Rotator Cuff Tear

K

K9medic

Longterm Registered User
Well it looks like I have a tear in my rotator cuff, did it Friday, wandered into A&E on Saturday morning and was seen by the specialist at 0900 this morning. He is sending me for an ultrasound and possible a MRI scan depending on what they see, hopeful he will get me a slot this week, it’s a small hospital so I’m happy with the time scale.

At the moment I cannot move my shoulder more than a few cm in any direction before it stops moving, there is just no power there, I can use my right hand to move it a fair distance before it becomes, shall we say a tadge painful.

The guy I saw didn’t want to make a commitment until he sees the scan, but said it’s a fair good chance he will need to operate. What I couldn’t get out of him is how before I can move without going into spasm and what the recovery time is likely to be.

Luckily it’s the left side and I’m right handed but I have only been on the sick 14 hrs (first time in 25 years) and I’m already going stir crazy.

Any body able to give me posiiable time frames ?
 
K9medic,

Firstly I need to point out that I am not a doctor so this is advice from experience, personal and from working rehab cases as a PT.

2 weeks from surgery you should be moving better. Unfortunately an injury like this will take a while for the Muscles, Tendons and Ligaments to heal and then time to gain strength back. Given the degree of your discomfort I think you may find it might be a bit more than a torn muscle. It really is best to wait for the scans. Ultrasounds will show them the muscles and fluids i.e. Bursitis and blood flow. MRI will show them the Bone and Cartilage. They both see the same just with different clarity. They may choose to give you a cortisone injection if they find Bursitis (Fluid the body uses when the tendon is inflamed). This will give a lot of relief quickly but it will not help if the muscle is torn or other injury. Yes I realise there is a lot of speculative in this but it is still unknown. Healing time is always about the same though. Expect 2 - 4 Months before feeling nearly normal and 12 months before you start to forget that you had an issue in the first place. You will be able to go about your day before that though.

Rehab - This I cannot stress enough is the most important part. This will determine how much movement you get back and help reduce recovery time. See your Physio, do the exercises and keep stretching. If you like lifting weights try to change some movements, overhead work should be avoided for awhile. Use upright rows or front raises to work your shoulders. Shoulder press for one will put unnecessary stress on your joint and muscles.

There is a lot more I can say but it may just confuse the issue. Wait for the scans. I am interested to see how you get on. P.M me if you like.

Stay Safe
Preacher
 
K9Medic,

As Preacher says until you have the scan results, you wont know the extent of the damage and therefore you won't be able to work out your treatment or recovery.

Around 5 years ago I severely damaged (tore) my right Teres Major, I won't bore you with the how, and I don't wish to alarm you either but the recovery time with the help of a physiotherapist friend was 6 months before I returned to the gym and 8 months before I re-entered the dojo (where the damage occurred).

I have made a full recovery without any surgery and fingers crossed your scans come back with good news!

Regards

premier
 
Thank you for the good advice and sorry for the delay in getting back. Its surprising how everyday tasks take longer with only one good are.

At the moment I am still waiting for an appointment to have the scan carried out on the shoulder and then hopefully I will be in a better position to start working on improving things.

It is now 9 days since I hurt the shoulder and as of this morning I can;

• Lie down to sleep rather than sleep propped up, though I can only lie on my back.
• Move my arm (under its own power)
o To the 4:30 position to the front.
o To the 8:00 position to the rear.
o But very little to no movement to the side.
• I can move the arm further if I use the right are to lift it before it becomes uncomfortable.
• I haven’t taken any pain killers for 3 days, haven’t needed to as the shoulder is settled down to a gentle “put”.
• It only goes into a spasm if I forget and move to suddenly.
• There is still a “button” of pain slightly in front of the shoulder joint if pressed.

So now it’s just a case of wait and see what the how things improve and what the specialist says when I next see him.
 
Ok a quick up date. I had an appointment with the specialist yesterday and he signed me off for another 4 weeks. I now have a date for the ultrasound scan (17th April) and then another appointment with the specialist on the 24th of April to discuss the results.

The problem is I still haven’t had an appointment with a Physio (specialist won’t send me until after scan), so at the moment I’m simply moving the shoulder as much as possible (No weight or resistance). This seems to be doing some good as I am getting more movement in certain directions and he is happy with the speed of recovery (unlikely I will need an Op now).

Any advice about exercises that would help (it’s not my field) is appreciated.
 
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