoulder had extensive rotator cuff surgery 6 years ago which included bicep tenodesis. That bicep tendon had minimal healthy tissue so the surgeon had to make a large incision to be able to grab some healthy tissue to use to attach it to the bone. That bicep recovered strong, without a popeye look, but less of a peak on my bicep than I had before. But, it was such bad shape before the surgery that I consider the surgery and recovery a huge success.
I had my left shoulder done almost one year ago. Again extensive rotator cuff surgery with bicep tenodesis. This bicep looks exactly like it did before, nice round peak. And here's the good news for you: It had a popeye look for the first couple of months! Like your surgeon, my surgeon said don't worry about it, and sure enough it looks perfect now!

[userKJRQDHET0J0]

Thanks for the quick reply, and optimistic prognosis. I will give it the required healing and recover time. Though i may need to lean on you for Dr referral, if the recovery hits the skids. while I'm confident in my Dr ability(based on referrals and sports med reputation), he did seem kinds of indifferent to doing the procedure, as I'm not an athlete (I'm very active in gym and field sports) and to him this is just a cosmetic procedure for non athletes. He was the third Dr to tell me its only a cosmetic procedure,LOL. But at least he agreed to do the procedure the other just flat out refused, uggh.

Again thanks for your reply!

[90Annie]

Hi All,

Thank you for keeping this thread going. It has provided some very useful information, although reading it does have me a bit apprehensive at the prospect of facing a Bicep Tenodesis.

First of all, I'm not a bodybuilder, nor do I do many weights if I'm being perfectly honest, I found this thread when looking up online on what to expect from the surgery. The surgery is a result of a car accident 4 years ago, my consultant did mention this surgery the first time I saw him, but given my day job, I decided to try the conservative route first. Unfortunately, 4 years after the crash, the conservative route has not been successful.

I'm a Physical Education teacher and I'm a bit worried about how much getting the surgery will affect the day job. I intend on putting the surgery off until the summer to try and limit the time I will need off work, but realistically would anyone have any idea how long away from a job like Phys Ed teaching I'm likely going to need?

Between now and the surgery, I'm thinking of trying to increase the amount of resistance training I do in order the get the muscles about the shoulder biceps as strong as I can as I would hope that that would help the recovery post-surgery. Open to correct if I'm wrong?

Any other advice would also be appreciated?

[tkdnj]

Hi All,

Thank you for keeping this thread going. It has provided some very useful information, although reading it does have me a bit apprehensive at the prospect of facing a Bicep Tenodesis.

First of all, I'm not a bodybuilder, nor do I do many weights if I'm being perfectly honest, I found this thread when looking up online on what to expect from the surgery. The surgery is a result of a car accident 4 years ago, my consultant did mention this surgery the first time I saw him, but given my day job, I decided to try the conservative route first. Unfortunately, 4 years after the crash, the conservative route has not been successful.

I'm a Physical Education teacher and I'm a bit worried about how much getting the surgery will affect the day job. I intend on putting the surgery off until the summer to try and limit the time I will need off work, but realistically would anyone have any idea how long away from a job like Phys Ed teaching I'm likely going to need?

Between now and the surgery, I'm thinking of trying to increase the amount of resistance training I do in order the get the muscles about the shoulder biceps as strong as I can as I would hope that that would help the recovery post-surgery. Open to correct if I'm wrong?

Any other advice would also be appreciated?

It really depends how physical you are when you teach. If you just get bicep tenodesis and not a full rotator cuff repair, I would assume you could be back teaching in four to six weeks, again that’s assuming you’re not doing much with the repaired bicep tendon. As far as resistance training to prepare for the surgery, I would talk to a physical therapist and do exactly what they tell you.
Good luck

[R0IDS]

So Yesterday marks 11 weeks after my right shoulder biceps tenodesis surgery.

To sum up, this surgery has been amazing for me so far. Starting about week 6 I felt like I was 100%, even though range of motion was closer to 95%. No pain whatsoever, though I still had to be careful with my day to day according to my doctor because the bone healing around the anchor is at its weakest from 6-8 weeks.

Now at 11 weeks I have 100% range of motion and I'm getting ready to start resistance PT next week. Last week I threw a tennis ball in PT, I was a little worried because I hadn't thrown anything in months, but there was no pain at all, if felt like I could really sling it, but I didn't. I was a QB in high school and could throw about 50-60 yards, but just before my surgery a 25 yard throw hurt and I needed to throw with very stiff mechanics to protect my shoulder. Based on how my shoulder feels right now I believe I'll be able to sling a football hard again!

