Rotator Cuff / Bicep Tenodesis Surgery; Recovery Log

[tkdnj]

hello all... i had surgery to repair 2 large rotator cuff tears and a ruptured bicep tendon at the shoulder on April 22, 5 days ago. i will document my recovery to provide info to those facing this. There is a lot available on youtube and in internet forums like bb.com, but not so much specific to guys like me (us); 50 years old with a goal of hitting the weights again. So, i thought this might help some of you. I will do my best to stay brief so you don't have read through too much, plus it's hard to type with my left hand.

day 0 - day 5

first off - the surgery
i will know more tomorrow when i go back to see the surgeon, but i know they used 7 anchors to re-attach and fix all the tears. Saw doc briefly in recovery room; he said it required more work than anticipated, but aside from my bicep maybe looking slightly different, i should get function back. i asked him about lifting weights, and he said yes, then i said "heavy weights?" and he said maybe not all the time. Not sure what that actually means, but i will find out more tomorrow.
As far as post op pain, it is painful as expected, but with the meds it becomes almost tolerable, but very uncomfortable having to wear the sling 24/7. Sleeping has been difficult, going to the bathroom sucked until my wife advised me to take a stool softener (there is tip #1).

Also, first 24 hours were weird because they used a nerve block during the surgery which numbed my arm 100% for 24 hours. I was advised to start the pain meds when i felt pins and needles in my hand to stay ahead of the pain (tip #2).

Today is day 1 of pt (physical therapy). i hear it is painful. we'll see.

Lastly, i have read that it will take 4-6 months to start light resistance training again, and a full year to get all the way back. Who knows if that applies to 50 year olds (will it be longer for me/us?). We shall see. Thank goodness i have the Rangers play-offs and the Mets to keep my mind busy.

Regards,
TKDNJ

[JimmyJonny]

Yep, pt is painful until you get stretched out. Make sure you take your meds beforehand too, you'll need it . It's a journey but it's worth it, good luck.

Will be watching........

[andhen2003]

I had my bicep reattached and still lift heavy, though the recovery definitely took a while. Mine became ruptured/detached at the elbow though, not the shoulder. Mine happened when I was 42. I was told mine would look a bit different too but I haven't noticed - of course I'm not a bodybuilder so I'm not real focused on its appearance!

Agreed on getting ahead of the pain. I didn't take my pain meds when I got home from the surgery, as I didn't think it was bad at first, and I didn't like the idea of taking Oxy. But I woke up that night and HOLY CRAP it hurt.

One interesting point I didn't know beforehand is that your bicep is used to turn your wrist (supinated to pronated), and so I did a lot of PT holding a weight and turning my wrist back and forth.

Sorry to hear you're dealing with rotator tears too. I'm sure you'll get back up to full speed in well under a year! Good luck!

[angrypenguin54]

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.

[tkdnj]

Thanks for the info guys.
Today is day 6; pain is still there, but not as bad. Taking 800 mg ibuprofen 2X per day; no more percoset. Adding in tylenol as needed.
I had my first rehab yesterday. As I was warned it was painful. I will go 3 days a week for now.
Saw the surgeon today. Said things look ok. Said eventually I will have full use, but advised I should consider giving up taekwondo sparring because of the unpredictability of the blows, blocks, and falls. He said pretty much what he said in post op recovery room. 4 anchors in one rotator cuff tendon, 2 in another, and 1 in the bicep tendon. The bicep tendon was torn in 2 spots, one just north of the bicep, which is why the incision was double the normal size; but there was just enough healthy tendon to re-attach it.

