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Depends on the severity of the tear. I had the MRI done and opted not to do the surgery. I consulted with a leading surgeon for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Christian. I opted for rehab to strengthen the structure and it worked. I can't play softball anymore, but can still draw a 70 pound bow with no problem as I have strengthened all of the supporting muscles. Throwing a ball still hurts because of the twisting motion in your shoulder. I have learned to know how I should use the shoulder and haven't had any problems. The key is the muscle build up.

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At nearly 67 muscle build up doesn't happen like when I was in my 20s. frown

I can see a trend. PT after surgery is the key to getting back function.



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I had my right shoulder joint replaced in December 2008. I would do it again if needed. If I live long enough, it will be.
Competent physical terrorists therapists can work miracles if you allow them to, and if you commit your efforts to the process...


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In 2007 I injured my right shoulder and had it fixed. There was a good sized rotator tear as well as torn off the bone.
They fixed the V-shaped tear, removed a couple of spurs and reattached using 4 anchors and shoe laces.
Surgery was in beginning of June. I was out of work for a little over 4 months, but didn't miss deer season and was bird hunting by Thanksgiving.

Did EXACTLY what they told me. Therapy is essential and must be followed. Don't get stupid and grab a quart of orange juice out of the fridge when you "think" you are better as you may re-damage your shoulder.
Iceman machine is a must and will be your new best friend.

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I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but keep up with your therapy. laugh

Mine was a spur and re-anchor also.

There will be two types of therapy; strength and range of motion.

DON'T neglect either.


I was swinging my favorite bush-axe after about 3-4 months.


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I had surgery on my left shoulder 4-5yrs. ago, two screws and laced done via arthroscope. Rehab went fine and my shoulder feels like new, doc said I have to be careful because if I re-injure there is no fix. I will have my right shoulder repaired in June, it will be a more complicated surgery due to having torn the tendon completely off the bone. It is retracted and the doc only offers me a 50/50 chance of being able to reattach it. He is planning to harvest a tendon from my bicep and graft it to the rotator cuff tendon in order to reattach. Doing just what your PT instructs you to do is the key to a successful recovery, it will be a slow process. Take your pain meds 1/2 hr. before therapy sessions and ice your shoulder for 1/2 hr. after and you should do fine. People have differing tolerance to pain, don't let what has been posted scare you. If you have significant pain, tell your doctor so he can increase or change your pain meds. Good luck with your surgery.

Last edited by gunswizard; 04/24/14.
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Had mine done on a Wednesday, started therapy on Friday, hurt more than a little bit, but I went back to work on Monday. Therapy for a few months and about a year later was at 90% or so. Would do it again if needed. It beats the alternative, not being able to fully use a shoulder and wondering when it might blow out.

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Originally Posted by Halfadozen
Depends on the severity of the tear. I had the MRI done and opted not to do the surgery. I consulted with a leading surgeon for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Christian. I opted for rehab to strengthen the structure and it worked. I can't play softball anymore, but can still draw a 70 pound bow with no problem as I have strengthened all of the supporting muscles. Throwing a ball still hurts because of the twisting motion in your shoulder. I have learned to know how I should use the shoulder and haven't had any problems. The key is the muscle build up.


This was true for me, from 2003-2014. I had a partial tear diagnosed in '03 and the surgeon (a very good one) recommended surgery. I got a few other opinions and opted for re-hab, which worked up until this year when I aggravated the injury. I am at the point where I have pretty much constant pain, and lots of things will set it off and make the pain worse. I had a cortisone shot, which worked for about 6 weeks but most doctors will tell you is not a long-term solution and will degenerate the tissue eventually.

I still do the PT stuff, strengthening and range-of-motion exercises, but my plan is surgery after this hunting season.




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Dang L2S, hate to hear about your fall. At least you didnt break a lot of bones, etc. I dont know about the rotator cuff stuff, but I see that you got some idea of what it will be like.

You be careful and do like I'm gonna do... call centers from now on, I think!


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Originally Posted by OrangeOkie
Don't do it. I have 50%+ tears in both shoulder and simply use cortisone shots to control the pain.


This! I get the shot in my right shoulder, several years now and they last anywhere from 8-15 months. This tear is from normal wear and tear.

I had to have surgery in my left shoulder as it suffered a massive tear from a fall at work. DR I used practices a no sling recovery so the shoulder is free to move which made for a good recovery, which took 9 months. Check DR reviews before choosing! And good luck!

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breaking bones would have been a walk in the park!

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Originally Posted by shrapnel


I have had it done on both shoulders. A couple of things to be aware of. It is very painful and the care you put into your therapy will determine how well you recover your strength and mobility.

I would opt for the surgery to be somewhere around the Christmas holiday to have the best time for recovery before spring and early summer when you will want to engage in outdoor activities. Plan on 6 months to a year to get back to 95% of your pre-operative physical condition and up to 2 years to be totally pain free in the shoulder.

If you ever consider not to do it for the negative aspects of the surgery, reconsider, I had it done twice and would do it again before I would want to put up with the discomfort of the torn rotator cuff...


Actual recovery time will depend on severity of the tear but Shrapnel's advice above is pretty spot-on. I had a small tear and bone spurs in my right shoulder in 2005. Got back to pretty normal activities within a few months but took well over a year to get full range of motion back and pain free.
I had bone spur surgery in my left shoulder Feb 20 of this year. I cut and split wood this past Monday. I still have considerable pain in some motions, cannot really reach behind my back yet, and still have a long way to go. And that was just bone spurs causing inflammation, there was no tear.

