did you ever have rotator cuff issues? - Page 2

riley1 · ‎03-10-2010

@qualitygal - My shoulder was beyond having PT to help - had surgery in 2009 then went for post PT for about 5 months - it is good as new.

Make sure you follow the instructions you are given and faithfully do the excercises they give. Good Luck

PilatesLover · ‎08-20-2014

@tototwo wrote:
Yes, and I put off having surgery for it too long. I stupidly kept thinking it would get better on its own - ha! Last winter I had to have shoulder reconstruction surgery on my right shoulder and then PT for 6 months. My recommendation is to get it fixed and dealt with ASAP, don't wait! I've lost some range of motion and will have soreness in my shoulder forever.

@tototwo my husband has been told he needs this surgery. He has been in pain for years and recently it's gotten worse. He's being a man about it (i.e, stubborn).

How long was your recovery, if I may ask?

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

@qualitygal

I have had a tear in my right rotator cuff. It was more from my long time job lifting heavy reels of telephone wire. It had more to do with me being only 5'8" than anything else. We had to lift them above my shoulder height, while at the same time turning 180° holding them.

PT for rehab and have never quit doing the muscle strengthening exercises since. Use either my Bowflex machine or one of my many rubber type cables, which I keep on several places around our house. I just grab 1 and put 1 end in a closed door. Works very well. Still have an occasional pain with lateral type movements, but not a big deal.

Therapy worked for me, but I did not have a high level tear. Suggestion for you! Keep doing them and a good outcome should come in return.

hckynut(john)

tototwo · ‎03-09-2010

Hi @PilatesLover -- Since I didn't have the "normal" rotator cuff surgery, my recovery was longer and slightly more difficult. Has your husband already had the MRI to determine his shoulder damage and discussed surgery possibilities with his surgeon?

A nurse instructed me on minor rotation exercises before I left the hospital after surgery, and my "at home"' PT started that same day. One week after surgery, I started PT with a therapist at a clinic 3 days a week, plus exercises to do at home twice a day. I had to buy an over-the-door pulley system to use at home twice a day.

I was in an immobilizing sling for 8 weeks - could only take my arm out of the sling to do exercises and shower. I went to PT 3 times a week for 3 months initially. Then had a month to do exercises at home every day. Then I returned to PT at the clinic 2X a week for another 3 months. I still use the pulley and stretchy bands at home to this day. My shoulder gets stiff if I don't exercise it regularly.

My next-door neighbor had regular rotator cuff surgery a month after I did and he was out of his sling and driving a car in a month. He only had to have PT for 4 weeks! I was jealous.

Hope that helps!

* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt

AuntG · ‎03-09-2010

I feel discomfort high up in my arm when I reach - don't know what muscle causes it.

PilatesLover · ‎08-20-2014

Thank you @tototwo, that gives me a good idea of how his recovery will go. He hasn't had the MRI yet, but the doctor said he might need a full replacement. I'm sure recovery for that will be much longer.

tototwo · ‎03-09-2010

@PilatesLover-- just a side note: Your husband will depend on you for almost everything after the surgery. Be prepared. My husband helped me dress and cut up my food for me, among other things....

* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

@AuntG

According to my Orthopedic friend, pain from rotator cuff, most often, is felt it front of the shoulder or the lateral(side) of the shoulder. This is not "the upper arm", but the shoulder itself.

Mine was most prominent when I would put some weight in my hand, then try to lift it from my waist height, in front of me to shoulder height. Same with the lateral part, same weight at waist height lift straight out to side and shoulder height. Pretty good pain doing either.

If you lift your arm, straight out in front of you, with your arm locked (stiff), do you feel the pain the higher you raise your arm? Do the same on the side, and if "yes", it could/might be related to the rotator cuff. That is for your doctor to decide, I am just giving you suggestions to try.

hckynut(john)

qualitygal · ‎10-04-2010

@PilatesLover wrote:
@tototwo wrote:
Yes, and I put off having surgery for it too long. I stupidly kept thinking it would get better on its own - ha! Last winter I had to have shoulder reconstruction surgery on my right shoulder and then PT for 6 months. My recommendation is to get it fixed and dealt with ASAP, don't wait! I've lost some range of motion and will have soreness in my shoulder forever.
@tototwo my husband has been told he needs this surgery. He has been in pain for years and recently it's gotten worse. He's being a man about it (i.e, stubborn).

How long was your recovery, if I may ask?

I'm in PT now and doing good from what my PT saya. Thanks Hopefully, It won't go the wayof needing surgery. I'm doing all my home exercises too. Others said to keep it up, even when PT is done. I can do that.

lbwshop · ‎08-23-2010

I have a female friend, 72, who tore her rotator cuff last year and had a shoulder replacement instead of a repair. She was very happy with the outcome, and was not in severe pain post-operatively. Her orthopedist said that the total replacement was easier to heal from than a repair would have been.