[andhen2003]

Thanks for the info guys.
Today is day 6; pain is still there, but not as bad. Taking 800 mg ibuprofen 2X per day; no more percoset. Adding in tylenol as needed.
I had my first rehab yesterday. As I was warned it was painful. I will go 3 days a week for now.
Saw the surgeon today. Said things look ok. Said eventually I will have full use, but advised I should consider giving up taekwondo sparring because of the unpredictability of the blows, blocks, and falls. He said pretty much what he said in post op recovery room. 4 anchors in one rotator cuff tendon, 2 in another, and 1 in the bicep tendon. The bicep tendon was torn in 2 spots, one just north of the bicep, which is why the incision was double the normal size; but there was just enough healthy tendon to re-attach it.

the incision on my elbow is actually pretty close in length to yours, just done in a "Z". That picture is giving me bad flashbacks. Get better soon, frankenstein!

[Mark1T]

tk, all the best on your recovery. Sorry if I missed it, but how did you injure yourself in the first place?

[tkdnj]

tk, all the best on your recovery. Sorry if I missed it, but how did you injure yourself in the first place?

it was nothing specific. I lifted since i was 16. Went through bouts of sore shoulder from time to time from catching in fast pitch softball, playing flag football (defensive end against much bigger guys) and hockey. Then at 40 i started taekwondo which i did for 9 years, and only did pushups and pullups (sparred 3 x per week and had many a sore shoulder). At 49 i got back into lifting, and felt great for a year before the shoulder starting bothering me. A couple months later it starting getting worse with every workout. Tried cortizone shot which provided short term pain relief. When pain returned i got an MRI which showed two rotator cuff tears and a bicep tendon tear.

[tkdnj]

Day 10
pain seems to be a bit less overall, but still peaks at times. Have been off the percoset for a few days, but still on 1600 mg of ibuprofen a day. Had 3 days of PT so far; which is a bit painful, but overall feels very therapeutic (all passive movement). Sleep is still an issue because i have to sleep in my sling. I get about 3 hours a night. That sucks.

[taf1968]

Damn . . . that sucks. But glad to hear it went well and best of luck with the recovery. I had a full distal bicep tendon rupture a couple years ago, so I can sympathize. Hang in there!

[TiborDublin]

It sounds very similar to my shoulder problem, just had an MRI done after 2 cortisone shots, waiting for the result back, but my pain was not a rotator cuff pain but ac joint. I'm 40 and been only lifting a year and a half. I'm scared sh.tless that there's something serious, waiting for the MRI results.
Best of luck with the recovery.

[Fishman15]

hello all... i had surgery to repair 2 large rotator cuff tears and a ruptured bicep tendon at the shoulder on April 22, 5 days ago. i will document my recovery to provide info to those facing this. There is a lot available on youtube and in internet forums like bb.com, but not so much specific to guys like me (us); 50 years old with a goal of hitting the weights again. So, i thought this might help some of you. I will do my best to stay brief so you don't have read through too much, plus it's hard to type with my left hand.

day 0 - day 5

first off - the surgery
i will know more tomorrow when i go back to see the surgeon, but i know they used 7 anchors to re-attach and fix all the tears. Saw doc briefly in recovery room; he said it required more work than anticipated, but aside from my bicep maybe looking slightly different, i should get function back. i asked him about lifting weights, and he said yes, then i said "heavy weights?" and he said maybe not all the time. Not sure what that actually means, but i will find out more tomorrow.
As far as post op pain, it is painful as expected, but with the meds it becomes almost tolerable, but very uncomfortable having to wear the sling 24/7. Sleeping has been difficult, going to the bathroom sucked until my wife advised me to take a stool softener (there is tip #1).

Also, first 24 hours were weird because they used a nerve block during the surgery which numbed my arm 100% for 24 hours. I was advised to start the pain meds when i felt pins and needles in my hand to stay ahead of the pain (tip #2).

Today is day 1 of pt (physical therapy). i hear it is painful. we'll see.

Lastly, i have read that it will take 4-6 months to start light resistance training again, and a full year to get all the way back. Who knows if that applies to 50 year olds (will it be longer for me/us?). We shall see. Thank goodness i have the Rangers play-offs and the Mets to keep my mind busy.

