"Weightlifter's Shoulder" - Distal Clavicle Osteolysis - Resection Surgery

[c r a z y r a y]

my shoulder has started acting up again.... not happy about this

surgery on 1/22... came back with no pain (just fatigue in the shoulder)... 2 months had a post op... doc said everything looked great... went on a mini bulk (all BB lifts) w/no problems at all

switched over to crossfit for the last 2 months (if those on here know, there is a TON of shoulder work... cleans, push press, tons of pullups, etc) with no real problems

last week or so, my shoulder has really been bothering me... when the doc checked my DCR post op he pushed down on the top of the bone and there was NO pain... i've been pushing around and there's not really pain... i'm thinking i may just be dealing with tendonitis from scar tissue in the area

i've read about people needing 2 DCRs in rare cases, and with how fast i came back i'm not really worried if the bone spur did in fact come back, but i felt the need to post this up on here...

maybe some of you guys have felt some pain post op for short periods of time and can chime in

[grebnehtor]

Hey there, I guess my question for you is: what if I don't have the surgery? I've been "dealing" with the pain and discomfort in my left shoulder for about a year now...stopped training and went to pt for two and a half months with no change...have been scheduled for surgery twice and have cancelled each time. I'm just not sure that it's going to be worth it to have to stop training for possibly three months plus while everything "heals". So, what are the possible consequences of just toughing this out?

In my personal "internet" research, I've found that this injury didn't heal and in effect you would be just wasting your time; however, that doesn't mean that there are cases where this injury has healed in people. It's a personal decision that you and only you can make. I am sure that your health provider will provide you with enough info to make the best informed decision you can make based on your own personal situation.

[POWERSTROKE75]

In my personal "internet" research, I've found that this injury didn't heal and in effect you would be just wasting your time; however, that doesn't mean that there are cases where this injury has healed in people. It's a personal decision that you and only you can make. I am sure that your health provider will provide you with enough info to make the best informed decision you can make based on your own personal situation.

Thanks for the reply, Greb. To be honest, I have gained more information from this thread than from my health care provider, physical threapist or even my orthopedic surgeon combined! The bottom line is that I'm just tired of not knowing for sure what I'm dealing with. The MRI scan and various ROM tests all seem to support the same diagnosis but from what I'm led to believe, until I have the surgery, nothing is for certain. So, I'm scheduled to have the DCR (Mumford Procedure) on Monday morning (7/13)...wish me luck! I'll keep everyone posted...thanks again for the support!

[marius1]

Good luck powerstroke75. I got mumford done 6 months (?) ago and my shoulder feels great now. I'm very close to 100%. I highly recommend the procedure.

[POWERSTROKE75]

Good luck powerstroke75. I got mumford done 6 months (?) ago and my shoulder feels great now. I'm very close to 100%. I highly recommend the procedure.

Thanks Marius1...just a little nervous right about now. The last surgery I had was when I was a kid getting my tonsils out...lol! Great to hear that you're almost all the way back...my surgeon keeps warning me about the possibility of developing a "frozen shoulder". Anyone out there had this happen post-surgery?

[marius1]

man i was getting more and more nervous by the minute right up until I woke up after my surgery. I think mostly I wasn't comfortable with being knocked out.

As for "frozen shoulder", I definitely had some stiffness and pain for a while and even went to see my doc a couple of times because of it after surgery. He kept telling me not to worry and that it will go away, and sure enough it's mostly gone now.

[POWERSTROKE75]

man i was getting more and more nervous by the minute right up until I woke up after my surgery. I think mostly I wasn't comfortable with being knocked out.

As for "frozen shoulder", I definitely had some stiffness and pain for a while and even went to see my doc a couple of times because of it after surgery. He kept telling me not to worry and that it will go away, and sure enough it's mostly gone now.

Well, that's great to hear, maruis1. I guess all I can do at this point is stay postive and hope for the best. Thanks again for your support...I'll be sure to keep you posted.

[Toxzin]

Hello all, first time here. Great thread, I've learned a lot. I've recently been diagnosed with weightlifters clavicle in my left shoulder. After reading the thread, it seems like most people have done the surgery. Surgery flat out freaks me out and I was hopping to hear from some people who were able to get back in the gym with just a modified routine and continue to workout.

