Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Rotor cuff surgery ?

I screwed up my right arm ! tore the tendons that hold my bicept up in place , so it dropped into a wad in my arm along with tearing my rotor cuff up pretty bad . had both surgery on friday . my ? is has anyone been thru this crap and how was the recovery? did you regain your strength, mobility ?? anything I need to address with my doctor ? any heads up to know about ?

may 11 , same kind of deal plus they removed the chunk of bone out of my shoulder that was in the socket..

the way you describe it your tears are worse than mine though

I’ve had both done…and it sucked. Rehab was really tough….and after 5 long months of therapy, it was all worth it. I got all of my strength back and probably 95% mobility.

One oddity for me. When they reattached my biceps tendon, they did so in a different location. One consequence is I’ve never fully regained form for long archery shots (65yds+). I can shoot field tips as well as I used to, but perfectly tuned bows will not shoot fixed broadheads at long range with anywhere near the accuracy I could before. First world problem for sure…..:)

I've had both rotator cuffs repaired, first one was a medium to large tear and the second was a complete tear off. Find a surgeon whose specialty is rotator cuff repair, follow the surgeon's protocol for physical therapy. Do exactly as instructed by your physical therapist when it comes to home exercise, you'll be instructed as to the home exercises at your appointment. Doing your homework is just as important as what you and your therapist do at appointments. Don't do any more than you're instructed to do, overworking may cause damage. Take your pain meds half an hour before appointments and ice for half an hour afterwards. A gel pad will be your friend. I have regained full range of motion and strength in both shoulders. The only negative is that I cannot work overhead for prolonged periods of time. Good luck with your surgery and recovery.

I had mine done in 2009. I was off work for 14 weeks. Went back to work and the boss put me to stacking fifty pound bags of sugar on a pallet. Was not a problem, and was probably good therapy. I did professional PT from 10 days post op for four months three times/week.

They missed the pre surgical shoulder block. So I woke up in the most intense pain imaginable. Opiates took the edge off for four days, then I flushed them down the toilet. I had to send Momma to town for a half dozen bran muffins, and ate all of them. Did I say, "I HATE opiates!"?

Expect a bunch of pain. Get ahead of the pain early and stay ahead of it, I have heard. Do your PT plus, and you should be almost as good as before the injury when you are done.

Had both the rotator fixed and the bicep reattached in the past. Listen to rehab instructions, stay ahead of the pain with meds and most importantly, at least in my experience of having 4 of these surgeries, is accept the fact that repaired is NOT restored! You will have to accept a new normal and if you don't, plan on having stuff repaired again. Hard headed experience speaking here.

I had both done. I was told if you do like a doctor says you're in for several weeks or a couple months a few months maybe. If you don't and you try to do your own thing you may never get will.

I did learn one thing on the 1st. My bicep was torn also like yours had to reattach he said 30 mm of something whatever that is back up to the shoulder. I did learn that you're supposed to take your arm out of the sling for a little time like a minute everyday because when I took mine out after 6 weeks my elbow was excruciating. The doctor was very upset the nurse didn't make me understand. I did learn that you're supposed to take your arm out of the swing for a little time like a minute everyday. The left elbo was no problem.

Get an ice pack that you wear covering the whole shoulder, 60% at best recovery

At week 14, rotator cuff tendon reattachment (complete tear) and bicep reattahment.

Everyone is different, except for first 3 days I did not need the pain pills, know folks who did. No judgement either way. Best thing I got was a pillow from Amazon for shoulder surgery. When sling came off I used it quite a bit. Do what they tell you on exercises. First 6 weeks is a little movement of elbow out of sling. Do your therapy, it gets you going quicker.

Sleeping is the hardest part. I did mine in a recliner with a lot of pillows. Did not get a good nights sleep until week 5.

im at 4 weeks post op. Full thickness tear of RC & bicep tear. Its no fun. Just started rehab. hoping for the best. Good luck

You were prescribed enough pain medication to last through your PT sessions??

IMO this is not good advice. If PT is causing intense pain your therapist will want to know. And you want to be as lucid as possible when you're at your PT sessions so you can understand and remember what your therapist is telling you about your home exercise program.

And yes, I've had the surgery and been through PT for not only the rotator cuff but also major orthopedic surgeries on a knee, ankle, and wrist. Never was it recommended that I take pain medication before PT appointments and never was it necessary.

Good Luck with your surgery. I have no personal experience other than seeing one guy that had it and the pain he suffered. I think having a good orthopedist is 1/2 the battle.

My repair / rehab sucked. It was worse than I remember my achilles tear being.

If you've experienced an inordinate amount of pain you may not have had the best anesthesiaoligist/surgeon. In my case I was given a nerve block in my neck prior to general anesthesia in the OR. You should be close to being off opiate pain meds once you begin PT, I used Tylenol prior to and after PT appointments in addition to icing my shoulder afterwards. In the case of the complete tear-off my surgeon arranged for a cold water pump that circulated cold water in a pad that covered my shoulder. I used this for the first couple of weeks after surgery, this is something you may want to talk to your surgeon about.

Your experience is different than others.

Your Md. or therapist told you to take "pain meds" before your PT appointments?

And yes, I had plenty of pain during my PT sessions. Just never wanted to be on pain meds during the sessions, pain for 30 minutes never killed anybody.

Never said I was taking opiate meds prior to PT, OTC meds like Tylenol, Advil, Aleve were what I used. OTC meds were for mild to moderate soreness, PT did not cause pain. Read more carefully.

Reading carefully has nothing to do with it. When someone says "pain meds" post-surgery, what comes to mind?

Pain meds? I had the surgery and found out too late that I was allergic to the pain meds. Boy, THAT was fun, covered with a rash to boot. Don't know what was worse, the surgery or the meds!

Well, that is gnarly, Bob!