Regards,
TKDNJ

Good for you TK! I also had a similar surgery back in July of last year. I also had a torn bicep tendon that was re-attached to my upper arm bone rather than in the shoulder. I did not have any rotator cuff repair but did have some bone spurs removed and my clavicle was shaved to allow more room in the joint. I was suppose to be in a sling for a week...I was taking it on and off starting the 2nd day but always wore it at night so I didn't do something stupid while sleeping. I was told by my doc no gym for 6 weeks. I was back in 10 days...no real weights but I immediately started using the Hammer Strength machines for pushing and pulling with no weights or just very light weights just to initiate the movements and get the blood flowing. I think that helped tremendously and got me back in the game earlier than most.

I used the gym for my shoulder rehab and it worked out well for me. At the 10 month mark I couldn't be happier with my recovery. My max dumbbell shoulder press before the surgery was 55 lbs and brought on pain. I'm now doing 70's pain free and incline db bench press are up to 80's pain free! My bicep curl strength on the repaired, non dominant side is about 5 to 10% less than my good side. It's not really noticeable pulling but I do notice it when doing preachers. Still, being able to preacher curl a 45 lb db with it has me very satisfied at this point. My surgeon also did a great job on where he anchored the remaining bicep tendon. Too long and the bicep muscle sags low and too short and it would look to high on the arm. If it wasn't for the scar you wouldn't really be able to see a difference.

Good luck and use the gym to heal and get stronger but be smart and very cautious about it...

[dalylink]

"Thank goodness i have the Rangers play-offs and the Mets to keep my mind busy."

Yes, you'lll need your meds for the Mets (I grew up in Queens. BElieve me, I know).

Good luck on your recovery. I've been fortunate so far in Not having an injury like that

[tkdnj]

hi all - just want to pause and thank everyone for the great information and well wishes! It's greatly appreciated

[snyderd758]

Hi I had pretty much the same surgery 12/18/2014. I also had a helluva time sleeping the sweet spot for me to string together a couple hours of sleep was 1) sleep in a recliner 2) get one of those pillows that wrap around your neck and 3) whatever side the injury is on pile pillows underneath your elbow so there is no weight on your shoulder and the elbow doesn't drop below the shoulder. Buy a bunch of ice packs and ice the shoulder like clockwork once an hour 20 min at a time. There will be setbacks and days where it hurts so bad you feel like your not ever going to recover just baby the arm keep the sling on as long as the dr says to. I just started light resistance training 3 weeks ago and by light I mean 4 pound bent over dumbbell rows and 1 lb bent over flyes. 5 months out from surgery it really only hurts in the morning especially on cold days all of my range of motion is back but I'm still cautious. So there are a couple of the pointers I have and I think it is great you are logging this it will help a lot of people in the future. Good luck in your recovery.

[tkdnj]

Hi I had pretty much the same surgery 12/18/2014. I also had a helluva time sleeping the sweet spot for me to string together a couple hours of sleep was 1) sleep in a recliner 2) get one of those pillows that wrap around your neck and 3) whatever side the injury is on pile pillows underneath your elbow so there is no weight on your shoulder and the elbow doesn't drop below the shoulder. Buy a bunch of ice packs and ice the shoulder like clockwork once an hour 20 min at a time. There will be setbacks and days where it hurts so bad you feel like your not ever going to recover just baby the arm keep the sling on as long as the dr says to. I just started light resistance training 3 weeks ago and by light I mean 4 pound bent over dumbbell rows and 1 lb bent over flyes. 5 months out from surgery it really only hurts in the morning especially on cold days all of my range of motion is back but I'm still cautious. So there are a couple of the pointers I have and I think it is great you are logging this it will help a lot of people in the future. Good luck in your recovery.