I have been lifting weights my whole life (I'm 25) but never very serious. I'm in the gym 3-5 times a week. I think I developed my should problem just recently doing a lot of shoulder and shrug work trying to get in shape for surfing. (Which is silly because by far the best routine to get in shape for surfing is surfing itself). Problem is, I'm now unable to do pull ups and bench.

I'm hoping by staying away from shrugs and shoulder press I'll be able to continue to bench and do pull ups without the surgery. Has anyone had good results by purely changing their routine and staying away from pain causing shoulder presses?

Thx

[POWERSTROKE75]

Hello all, first time here. Great thread, I've learned a lot. I've recently been diagnosed with weightlifters clavicle in my left shoulder. After reading the thread, it seems like most people have done the surgery. Surgery flat out freaks me out and I was hopping to hear from some people who were able to get back in the gym with just a modified routine and continue to workout.

I have been lifting weights my whole life (I'm 25) but never very serious. I'm in the gym 3-5 times a week. I think I developed my should problem just recently doing a lot of shoulder and shrug work trying to get in shape for surfing. (Which is silly because by far the best routine to get in shape for surfing is surfing itself). Problem is, I'm now unable to do pull ups and bench.

I'm hoping by staying away from shrugs and shoulder press I'll be able to continue to bench and do pull ups without the surgery. Has anyone had good results by purely changing their routine and staying away from pain causing shoulder presses?

Thx

Welcome to the thread, Toxzin. I just had surgery on Monday (7/13) after over a year of dealing with persistent pain and discomfort in my left shoulder. When I was about 30, I starting developing internal impingements in both shoulders and eventually went to physical therapy for both. PT helped and probably bought me some additional time but eventually I ended up getting the surgery. By this time last year, I had developed a persistent ache in my left shoulder that just wouldn't go away completely. I rested it for a couple of months...no change...had two months of pt...no change...then just decided to tough it out....got worse...so here I am. In addition to the DCR (Mumford procedure) I also ended up with a torn labrum that had to be fixed. Perhaps if I had taken care of this problem sooner, that wouldn't have been the case. So my advice is don't guess or speculate. Get in and see your doctor asap and at the very least get a professional opinion about what may be going on otherwise, you may end up making things worse and as you get older it most likely will catch up with you. Hope this helps...good luck!

[POWERSTROKE75]

Just wanted to check in with an update: I had my surgery one week ago today. The shoulder is stiff and sore but my range of motion seems to be gradually increasing each day. The pain factor overall was very low...in fact, I only took pain meds the day of and the day after surgery. However, nausea (from being put under) continued in one form or another for about the first 4-5 days. I was given an ice machine and have been using it regularly each day...about every three-four hours on the average. The sling is the worst part especially sleeping with it. I can understand why so many on this thread claimed to have abandoned it early on although I think maybe I have been able to heal more quickly by keeping the shoulder supported. Anyway, that's about it! I have a follow-up with my orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday (7/22)...hopefully he will free me from having to wear the sling anymore...original estimate was two weeks. I'll update later in the week.

[joverfield]

I had this surgery two years ago. I followed my ortho's recommendations and advice to the letter. It took six months before I could lift full reps on bench again. However, I have never regretted the surgery. It is a night and day difference of pain ever since. Keep us posted on your progress. Hopefully your healing goes quicker than my did.

[joverfield]

This is kind of what my injury felt like.

[POWERSTROKE75]

I had my Post-Op follow-up appt. with my surgeon today...good news/bad news. Good news is I'm officially cleared to be out of the arm sling after just 9 days post-op. Bad news was I had pretty significant cartiledge damage to the a/c joint. Due to the extensive damage, my surgeon went ahead and initiated a series of microfractures along with some debraiding of the exposed bone. The idea behind creating the additional trauma is to stimulate further blood flow into the area which hopefully will lead to new cartiledge growth which hopefully will cover over the area that was damaged. It's going to take at least a couple of months and in the meantime, my physical therapy will consist only of passive range-of-motion exercises...no load bearing will be allowed whatsoever (no weights, bands etc.) due to the fact that it may interfere with this very delicate healing process. If it doesn't take, then I could be in for further joint discomfort which would most likely mean an open procedure to cap the humerous bone with an artificial cushioning mechanism. I start physical therapy on Tuesday. In the meantime...lots and lots of cardio!

