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?

[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