Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Rotator cuff tear. Anyone had this?

Yeah, the cortisone reduces swelling and removes the pain quickly but it still takes time for the muscle to repair, so it's easy to go too hard too soon.

Yes. I was treated how you describe. It can take several weeks to heal. Take it easy on that shoulder

You guys are a wealth of information. Thank you again! I scored some hydrocodone and am hitting it with that, Meloxicam and Voltaren topical and icing it every two hours. The plan is to start applying heat Monday, sling it for a week and then start some therapeutic stretching and strengthening. I don't have insurance so I am on my own.

Couple years ago I fugged mine up. Partial RC and labrum tear with a fracture. Doc wasn't in a hurry to cut. Took a solid 6+ months of rehab but its 90% today.

For what its worth, my doctor had a low opinion of most PT. Claimed they often did a lot of damage pushing patients to far to soon. He was very detailed on what rehab and stretches were to be done.

Good luck.

Hello Tarquin,

I'd type more but my right shoulder just got cut on Weds. If you have no insurance this might be your best option: https://surgerycenterok.com/?procedure_category=shoulder#jump

Get an assessment ASAP. You don't know what you got 'till its gone...that's kinda catchy, eh? As a physician I'd suggest that full-thickness tears are not only unlikely to heal but more likely to propagate over time...and most folks aren't gonna stop living life!

ASK for cash deals on MRIs and PT, if needed.

Good luck!

Thank you sir. Much appreciated.

Interesting info.
In the summer of 2000 I heard a pop in my left shoulder while I was removing bolts in a transmission.
Haven’t been able to lift much weight over my head with my left arm. Hurts like heck, really.
Have been lifting weights with my wife for the last six months, low impact but have been building strength.
Most people I have talked to said it still hurts after the surgery.
Wife wants me to get it checked out but, meh.

Meant to mention the cortisone.

Need to wait 6 (six) weeks for sx if you have had a cortisone injection.

Get images and evaluation before cortisone.

Your procedure is very similar to what I'm familiar with here.

and tendons are slower to heal.
Muscle will be repaired while one
suffers ongoing tendonitis and/or
healing of reattached tendon.

I tore mine a while back and one doctor insisted on an MRI which I can't do anymore so I went to another who gave me a steroid shot that worked for a year..Now, with an occasional muscle relaxer,I'm doing as well as the wife who had surgery,actually better..The way things are now,I'm good to go . I know a gal that went in for a simple surgery and came out with Covid..


Jayco👍

I've tried rehab treatments twice in the last 5 years, get shots a couple of times a year. I can't hardly lift my left arm above my head and don't have enough strength to shoot a rifle free-hand anymore. The nagging pain and numbness has convinced me that I should of went ahead and had my rotator cuff operated on 5 years ago like my doctor said. It's impossible for me to sleep on my left side and a lot of times I can't sleep because of the nagging pain. Hopefully whatever treatments you choose works out for you.

I tore the supraspinatus tendon at the cuff and the long head bicep tendon in the cuff (both 100% tears) plus some other damage. The best advice I can say is get an MRI to determine the extent of damage and that way you know on future options. If you choose cortisone keep in mind that it can dry out tendons and too many shots can cause additional damage (I had multiple shots in my shoulders - 12+ when I was young which may have contributed to the failure).

I tried rest, rehab and pain killers for a few months and it was not getting better. The recommendation from the therapist when she looked at the MRI results was surgery. I was told there was a 50% chance they would have to cut the shoulder open which meant a longer recovery period. I got lucky and have 5 small holes with the repairs done. The long head tendon was not reattached and not having that is not an issue except when the bicep rolls around under my arm.

You have options but I would get an MRI to make sure for now and in the future as you then have a baseline if it gets worse. Some very good information and suggestions provided by others on this thread -- Ironbender, Blu C, Sitka and others

I am 69 now -- the surgery was 15 years ago and I have full range of motion, no pain, good strength and use that shoulder for shooting. I shoot shotgun quite a bit for clays etc and have no issues.