[Toxzin]

I had my Post-Op follow-up appt. with my surgeon today...good news/bad news. Good news is I'm officially cleared to be out of the arm sling after just 9 days post-op. Bad news was I had pretty significant cartiledge damage to the a/c joint. Due to the extensive damage, my surgeon went ahead and initiated a series of microfractures along with some debraiding of the exposed bone. The idea behind creating the additional trauma is to stimulate further blood flow into the area which hopefully will lead to new cartiledge growth which hopefully will cover over the area that was damaged. It's going to take at least a couple of months and in the meantime, my physical therapy will consist only of passive range-of-motion exercises...no load bearing will be allowed whatsoever (no weights, bands etc.) due to the fact that it may interfere with this very delicate healing process. If it doesn't take, then I could be in for further joint discomfort which would most likely mean an open procedure to cap the humerous bone with an artificial cushioning mechanism. I start physical therapy on Tuesday. In the meantime...lots and lots of cardio!

Thanks for the update.

I'm going in Thursday for my follow up appt after getting X-rays 3 weeks ago. I've changed my lifting routine. Stayed away from pullups and bench and my shoulder has been feeling pretty good. I've lost some weight, probably muscle, but my cardio is better than ever. Hopefully I've modified my routine enough to stop the damage, if not I'll be going under the knife soon as well.

Anyone have tips on some chest exercises that don't rely heavily on the AC joint?

Best,

Tox

[db682]

I have been diagnosed with Osteolysis of the Distal Clavicle and AC joint. I am lucky enough to live in Gainesville and have actually been seeing the sports medicine and orthopedic surgeons for the University of Florida football team. They x-rayed my shoulder and did an MRI to diagnose me. They told me to take it easy for awhile and avoid shoulder, chest, traps and upper back exercises and any other moves that cause any pain whatsoever in the AC joint area. I am supposed to go back in 4 weeks for more x-rays to see if there is any regrowth occurance. I was told that without surgery there will never be 100% recovery and that any overstressing of the shoulder will bring back the injury to a possibly worse condition then before. So I have been thinking very hard about the surgery and will probably go ahead and get it scheduled.

My questions are the following.

1. Although I have a very good BCBS insurance policy that covers the surgery there are always little things that add up that they dont cover. Can someone give me a ballpark range of the cost to have the surgery performed?

2. Is it outpatient surgery?

3. How limited was your arm after surgery? Could you type on a keyboard and do minor movements? I am a project manager for a construction company and need to have some use of it for office and field stuff.

4. Were you required to go the PT afterwards? If so did they give you a things to avoid list and send you on your way or do you have to keep returning every couple of days.

My wife is talking about having a kid in the next year and the main reason I want the surgery is because I want to be able to pick the kid up without being in pain. Plus the doctors said that arthritsis and other movement limiting conditions will gradually start to kick in.

Thanks,
db

[dbrunner00]

Hey Folks,

Been awhile since I checked this board. I had my left shoulder done in '06. It was cleaned out, carved and the Bursa was removed. Glad to say that I'm back to benching and all of the foolishness that caused it in the first place. ;-) If I had to give an estimate, I'd say I have about 95% recovery. I think the trimming of the clavicle did some minor changes to the muscle angles. There are a few moves that will give me a twinge, like an incline press on a machine. But, all in all, I'm doing good. Things are pretty much back to normal. Now, if I could just do something about this "Getting Old" part, I'd be just ducky. LOL

[POWERSTROKE75]