Thanks for the info... If you don't mind, I have a few questions:

1. i am 3 weeks out and still have enough pain to use ibuprofen (400 mgs in the morning and 600-800 mgs before bed). Do you recall when you were able to stop pain killers?
2. When were you able to sleep in a bed? When did you start sleeping through the night?
3. How soon after surgery did you start rehab? I started 5 days after surgery (all passive)
4. How bad did your muscles atrophy? Did you do any kind of training since the surgery? (cardio? lower body?) If so, when did you start?

THANKS!!!!!

[Arsinek]

Holy crap this thread scares me.

I recently injured my shoulders kipping but dont have the money to have them scanned or anything. I dont think the injury is major but something is wrong because its been almost a month and its still not healed.

So now Im left wondering what to do. Can I do any of the things I like to do? Do I have to baby my shoulders and try not to even move my arms?

[tkdnj]

Today is 4 weeks since my surgery:
1. I have been off ibuprofen for the last 3 days; the pain is much less; now just an achy feeling (unless I move it the wrong way); sleep still sucks because i have to sleep in the sling in my recliner
2. I just started active rehab 2 days ago (i have been doing passive rehab since 5 days after surgery 3 times a week). My range of motion is on schedule
3. I will not be permitted to hold any weight with my right arm for another 8 weeks or so (even then just tiny weights), but I started doing the following workout:
Day 1: leg extensions, leg curls & 20 minutes on Treadmill
Day 2: Calves and abs & 30 minutes on Treadmill
Day 3: Left side (good side) tricep, bicep, shoulder (light weight just to keep my left side active)
Day 4: Calves and abs & 30 minutes on Treadmill
REPEAT

[tkdnj]

Today is 6 weeks since my surgery:
1. pain is much less than the first 4 weeks, but has its moments since I am now doing more in rehab and in just normal day to day activities; sleep still sucks because i sleep in a recliner still, and when I wake up, whether it be 5,6, or 7 AM, I can't go back to sleep because that is the really the only time it hurts, so I can't fall back to sleep
2. Saw surgeon yesterday; says everything looks great. He has added bicep strengthening to my rehab prescription. I am proud to say I curled the yellow bands for 3 sets of ten today (it's like curling 1 pound LOL).
3. Rehab remains 3X per week. Will most likely be another 5-7 months before I can do real workout on my upper body
4. I continue to do the following workout:
Day 1: Legs: leg press (just added leg press in today), leg extensions, leg curls & 10 minutes on Treadmill
Day 2: Calves and abs & 30 minutes on Treadmill
Day 3: Left side (good side) tricep, bicep, shoulder (light weight just to keep my left side active)
Day 4: Calves and abs & 30 minutes on Treadmill
REPEAT

[tkdnj]

Today is 8 weeks since my surgery: from what I read the 7 anchors they put in should be pretty secure now, but it will take about 6 months (4 months from now) until the tendons fully attach to the bones they were screwed into
1. pain is much less; only hurts when I wake up in the morning and when my physical therapist stretches me (or if I move too sudden or reach too far). I started sleeping in a bed 2 days ago (I slept in a recliner since the surgery)
3. Rehab remains 3X per week. It now includes "strengthening" which means things like tricep pushdowns, bicep curls, and low rows with TINY weight. Will most likely be another 5-7 months before I can do real workout on my upper body
4. I can raise my arm almost all the way up, but my external rotation range of motion is still only about 50%
5. I continue to do the following workout on my own:
Day 1: Calves and abs & 30 minutes on Treadmill
Day 2: Left side (good side) a few sets of tricep, bicep, shoulder at about 70% of my normal weight just to keep my left side active
Day 3: Calves and abs & 30 minutes on Treadmill
Day 4: Legs: leg press, leg extensions, leg curls & 10 minutes on Treadmill
Day 5: Off

REPEAT

[JimmyJonny]

It was at about 8 weeks when my anchor came out.......... be careful man !!!

Moving to quickly or stopping to fast is what you have to watch out for. All I did was stick my arm out fast to stop a van door from opening.............. and pop.

Glad to see things going well for ya. It just takes a lot of time to heal, hang in there.