I can not throw overhand.

Underhand yes.

Sometimes it feels like something is in the wrong place and i have to grab the door handle on the landcrusier and try to pull my arm off.

I wiggle the shoulder some and things work back to where they don't hurt.

I have had 2 shots in the right shoulder and they have helped a whole lot,giving me time to get right again.

I won't get cut on because it is the hand i use when eating.

And it does hurt more than you know.

I don't even want to start - 60 years of career wear/tear and other honest abuse - any number of steroid shots along the way - now have half a bicep in the dominant arm - one half is torn loose and piled up down toward the elbow. Considered the whole rebuild (backward) shoulder surgery - decided I'm too old for that strain and to tie up that much rehab time - said "no" to the expert at Mayo.

Don't ask me to pitch a ball or work above the shoulder.

There is some really good info above - lots of guys have learned and shared some good stuff.

Have had 2 repairs R and 1 L

Baseball and rock climbing/slack jumping injuries

Get MRI first to determine what is injured and to what degree. Cartilage does not heal. Ever.

PT can do a lot for partial thickness tears. Enough that some people do not need surgery as they aren’t athletic or lifting weight enough to matter. Pain relief and ROM are the main goals for this. I kept my left from surgery for 8 years by intermittently doing elastic band exercises when hurting me.

Steroids are a bandaid till you get to surgery, not a fix for something like this. A shot or two isn’t going to hurt anything, but other than reducing inflammation do not expect miracles. They only reduce inflammation( in turn improving pain and ROM temporarily). They don’t fix tears or degenerative changes.

Full thickness tears with limited ROM or frozen shoulders, surgery is really the only thing that will help. pT after is kinda brutal but worth it.


Find a really good ortho doc that you trust, and get it over with if your going to be athletic In any way shape or fashion.

I am 50 and been on the farm ALL my life, for the most part. Right has been messed up for a few years, left is getting there.

May of 2019 and again in May of 20, I did the Prolotherapy PRP Plasma injections into the tears. It may not be 100%, but I have regained most of my movement.

STAY OFF THE NSAIDS!!!!!
You want blood flow and inflammation to contribute to healing. I will probably have to have the repair in the next year or two but the Prolotherapy has really helped me. Insurance doesn't pay. The next step would be the Stem Cell injections, but at some point I will get tired kicking the can down the road, but if you just need relief and aren't ready for surgery I would actively consider the Regennex.

NSAIDS are prohibited 6 weeks prior to the injections and 3 months afterwards. But I am overly cautious because I have one kidney

I've torn both rotator cuffs more than 10yrs. ago, one was a medium to large tear and the other a complete tear off. I had both surgically repaired and have not had any problems since the surgery. Only lasting effect is that I cannot work over my head for very long before the shoulders get fatigued. My surgeon recommended PT before and after surgery, in the case of the complete tear off I did PT prior to surgery in order to strengthen the muscles. PT after surgery was passive for the first 8wks., I went to PT twice a week and the therapist stretched my shoulder. I had a cold water circulating jacket that I wore a couple times a day for 20-30 mins., took my pain meds 30 min. prior to PT and cold pad for 30 min. after. I have a great result with both shoulders and do not regret the decision to have surgery.

I suffered through one several years ago. I couldn’t button my pants for three weeks and once it got a little better I had to go back to work rowing a drift boat. I learned to do a lot of things with my elbow pinned to my ribs and it got to the point it doesn’t bother me much anymore.

Tore my right side with a shoulder dislocation working the out gate at a rodeo. Went 2-3 days putting off going to the doc, mostly because I knew the solution. Hurt worse AFTER surgery than before. Rehab sucked. Took close to a year to be completely pain free, still maybe 75% strength at best.

Left side is torn too, not sure exactly when or how, but I can't lift much of anything with it, can't put it over my head, and hurts like he'll if I sleep on that side. REALLY putting that surgery off, I'm left hand dominant.