Hey everyone,
Just thought I would post a quick update on my recovery. For those who are new to the thread, I had my surgery on 7/13. The main procedure involved is known as the Mumford procedure or a grinding down of the clavicle/acromion...I also had a repair of a torn labrum and "cleaning up" significant cartiledge damage along the top portion of the humeral head (where the arm bone contacts the shoulder joint). This cleaning up procedure involved "debraiding" the damaged area and also the intiation of several microfractures to hopefully stimulate new cartiledge regrowth. The good news is that at this point, I have total range of motion back. My physical therapist seems very impressed considering the severity of my injury. However, I do continue to have significant soreness within the a/c joint. In addition, the muscles surrounding the shoulder complex are still quite sore to touch. What's interesting is that for the most part, I really don't notice the pain unless I move a certain way. The daily tasks that seem to create the most pain would be putting on and taking off a t-shirt and/or putting deodorant (reaching across my body with my left to put on my right arm pit). Other than those certain movements, I don't feel much discomfort on a daily basis. Due to the significant cartiledge damage, I'm told my recovery is different than most as I am only allowed to do passive range of motion exercises for the first six weeks. This means no weight bearing exercises (no bands, pulleys or weights) whatsoever. I mean, my surgeon doesn't want me using my left arm for any sort of bracing or lifting at all. This is easier said than done as sometimes it's easy to forget and reach out for something or worse yet pick something up! So, I've been doing cardio almost daily...along with abs and lower back. The hardest part is really not the physical but the psychological. Watching the changes in my physique has been a very difficult and humbling experience. I haven't lifted weights now for over two months and I have lost a lot of muscle. When you go through something like this it makes you realize just how much we tend to take things for granted and how arrogant we can sometimes become when things are going well. In the end, you just have to keep it all in perspective and hope for the best. I'll post more as things develop further...good luck to everyone!

[grebnehtor]

Hey everyone,
Just thought I would post a quick update on my recovery. For those who are new to the thread, I had my surgery on 7/13. The main procedure involved is known as the Mumford procedure or a grinding down of the clavicle/acromion...I also had a repair of a torn labrum and "cleaning up" significant cartiledge damage along the top portion of the humeral head (where the arm bone contacts the shoulder joint). This cleaning up procedure involved "debraiding" the damaged area and also the intiation of several microfractures to hopefully stimulate new cartiledge regrowth. The good news is that at this point, I have total range of motion back. My physical therapist seems very impressed considering the severity of my injury. However, I do continue to have significant soreness within the a/c joint. In addition, the muscles surrounding the shoulder complex are still quite sore to touch. What's interesting is that for the most part, I really don't notice the pain unless I move a certain way. The daily tasks that seem to create the most pain would be putting on and taking off a t-shirt and/or putting deodorant (reaching across my body with my left to put on my right arm pit). Other than those certain movements, I don't feel much discomfort on a daily basis. Due to the significant cartiledge damage, I'm told my recovery is different than most as I am only allowed to do passive range of motion exercises for the first six weeks. This means no weight bearing exercises (no bands, pulleys or weights) whatsoever. I mean, my surgeon doesn't want me using my left arm for any sort of bracing or lifting at all. This is easier said than done as sometimes it's easy to forget and reach out for something or worse yet pick something up! So, I've been doing cardio almost daily...along with abs and lower back. The hardest part is really not the physical but the psychological. Watching the changes in my physique has been a very difficult and humbling experience. I haven't lifted weights now for over two months and I have lost a lot of muscle. When you go through something like this it makes you realize just how much we tend to take things for granted and how arrogant we can sometimes become when things are going well. In the end, you just have to keep it all in perspective and hope for the best. I'll post more as things develop further...good luck to everyone!

Good to hear from you dbrunner! As for the above post, I agree that the psychological effects are the worst, as dbrunner can attest. In fact, dbrunner and I kept a dialogue on the private messaging, discussing the various aspects of our healing process. This helped me out alot in my psychological recovery process, so I suggest you find someone near you who is going through the same s***. As for me, everything is working fine these days, so good luck and have a speedy recovery!

[jfiercly]

New to this forum and would like to start commenting..........Had the same Mumford surgery a year ago. Check out my avatar...This was b4 surgery. U should be able to see the bone protruding from right shoulder. I guess a had this bump for 2 years b4 this, but did not care because it caused no to little pain and still at 100% in sterength. But, then weakness came fast using that arm especially when using hammer strength equip. For example, for chest press on hammer, left side 4 plates and right side only 2 plates. Tried to rest, but strength continuing to decrease. Then ortho said that bone was tearing shoulder tendon whole time while working out past 2 years and now labrum finally was torn. Now looking at this pic, it looks like the bone on my good left shoulder was also protruding......But present day, I have another shoulder problem if u want to hear it.