[tkdnj]

It was at about 8 weeks when my anchor came out.......... be careful man !!!

Moving to quickly or stopping to fast is what you have to watch out for. All I did was stick my arm out fast to stop a van door from opening.............. and pop.

Glad to see things going well for ya. It just takes a lot of time to heal, hang in there.

How did you know it came out at first? How did they confirm it? Thanks!

[JimmyJonny]

When it came out it sounded like fishing line snapping....... loud enough to where my friend could hear it. My bicep dropped immediately. I also got a small bruise on my bicep a day or so later.

[tkdnj]

Today is 5 months since my surgery.
I have been back lifting for about 1 month. The surgeon "released" me to start lifting 4 months after surgery. He said go very light and strict, avoid anything over head, make sure I can always see my hands, and take time to build back up. He said it should take 2-3 months to build my strength back. I am doing mostly isolation exercises, as compound movements would be tough on my shoulder at this point. For example, I am doing my entire chest workout with cables (including a modified press).
My triceps, lats, and legs, are about 75% there. My chest, biceps (in addition to the torn rotator cuffs, I had a torn bicep tendon), and shoulders are at about 50%. My biggest concern right now is that I can not do anything that involves bringing weight towards my chest (like a bench press or even a push up). It feels painful and unsturdy. I see the surgeon again on October 6. Hopefully he tells me that is normal, and that it will keep getting better.
I went from 174 before the surgery, down to 164, and now back to 170. The arm / shoulder that had the surgery was obviously more atrophied than the good side until I started back normal lifting (I did some isolation with the good side while recovering). The "bad" side is still smaller and less muscular than the "good" side, but the bad side is catching up.
TKDNJ

[Fishman15]

Today is 5 months since my surgery.
I have been back lifting for about 1 month. The surgeon "released" me to start lifting 4 months after surgery. He said go very light and strict, avoid anything over head, make sure I can always see my hands, and take time to build back up. He said it should take 2-3 months to build my strength back. I am doing mostly isolation exercises, as compound movements would be tough on my shoulder at this point. For example, I am doing my entire chest workout with cables (including a modified press).
My triceps, lats, and legs, are about 75% there. My chest, biceps (in addition to the torn rotator cuffs, I had a torn bicep tendon), and shoulders are at about 50%. My biggest concern right now is that I can not do anything that involves bringing weight towards my chest (like a bench press or even a push up). It feels painful and unsturdy. I see the surgeon again on October 6. Hopefully he tells me that is normal, and that it will keep getting better.
I went from 174 before the surgery, down to 164, and now back to 170. The arm / shoulder that had the surgery was obviously more atrophied than the good side until I started back normal lifting (I did some isolation with the good side while recovering). The "bad" side is still smaller and less muscular than the "good" side, but the bad side is catching up.
TKDNJ

Don't panic on your chest movements. I was able to pull much sooner and way better than any push movements after my surgery. I would highly recommend starting out with super light dumbells rather than the bar. That ability to adjust the angle ever so slightly made all the difference in the world to me. It's been a year now since my surgery and although I am up to 90's on flat bench db without pain, using the bar would always feel uncomfortable and a little painful even without any weight until just over a month ago. For some reason the incline bb has felt better than my flat bb so I' am going with that right now. Like I said though...it felt really weird to be restricted with a bar for a long, long time. Start doing close grip push ups with your feet on the floor and your hands on a sitting bench rather than flat on the floor. Don't go very wide with this until you feel more comfortable and confident. If those are painful than do them on a wall and work your way down to a bench. The worst is over...

[angrypenguin54]

Sounds like you are progressing well. Be patient and build slowly. It seems like forever while you are going through it, but looking back at it now it was just a blip on the radar.

I have my right side, my strong side, repaired after a complete rupture. It took about 2 years for it to become my strong side again, but it ended up balancing pretty well in the end. I cant tell a difference in the bicep except for the 4 inch scar on the shoulder which is kinda cool anyway.

