Shoulder troubles

[DBDawg]

I just got back from rescue training at Texas A&M. Yesterday, while ascending a rope, something in my shoulder snapped and now I can't raise my arm.
Has anyone here had rotator cuff surgery? What should I expect? I'm sure It's the next thing I have to face.
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[Texasjack]

You need to see a doctor, but it doesn't necessarily mean you need surgery. I ended up with a "frozen" shoulder a couple of years ago. There was a lot of damage in the joint, but not enough to warrant surgery. Doc injected some anti-inflammatory stuff and I had to do rehab for a few months. The ladies at the rehab place were really nice, but OMG could they twist my shoulder into directions it's never been!

 

[tx_transplant]

Agreed. See an orthopedics specialist, with any luck some anti inflammatory meds and/or some physical therapy will do the job. Dislocated mine quite a few years ago, hurt like nobody's business. Shoulders can be trouble, they are about the least stable of the joints.

 

[CanTex]

+1, What they said, I damaged mine and was able to get by without surgery. Just lots of time in a sling/meds and physical therapy. Now it only hurts when the wife wants me to put heavy things up high.....

 

[DBDawg]

Well, I saw the doctor...had x-rays and MRI done. Looks like I have a muscle torn loose, so it'll have to be surgery to repair.

 

[Driller]

You need to see a doctor, but it doesn't necessarily mean you need surgery. I ended up with a "frozen" shoulder a couple of years ago. There was a lot of damage in the joint, but not enough to warrant surgery. Doc injected some anti-inflammatory stuff and I had to do rehab for a few months. The ladies at the rehab place were really nice, but OMG could they twist my shoulder into directions it's never been!

+1

 

[Driller]

Get a second opinion. Even with torn muscle sometimes surgery option not as good as just leaving it alone. Don't think just because someone is a physician that they have your best interest at heart. If they have a house payment due they might be more persuaded to do surgery. This is not news to any old school folks here. Your doc is probably a great guy and you might really need surgery, but their diagnosis is subjective. When you are dealing with the quality of your life, any surgical intervention usually has life long consequences ie..scar,scar tissue, nerve damage, mobility issues..Ask someone you know in the healthcare industry about any recommendations on who to talk to about a second opinion. If they come to the same conclusion them you should feel more confident about treatment.

 

[deemus]

Agree on the second opinion. One ortho said my son had bursitis in his hip. The second one found he had torn the hamstring off the pelvis.

That's a pretty big difference.

 

[Dredge]

Always get a second, third opinion...
Up to an 80% tear can heal on its own but it takes a really long time (up to a year). Surgery is much faster for you to return to you activities provided you don't do something to mess up the surgery (compliance matters). Meds don't fix anything, they make things more tolerable and give the body the opportunity to heal itself provided you don't re-injure the affected area.

 

[BMiracleTX]

Orginal post deleted. I am not here to argue specifics about shoulders. To the orginal poster, it is YOUR shoulder. Do what you feel is best for YOU.

 

[deemus]

Wow... what second opinion is there to give? He felt a TEAR, has LOSS OF FUNCTION in his arm, and the MRI shows A TEAR. Tears of some tendons and ligaments will heal with time on their own, but my experience is the rotator cuff does not apply here. The rotator cuff is notoriously poor healing tissue in the absence of surgical repair. How do I know this? Well, because I am a doctor... and a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist.

In my opinion (opinions are like a$$holes... everyone has one and they usually stink), the only question is who is going to do the surgery and when (not if). There are lots of tendons/ligaments that I will recommend that people hold off on to allow time to heal on their own. Rotator cuffs are not one of them. If it Is completely torn, then it will never heal because it will retract like a rubber band... the longer it is retracted, the harder it is to chase it down and stretch it back out to connect. The longer you wait, the longer and difficult your rehab will be.

But this is my opinion... as a doctor specialized in orthopedics... take it as you will.

Meh. What do You know....


lol

 

[itchin]

Lol. I tore my rotator cuff in 95 playing highschool basketball. I did lots of pt, and no surgery. I still have problems with it. I have had it dislocate from farting. I have gone a couple years without it coming out. But when it does it normally goes right back in. BUT for about 2 or 3 weeks it hurts bad. If I lay the wrong way i can feel it starting to go out. I was never offered surgery, but would probably have helped me.

 

[BMiracleTX]

Meh. What do You know....


lol

Haha... not much apparently. I received several PMs about my previous remark, so I have deleted it. I am on here to talk about guns, not debate shoulders. At least you had LOL at the end of yours... others just straight said I was an idiot. Oh well...

 

[DBDawg]

this is actually something that I've lived with for years. I'll hear/feel it pop...it hurts for about a week, then I'm o.k for a year or two. But this time it more snapped and felt weird inside. That's why I had the MRI...plus the pain didn't go away like it usually did.
Think I'm opting for the surgery just so it will stop doing this every couple of years...hopefully.

 

[deemus]

Haha... not much apparently. I received several PMs about my previous remark, so I have deleted it. I am on here to talk about guns, not debate shoulders. At least you had LOL at the end of yours... others just straight said I was an idiot. Oh well...

I knew it was coming. I am a professional too (not a doc). It's funny how you can give the best correct advice, and people will say you're an idiot. The internet creates genius without education or experience.

 

[ROGER4314]

One of my neighbors was at a church camp and was having a ball doing some crazy kid stuff physical activities. He popped his shoulder and had the surgery not long after that. He has has many months of regaining his strength and range of motion so the surgery isn't a quick fix. If I remember correctly, the camp was during the Christmas holiday season with surgery following soon after. It's August and he's mostly back to normal. It's along road back after the surgery.

On another matter:
I knew it was coming. I am a professional too (not a doc). It's funny how you can give the best correct advice, and people will say you're an idiot. The internet creates genius without education or experience.

There was WAY too much of that at TGT and the bosses have decreed a cease fire. Hopefully, things will change for the better. I can take a joke and poke fun back with anyone but some of these guys were just plain vicious. In the years that I've been here, I never made a complaint about behavior of any kind.....until last week. Stay tuned and maybe things will change for the better! I appreciate your input and it was very enlightening! Please don't let the "Keyboard Commandos" run you off!

For some instant relief, if you have some of them dogging you, use the "IGNORE" function in your profile options. They won't bother you any more. How's that cure from "Doctor Flash?"

Flash

 

[deemus]

One of my neighbors was at a church camp and was having a ball doing some crazy kid stuff physical activities. He popped his shoulder and had the surgery not long after that. He has has many months of regaining his strength and range of motion so the surgery isn't a quick fix. If I remember correctly, the camp was during the Christmas holiday season with surgery following soon after. It's August and he's mostly back to normal. It's along road back after the surgery.

Flash

The therapy is the worst (most painful) part. But you HAVE to do it.

I tore my rotator cuff years ago. It was 6-8 months before I was 100%. Did the therapy and it's as good as it ever was.

My mom broke her shoulder, refused to do the therapy. Within 2 years her shoulder just came apart. No activity, no muscle to hold it together, just favoring it. She regretted it for the 20 remaining years of her life.

 

[texbiker]

when you start therapy remember- no pain, no gain. and all therapists are sadistic!

 

[DBDawg]

when you start therapy remember- no pain, no gain. and all therapists are sadistic!

lol, I guess they'd have to be.