[Sport_1st]

3. How limited was your arm after surgery? Could you type on a keyboard and do minor movements? I am a project manager for a construction company and need to have some use of it for office and field stuff.

4. Were you required to go the PT afterwards? If so did they give you a things to avoid list and send you on your way or do you have to keep returning every couple of days.

My wife is talking about having a kid in the next year and the main reason I want the surgery is because I want to be able to pick the kid up without being in pain. Plus the doctors said that arthritsis and other movement limiting conditions will gradually start to kick in.

Wow.. I didn't realise it had been so long since I last chatted here. In short, I had 6mm taken off the end of my clavicle almost 12 months ago. It was open surgery as opposed to keyhole, but the scar is no big deal.

I am now lifting more than I ever have, feeling better than ever and pretty much doing everything I could before I got DCO. I followed my PT and surgeon's advice almost obsessively, but the key was backing it up with the advice on here too - most importantly: DON'T RUSH INTO HEAVY WEIGHTS.

I took it light for quite a while - really just getting ROM back and trying to flush/pump as much blood into the op site as possible - 6 weeks of that I think, maybe more. Then light cables, light pin-loaded machines and eventually light free-weights. Take the opportunity to work on other parts like legs and abs and cardio - did wonders!

Anyway... db I'm in Australia so can only answer #3 & #4. I was back at work 2 days later... I'm a writer so the keyboard is my life and it was a bit slow and awkward but no great dramas.

As for my PT - he was brilliant - but then having read this thread so many times, I pretty much knew what to expect so we were able to have some really in-depth discussions about what to do and what not to do. See if you can get your PT or surgeon to show you a model of the muscles and bone at the AC joint. It makes things a lot easier to understand. And expect pain in strange places - especially the traps and the pecs. In fact trap and pec soreness lasted a lot longer than the shoulder pain ? it's just how all the muscles react in unison.

And as for your last note... I don't think there is ANY better reason to have this surgery than to be able to pick up your child and smile. Awesome stuff buddy!

Oh and as for arthritis... my surgeon told me that since I have no cartilage there any more... there's no chance of arthritis - bonus!

All the best mate and I hope your recovery goes as smoothly as mine.

[luis319]

Hello my name is luis i am 24 years old and use to horse play with my shoulder!! in other words charge at my friends with my shoulder. over a year i developed a popping noise in my shoulder that would increase when i would work out. It is as if i would half to make the popping noise to relieve pressure after workouts and it would be really sore. I went in to surgery on 7/09/2009 it has almost been 2 months and i have been going to therapy 2 times a week. I have noticed that the same popping noise is coming back when i move my shoulder out to the side am i the only person that has this problem? this is what i had done arthroscopic
1. Right shoulder arthroscopy with limited debridement of postterior labrum
2. Synovectomy of the glenohumeral joint.
3. Subacromial decompression with formal bursectomy, limited acromioplasty, CA ligament resection.
4. Distal clavicle resection (Mumford procedure)
5. Injection of autologous conditioned plasma for growth factors into the subacromial space.

Please give me some feed back, it has been 2 months and i am still very sore after therapy and clicking/popping noise is slightly coming back. also, i have been only doing ROM Exercises thank you for hearing me out!!! MY ICE PACK IS MY BEST FRIEND!!!