As others have said and it cannot be stressed strongly enough, no matter what, DO THE REHAB RELIGIOUSLY! That is what will get you through the pain (eventually) and get your range of motion back. Expect plenty of pain and progress of an inch a week of regaining motion, but just keep progressing. The progress will eventually speed up.

Good luck!


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As far as gear goes.. The poorer (or cheaper) you are, the tougher you need to be.


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I don't know how it's done these days but 4 years ago because of my insurance before I could get the surgery on my left shoulder I had to:
1) Take oral anti-inflammatory drugs for a few months and when that didn't help-
2) To endure painful physical therapy for many weeks and when that didn't help-
3) Get a cortisone shot in the shoulder joint that relieved the pain for about a week and when that fix anything-
4) Get an MRI which showed a partially detached tendon, many ruptured tendons and arthritis on the ends of my collar bone.

That said the surgery was a success and I'd do it again. I highly recommend the nerve block and I was very lucky I didn't need to use ice for pain/swelling. The nerve block wore off in about 12 hours (woke me up at 3:00am) and I took one hydrocodone tablet to go back to sleep. I never had to take any more pain medication after that. I never wore the sling except then I slept and when I first started driving. I had surgery on Friday and started driving my standard shift Dodge diesel pickup the following Monday. I did a lot of the "dangling" exercises at home like I was told to do. The therapy I started 6 weeks after the surgery was a breeze and all the therapists were hot young women. It took about a year to be pain free. Good luck!

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A complete tear will require open surgery. Recovery time for a full tear is at least a year & a half.

The dominant predictor of rotator cuff repair success is surgeon expertise. Find the BEST surgeon available. Look for a surgeon that specializes in shoulder repair.

I've had open and arthroscopic rotator cuff surgeries. I've had to have my left shoulder reconstructed. All were painful with open more so.



�If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.�
***US President James Madison***
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Reference cortisone injections: surgeons will give them only twice a year. Cortisone is wonderful medicine, but it can cause muscular damage.


�If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.�
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Originally Posted by luv2safari
Who has had it done, and what should I expect?

I had a ladder fail under me yesterday while on a roof damage claim and am typing with my one good finger. eek

Also, anyone have any base jumping tips??? grin
Back in '95 I had AC and rotator done. Look, I've been under the knife 11 times; had a hard life. 8 of those were knee surgeries.

I was surprised at how painful the shoulder surgery was; rehab was pretty rough. Not nearly as rough as when I had my knee replacement, but it was fairly painful.

I wasn't able to sleep on my right side for 6 months after the surgery, and then I had about 18 months of absolutely no pain whatsoever. After 18 months and on to today, I will occasionally get some soreness from sleeping on my right side. Other than that, I regained 100% range of motion, and full function of everything.

So how to work through the pain. I have a VERY high tolerance for pain, so during the day I generally just dealt with it. The day of the surgery was a piece of cake. The two following days were pretty rough and I dipped into the pain meds. But by the 3rd day, an 800mg Motrin did me just fine. So I saved my pain meds for rehab. Take one about 45 minutes before rehab and your rehab sessions will be much more effective. You'll hurt like hell the rest of the day after rehab, but not so bad you'll need to take the narcs.

Best of luck to you my bro-tha!

Hey, you have any dinner plans for tonight? Family is out of town and I'm without adult supervision. PM or TXT me and let me know sir.

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I had a total shoulder arthroplasty done in 2010, they cut off head of humerus, pound in a metal staub about 8 inches long with a shiny new humeral head, grind out the inner surface of the glenoid socket and line in with polyethylene material. It's a big open surgical procedure, for they have to gain access to shoulder capsule, cut through rotator cuff and literally pop the humerous out of socket and lift out to be able to saw off the humeral head.
I opted for a nerve block also, don't know how much it helped, for I was pretty miserable for a long time. The advice from others is spot on, although I wish I had rat holed some pain meds like Kevin advised for PT. I had a great therapist,Dr White, who was a black guy; that sonofabitch would stretch and manipulate me till I thought I would pass out at times. He always began each session by advising me I could call him any name in the book while he worked on me, just don't hit him.
It took a good year till I would say I was close to 100%, don't know if you can get there from here, but I feel pretty good just the same. I had spent years of half sleepless nights and constant pain and feel better now than I can even remember.
I'd advise anyone with shoulder problems to not put it off, or rely on cortisone, that's bad stuff, great short term relief but has to many side effects. Get it done and work like hell to get back in the game, you'll not regret it.

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eek

Thanks to all...I guess... shocked

I think I'll recede into my 2nd childhood now, crawl under my desk, and suck my thumb as I whimper. grin

I'm going to find out first hand what Obummer has done to Medicare. whistle


Hunt with Class and Classics

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Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”







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Originally Posted by smokepole
6 Weeks in a sling doing absolutely nothing with the arm and six months for full recovery is the standard.


Not true

I underwent a frontal labrum reattachment first day of December.

Physical therapy in one week then for 36 more sessions in 3 months

Back to work in 6 weeks

5 months later I am nearly 100%

Sleeping in a good recliner is recommended

You will need an MRI to correctly diagnose

If you do require surgery use a sports medicine surgeon and don't put it off

Last edited by tedthorn; 04/24/14.

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No time off work here. I'll have to get back to it immediately. Can my arm be immobilized enough for all but roof inspections?


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Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray

Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”







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