I am stronger and more balanced now a few years after the surgery than before, so stick with it and do things right and you can actually come out better for it.

[tkdnj]

Thanks for the replies guys! Great info!

[tkdnj]

6 months since my rotator cuff / bicep tenodesis surgery.

I have been back lifting for about 2 months. Been going light and strict (which I probably will do forever), but with high intensity. Rep range is 8-15. Back to my "push/off/legs/pull/off" routine, so I am working out 3 of every 5 days.

Shoulder is sore after work outs and when I wake up. Other than that I am pretty pain free (except when I do a bench press movement - more on that in a minute). Last week at my 6 month visit with my surgeon he said it will be 9-12 months (which is 3-6 months from now) until it is all healed and feeling normal. He did say I have good strength and mobility for the extent of my repair (I had 7 anchors put in)

Regarding strength, Back, Bi's and Tri's are around 80%. Legs are pretty much the same since I was hitting them while I was healing up. Shoulders are about 70% back. The biggest challenge is chest. There is still a lot of pain when I do a bench press movement so I do my whole chest workout, including a pressing movement, on the cable machine. I have been making progress with push ups which is a good sign. So still, I am doing all isolation exercises, but like I said, the intensity is high, including going to failure.

I have gained all my weight back. The biggest difference in my physique is the atrophy in the bicep and lat of the side that had the surgery, but it's coming back.

if anyone is facing this surgery, I would be glad to answer any of your questions.

Let's Go Mets!
TKDNJ

[richtoys]

Guys, I'm so thankful for you sharing information about your injuries, surgery and recovery. I was in a car accident and was rear ended by a drunk driver who fell asleep at the wheel on 7-7-15. I injured my neck, back, and shoulder. Neck was a impinged nerve in c6. Took a while to get the feeling back in my right hand. I has a torn muscle and a sprained ligament in my left side of my back and glute. Again therapy was able to get that under control. Therapy and cortisone shots didn't help my shoulder. An MRI revealed a torn rotator cuff, labrum, and torn bicep tendon. The Dr thought it would all be arthroscopic clean up based on what he could see in the MRI. I woke up found out that I had an 80% tear. So two anchors later and heard that I had a bicep tenodesis. I was scared when I finally got to talk to my therapist. He seems to believe that I will be able to return back to 90%. I was benching 425 x 3 two weeks before the injury. I am three weeks from surgery and I have been to therapy 5 times. Sleeping is horrible. I hate the sling. I have two of them. One for the gym and one for home. I have just been doing cardio the past two days. Going to try legs tomorrow. I am 48 and this is so frustrating that I am uncertain about being able to lift. It is truly one of the most enjoyable things that I do.

[Brackneyc]

Guys, I'm so thankful for you sharing information about your injuries, surgery and recovery. I was in a car accident and was rear ended by a drunk driver who fell asleep at the wheel on 7-7-15. I injured my neck, back, and shoulder. Neck was a impinged nerve in c6. Took a while to get the feeling back in my right hand. I has a torn muscle and a sprained ligament in my left side of my back and glute. Again therapy was able to get that under control. Therapy and cortisone shots didn't help my shoulder. An MRI revealed a torn rotator cuff, labrum, and torn bicep tendon. The Dr thought it would all be arthroscopic clean up based on what he could see in the MRI. I woke up found out that I had an 80% tear. So two anchors later and heard that I had a bicep tenodesis. I was scared when I finally got to talk to my therapist. He seems to believe that I will be able to return back to 90%. I was benching 425 x 3 two weeks before the injury. I am three weeks from surgery and I have been to therapy 5 times. Sleeping is horrible. I hate the sling. I have two of them. One for the gym and one for home. I have just been doing cardio the past two days. Going to try legs tomorrow. I am 48 and this is so frustrating that I am uncertain about being able to lift. It is truly one of the most enjoyable things that I do.

You are going to do legs three weeks post shoulder surgery? What does your surgeon think of this?