[POWERSTROKE75]

Just checking in with an update. I'm now 9 weeks post-op and just met with my surgeon for a second follow-up visit this past week. I was totally shocked when after taking me through some basic range-of-motion tests, he pronounced me fit to begin weight training once again albeit with very light weights to start. I have 100% range-of-motion at this point and no real pain but the shoulder just doesn't feel ready to return to the rigors of the gym. Instead, I asked if I could continue to see my physical therapist a few more times to set up a strengthening program to better prepare me to eventually return to the gym. He said that would a very conservative approach but not a problem at all. Up to this point, I have been seeing my p.t. only once a week for the past 7 weeks or so and have only been allowed by my surgeon to do passive range-of-motion exercises with no resistance training allowed whatsoever. This was due to the significant cartiledge damage that was present (see previous postings for more info.) so when my surgeon cleared me this week to return to the gym, I was pretty shocked! My plan at this point, is to get set up on a strengthening program with my p.t. and eventually work my way back into upper body weight training at the gym but probably not for another month or so. Also, ever since the surgery, I have taken a daily dose of the over-the-counter pain reliever, Alleve. A couple of days ago, I stopped taking it and I can you tell you that I can now feel some slight discomfort in the shoulder that I previously hadn't felt before...sort of a dull ache here and there. I'm taking this as yet another sign not to rush back into the gym right away. After all, what's another month or two in the grand scheme of things? I've already lost most of my hard earned muscle anyway...I love how people come up to me now and say, "You've lost weight!" The reality is I still weigh about the same but I've lost alot of muscle since the only thing I've been able to do is abs, low back and cardio for the past couple months. I plant to get my first leg workout in this week using weight stack machines...not ready for plate-loaded stuff as I'm concerned about lifting all those 45lb. plates...haha! So, that's about it for now...I'll keep you posted!

[grebnehtor]

Just checking in with an update. I'm now 9 weeks post-op and just met with my surgeon for a second follow-up visit this past week. I was totally shocked when after taking me through some basic range-of-motion tests, he pronounced me fit to begin weight training once again albeit with very light weights to start. I have 100% range-of-motion at this point and no real pain but the shoulder just doesn't feel ready to return to the rigors of the gym. Instead, I asked if I could continue to see my physical therapist a few more times to set up a strengthening program to better prepare me to eventually return to the gym. He said that would a very conservative approach but not a problem at all. Up to this point, I have been seeing my p.t. only once a week for the past 7 weeks or so and have only been allowed by my surgeon to do passive range-of-motion exercises with no resistance training allowed whatsoever. This was due to the significant cartiledge damage that was present (see previous postings for more info.) so when my surgeon cleared me this week to return to the gym, I was pretty shocked! My plan at this point, is to get set up on a strengthening program with my p.t. and eventually work my way back into upper body weight training at the gym but probably not for another month or so. Also, ever since the surgery, I have taken a daily dose of the over-the-counter pain reliever, Alleve. A couple of days ago, I stopped taking it and I can you tell you that I can now feel some slight discomfort in the shoulder that I previously hadn't felt before...sort of a dull ache here and there. I'm taking this as yet another sign not to rush back into the gym right away. After all, what's another month or two in the grand scheme of things? I've already lost most of my hard earned muscle anyway...I love how people come up to me now and say, "You've lost weight!" The reality is I still weigh about the same but I've lost alot of muscle since the only thing I've been able to do is abs, low back and cardio for the past couple months. I plant to get my first leg workout in this week using weight stack machines...not ready for plate-loaded stuff as I'm concerned about lifting all those 45lb. plates...haha! So, that's about it for now...I'll keep you posted!

My surgeon said the exact same thing, and I was shocked too. I talked to him about his prognosis, and he said that I shouldn't baby it too much, but push forward. I am glad to see that you're progressing.

Go Hokies!

[jarret100]

Hello All! I have been reading these posts for over a year and finally went and got the Distal Clavicle Resection done as well as the bone spur removal and when they got in there (arthroscopic) I had minimal labral tears also which they "cleaned up" no need for any internal labral stitching just trimmed the frayed edges...

3 weeks post-op now and everyday its a tiny bit better...I can go out to the side (chickenwing manuever) with zero pain... but lifting my arm straight out in front of me is a bit painful when I get parallel with the floor and there is still popping, my doctor told me that will go away after 2-3 months. My Dr says try to do whatever movements i can with out pain and push myself a bit

I have a few questions that I was wondering about...

1. How long did it take you guys with the same surgery to get full front lift motion back in their arm *(no weight) and did you have similar issues raising it in the front? at 3 weeks postop?