My biggest disappointment with the surgery so far is the shape of my bicep. I used to have a pretty nice peak, which now looks . I realize it could be from not lifting in over 3 months, but I don't think it will return. I'll come back after lifting for a few months and report on strength and muscle shape/size.


I do have a question for the thread: I'll be moving across the country in 5 weeks, which will be 16 weeks post Op. Is it safe to assume I can do PT/strengthening stuff on my own after that or will I need to get a physical therapist in my new location?

[tkdnj]

So Yesterday marks 11 weeks after my right shoulder biceps tenodesis surgery.

To sum up, this surgery has been amazing for me so far. Starting about week 6 I felt like I was 100%, even though range of motion was closer to 95%. No pain whatsoever, though I still had to be careful with my day to day according to my doctor because the bone healing around the anchor is at its weakest from 6-8 weeks.

Now at 11 weeks I have 100% range of motion and I'm getting ready to start resistance PT next week. Last week I threw a tennis ball in PT, I was a little worried because I hadn't thrown anything in months, but there was no pain at all, if felt like I could really sling it, but I didn't. I was a QB in high school and could throw about 50-60 yards, but just before my surgery a 25 yard throw hurt and I needed to throw with very stiff mechanics to protect my shoulder. Based on how my shoulder feels right now I believe I'll be able to sling a football hard again!

My biggest disappointment with the surgery so far is the shape of my bicep. I used to have a pretty nice peak, which now looks . I realize it could be from not lifting in over 3 months, but I don't think it will return. I'll come back after lifting for a few months and report on strength and muscle shape/size.


I do have a question for the thread: I'll be moving across the country in 5 weeks, which will be 16 weeks post Op. Is it safe to assume I can do PT/strengthening stuff on my own after that or will I need to get a physical therapist in my new location?

1. The shape of your bicep is unpredictable. My first surgery 6 years ago (right shoulder/arm) my peak never came back. My last surgery one year ago (left shoulder/arm), my peak came back as good, if not better, than before. In both cases bicep tenodesis was a part of overall rotator cuff surgery. (Note my right arm had more damage than my left)

2. For both my surgeries I completed formal PT before 16 weeks (and my surgeries included much more than just bicep tenodesis). I started light weight training (on my own, not in PT) after 16 weeks the first surgery, and after 13 weeks the second surgery. So you should be good to go

[Taipan13]

So Yesterday marks 11 weeks after my right shoulder biceps tenodesis surgery.

To sum up, this surgery has been amazing for me so far. Starting about week 6 I felt like I was 100%, even though range of motion was closer to 95%. No pain whatsoever, though I still had to be careful with my day to day according to my doctor because the bone healing around the anchor is at its weakest from 6-8 weeks.

Now at 11 weeks I have 100% range of motion and I'm getting ready to start resistance PT next week. Last week I threw a tennis ball in PT, I was a little worried because I hadn't thrown anything in months, but there was no pain at all, if felt like I could really sling it, but I didn't. I was a QB in high school and could throw about 50-60 yards, but just before my surgery a 25 yard throw hurt and I needed to throw with very stiff mechanics to protect my shoulder. Based on how my shoulder feels right now I believe I'll be able to sling a football hard again!

My biggest disappointment with the surgery so far is the shape of my bicep. I used to have a pretty nice peak, which now looks . I realize it could be from not lifting in over 3 months, but I don't think it will return. I'll come back after lifting for a few months and report on strength and muscle shape/size.


I do have a question for the thread: I'll be moving across the country in 5 weeks, which will be 16 weeks post Op. Is it safe to assume I can do PT/strengthening stuff on my own after that or will I need to get a physical therapist in my new location?

It's been well over a year since your last post and I'm interested to hear how things are going with you, I know you were concerned with the shape of your biceps and I'm hoping once you got back training the muscle responded accordingly, please let us know, thanks.

[Taipan13]

I had a similar surgery, but the doc said it took him more time than expected to reattach the tendon and he didn't get to clean up the rotator cuff as he hoped.

The pain surprised me after the surgery, but when I saw the 4 inch incision it made sense. I was living in the Middle East when I had it done, so the strongest thing I got was some tylenol.

I was 41 at the time I believe and the recovery and rehab went pretty well. In 6 months I could do all the lifts I wanted and just had to build the weight slowly.

Now being a couple years later, I notice no real difference in bicep shape and it has caught up and passed my left arm just a bit as it is my dominant side. I have always been prone to impingement and I now feel safer working my repaired arm as the tendon no longer goes through the shoulder.

Good luck and have patience.

Did you have open biceps tenodesis and how long after the rupture did you have the surgery?

[KieranB1996]

Good luck mate, sounds like a horrible injury that