Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Rotator cuff problem.... #2

Last week I had a MRI done on my shoulder and today I went back to the doc to see what the damage was. Good news! Rotator cuff not torn, just sprained. Said most of the damage was bursitis, cause from 'old age'. Gave me a steroid shot in the shoulder and wants me to go to physical therapy. Haven't made up my mind if I'm going or not. I kinda figure working every day on the farm is about as good a physical therapy as you can get, as long as I don't overdo it, for a while.

Go for a week or so just to learn what movements will help you heal, the other options are not good.

Get the PT or wish you had down the road.

Most likely the correct answer ^^^^^

Get better soon, Randy!

BTW, I can relate to that "old age' symptom.

I hate PT too!! Best advice I can give is go to PT for a week or two to learn the exercises and then keep up on them, if your not going to keep up on them stick with the PT.

Highly recommend PT. I have been doing it for a month and still need surgery.

You're waiting until after hunting season?

Have a good surgeon picked out already?

Hoping yours goes as good as my two.

JFYI, just for your information, Steroid shots have many effects.
One positive effect is anti-inflammatory, so it feels better.
One negative effect is destruction of that connective tissue.
That doesn't ALWAYS happen, but it's very common.
Some people use anti-inflammatory foods, teas and supplements to reduce that inflammation.
Then they eat animal parts high in connective tissue to provide the body with the nutrients to repair the ligaments and tendons.

Unfortunately no. It’s scheduled next week. Good surgeon. Tried PT and it didn’t help. Still have lots of pain and restricted movement. I will be out of the sling 2 weeks when I head to Idaho for deer.

Thanks for the good news on the rotator cuff condition. Bursitis is another matter. Those little bursa cushions/bearings work fine when your body keeps them lubricated,,but drying out and/or inflammation prevent their doing the job and can lead to some serious discomfort.

Most orthos will not inject that corticosteroid more than three or four times due to other damage done by those drugs, so not a real long-term solution. I went past the limit on both sides.

Recently - and reluctantly - I went the PT route for another issue, and was more than pleasantly surprised by the improvement, and was able to learn some good sustaining exercises.

I hurt my left shoulder in May standing up a 10"x10"x10' cedar column after refinishing it. Felt the pain immediately. Lived with it for two months until I golfed last Monday, turning left shoulder across body was the perfect recipe for pain. Made the appointment on the 13rd fairway, was in the DR office the next day. Fortunately I know this DR well, even play golf with him! Diagnosed as a SLAP tear, doesn't need surgery. He injected it and gave me PT exercises to do. I started the exercises over the weekend, haven't had any pain. I did the same thing to my right shoulder 5-6 years ago, and it healed nicely with no surgery. But you have to exercise and take care of it or it will give you grief for life. And you don't want a shoulder replacement, it is a horrible joint to deal with, and the hardware options mostly suck.

Having had two rotator cuff repairs I can speak from experience, go to Physical Therapy. I did PT before and after surgery. Take a couple of your preferred pain meds (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil) a half hour before and ice your shoulder for a half hour after your PT appointment and you'll be fine.

2 weeks after sling is going to be rough if you're having rotator cuff surgery and your experience is anything like mine. i did not want to do much torquing with my torso for a while. dragging a deer would have been out of the question i think for me.

"Take a couple of your preferred pain meds (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil) a half hour before and ice your shoulder for a half hour after your PT appointment and you'll be fine."

If you needed any kind of pain medication before or after your therapy they weren't doing it right. I always felt better after the therapy.

I provide most of the camp. Outfitter tent, wood stove, cooking stove, and generator. My hunting partners will be doing the dragging…😉

All kidding aside I’m going to see how I’m feeling. Definitely going on the hunt but actual hunting maybe.

"Take a couple of your preferred pain meds (Tylenol, Aleve, Advil) a half hour before and ice your shoulder for a half hour after your PT appointment and you'll be fine."

If you needed any kind of pain medication before or after your therapy they weren't doing it right. I always felt better after the therapy.

"I will be out of the sling 2 weeks when I head to Idaho for deer."

If your just 2 weeks out of the sling you won't be going deer hunting anywhere.

I can assure you that I will be in deer camp! As far as actually hunting we shall see.

After all the 'go to PT' responses, I guess I should give it a try. Wont hurt to go a few times and learn what to do.