2. How long before all of you were able to get back in the gym even lifting light weight?

3. will my shoulder continue to pop...if not how long did it take you guys to stop?

4. when getting back in the gym...what kind of excercises did you guys do? and how light?

5. I guess I just want you all to tell me everthing is going to be fine, after reading all of your posts I hate to ask the same questions but I am in that mentally vulnerable stage now wondering if my arm will ever work right again...so I hope not being able to lift my arm all the way up is still nothing to worry about

I really appreciate all of your help and look forward to reading some responses

[db682]

Hello All! I have been reading these posts for over a year and finally went and got the Distal Clavicle Resection done as well as the bone spur removal and when they got in there (arthroscopic) I had minimal labral tears also which they "cleaned up" no need for any internal labral stitching just trimmed the frayed edges...

3 weeks post-op now and everyday its a tiny bit better...I can go out to the side (chickenwing manuever) with zero pain... but lifting my arm straight out in front of me is a bit painful when I get parallel with the floor and there is still popping, my doctor told me that will go away after 2-3 months. My Dr says try to do whatever movements i can with out pain and push myself a bit

I have a few questions that I was wondering about...

1. How long did it take you guys with the same surgery to get full front lift motion back in their arm *(no weight) and did you have similar issues raising it in the front? at 3 weeks postop?

2. How long before all of you were able to get back in the gym even lifting light weight?

3. will my shoulder continue to pop...if not how long did it take you guys to stop?

4. when getting back in the gym...what kind of excercises did you guys do? and how light?

5. I guess I just want you all to tell me everthing is going to be fine, after reading all of your posts I hate to ask the same questions but I am in that mentally vulnerable stage now wondering if my arm will ever work right again...so I hope not being able to lift my arm all the way up is still nothing to worry about

I really appreciate all of your help and look forward to reading some responses

I had arthroscopic subacromial decompression, distal clavical resection and the complete removal of my bursa sack on my left shoulder. They had to remove quite a bit of bone mass because my surgeon said that it was in pretty bad shape. (Has anyone else been given the pictures from there surgery and had the doctors tell you what you were looking at and still had no clue what you were looking at? It just looks like a bunch of white stuff with some random red in it as well.) I started PT 3 days later and I go twice a week. I was doing light weight and the heavy resistance bands 2 weeks after surgery. We have gradually been increasing weight. We have been doing mostly laterals, shrugs, all types of back exercises and some moves I've never done before to strengthen the surrounding (stabilizing) areas. We use free weights, bands, machines, body weight, etc. I am pretty well beat after PT so I just end up going to the gym and doing an hour of Cardio afterwards. My range of motion is almost completely back. Theres a little pain every now and then but my doctor and the PT both said that I have to fight through it and continue to gradually push myself to break up scar tissue and keep myself limber. I havent been taken any of the Pain meds (Vicodin) since week 1 and every so often I take the prescribed Naproxen if I feel like its starting to get inflamed. I hate taking meds but I was told not to be worried about taking the Anti-inflamatory because it actually aids in the recovery process and will definitly help in the long run. I am very happy with my results and will probably end up getting the other shoulder done once this one is back to 100%.

To answer your questions.
1. My PT was forcing me to do laterals a couple times a day within the 1st week. At first it hurt pretty bad that went away pretty quickly though. I went from just doing motions with no weight, to resistance bands and now I'm doing light dumbbells. It's normally 3 sets of 12-15 with a 3 second hold at the top or each rep. I definitly feel the burn when I finish the sets. I have a very high tolerance of pain so my PT says that works to my advantage to an extent. They say most people are scared to push through a little pain for fear of reinjury. I just push through the pain because it doesnt hurt me that bad and I'm hard headed. I cant complain because it has worked wonders for me. "No pain, no gain!"

2. as mentioned above, the second week I was lifting 8lb DB for laterals. I have yet to do any overhead pushing movements because they say that really involves the clavicles and they want me to be completly ready to do them when I do. So were training all the stabilizor muscles around them. Probably today or next Monday we'll start overhead work. As far as other bodyparts I have been only doing cardio because I figured I would prefer to have good wind and then start training again with my body on a level playing field. I already have very strong legs and I didnt want to keep training them and have a weak upper body and strong lower body once I get back into it. The running has definitly helped rip me up a bit and my PT says it's excellant for my shoulder because the movement of my arms is actually helping loosen things up in my shoulder. I actually ran 8 miles yesterday holding 7.5lb DB in my hands. My forearms were burning like hell after mile number 2.

3. I still pop every now and then. mostly just random movements. I cant get it to do it twice no matter how hard I try. I'd expect it to do this for a long time after surgery maybe forever. I mean every other joint in my body cracks and pops all the time. Just dont let it scare you.

4. Not actually doing anything major in the gym yet.

5. Dude, sometimes you just got to remind yourself your a man and life isnt always easy. Fighting through a little pain will have its benefits for you. Look at women and child birth. That shizzz looks like it hurts like all hell but the pain subsides as soon as they see the result of a healthy baby. You have got to think the same. The outcome is worth the effort! I dont know if the ones that were doing all the complaining earlier were just being bi**hes and let fear get the best of them because the pain isnt all that bad. Its your mind thats letting you believe that something isnt right. Most of the whinners were phyching themselves out and thinking there world was coming to a scretching halt because they felt a little pain when moving there arm 3 days after surgery. You had a very painful procedure performed on your body and it takes time to recover. The trick is not letting your body go to waste while recovering. 3 days or 3 weeks, the pain is something that is normal for this type of procedure. "Mind over Matter". You cant Mind the pain because it doesnt really Matter anyways. Its gonna be there till you force your way through it.

Let me know if you need anything else. I'll give you some support but I wont powder coat it. Suck it up and deal with it!

db

[jarret100]

Man, I really appreciate that pep talk and all of the info...seriously I needed that. You offer some great insight into this matter from your experiences.

My Dr gave no prescription for PT and told me basically to move it as much as I could and if it hurt to stop, or not move it that way...On here, andvast majority of people that have had this procedure have been prescribed PT so that was a little concern>>>I just try to move it around in slow motion front raises and pendulum excercises but not as often as I should...i will start doing it more

I cannot wait to someday return to the gym and do something with this sh*t pile that used to somewhat resemble a decent looking body...its been almost 2 years since I have been a 5-6 day a weeker..

I have begun cardio again though recently...

[jarret100]

and yes, I too have no Idea what is going on in alot of the pics from my athroscope. I get the labral and rotator cuff pics, but cant make out the bone spurs and clavicle deterioration...

[db682]

and yes, I too have no Idea what is going on in alot of the pics from my athroscope. I get the labral and rotator cuff pics, but cant make out the bone spurs and clavicle deterioration...

You should definitly be doing PT or at least some PT exercises.
This is basically what I did the first week everyday at home 2 or 3 times a day.

://shoulderdoc.co.uk/article.asp?section=445&article=503

(add http to the beginning)

(I cant post links since I've been a member since 2003 and only posted 14 times)
I found this website while researching but my PT gave me pretty much the same thing at my first visit. You should be doing all of those by now at week 3. Since you havent done anyof them yet you should start out with no weight then maybe in a wekk gradually increase resistance. It's basic stuff but since your not seeing a PT its better then nothing. You need to keep moving and pushing it otherwise you'll get nowhere. Why your doctor didnt prescribe PT is beyond me???

Can you not request a script for PT from your doctor?

db

[jarret100]

Thanks alot again...Yea I can request a script for PT but when he talked about it he made me feel like it was a waste of money and I didnt need it...I have begun these excercises and will request PT if I do decide I need it soon...I already met my deductible for the year so why not right!

[jfiercly]

A year ago, I had the Mumford procedure (removal of bone on top of shoulder) done with a slap repair with 2 staples requiring full 6 months b4 lifting weights hard at 100%.

Next month, my other shoulder has bone spurs requiring operation and a clean up of the shoulder. Doc said when he opens me up and sees only that bone spurs need to be removed and nothing else, 1 month recovery since he did not stitch any tendon together.

You had the Mumford proced, bone spur removal, and cleaning up the frays. If nothing is repaired, then the recovery will be minimal and no PT required.