I am 5 weeks post op and feeling really good. What does surprise me is the lack of pain and how difficult it is to move the darn thing.
I am in PT and doing my exercises 4 times a day but I had no idea that the range of motion would be so limited. Like breaking in stiff new shoes or a new saddle:lol:
Tell me it gets better…
It will get better, but shoulder surgery is a bear. Getting full ROM back takes a while.
Don’t give up hope. You are still at the very beginning of the start line.Your surgery may have been a bit different than what my DH had. He totally blew out his rotator cuff in a fall off a ladder and down a flight of stairs. When the surgeon looked at the MRI results, his only word was “WOW.” He told DH he would do what he could, but that it would be a FULL 12 months before DH could expect to get mobility and strength close to what he had had. AND then ONLY IF HE WAS DILIGENT in following post surgery restrictions and doing PT.
DH was very surprised how quickly he had lost muscle strength (basically had none left). But to his credit, he followed Dr’s and PT’s orders to the letter. Now at 7+ months post injury, he pretty much has all the mobility back (really did by about month 5) and much of his strength. He is still working on building the muscles, but is down to PT once a month and if he continues to improve as he has been, he will likely be good as new. He is certainly very functional these days (even if he is not quite up to pruning trees all day yet - he’s an orchard manager, but much of his work is training employee crews and supervisory at this point).
Hang in there. It does take time. Just like rehabbing our horses, you can’t really rush it, but done patiently it does seem to get there in the end. (It was amazing how many strangers came up to DH when his arm was in the cushion to tell him they too had had rotator/shoulder surgeries and yes, they are good as new now.)
I did not have replacement surgery, but instead had my humerus totally blow up and then reconstructed with screws and pins. Had I been 5 years older or a smoker, they would have replaced it. Shoulder repair is incredibly painful and takes forever to recover from. I had 3 surgeries-- original fix, hardware removal step one, and frozen shoulder release/screw removal. I was in PT for 9 months… 9 long, expensive months. I’m guessing replacement is actually easier to recover from in terms of PT. Range of motion was a long time coming. Be persistent in your PT. Listen to your body, but also to your doctor.
@fjordmom I had a total replacement which my PT tells me is actually faster healing than a rotator cuff or other issues.
@Calvincrowe that sounds awful. I thought one surgery was enough.
I am not a patient person by nature but trying to do everything I am told to do. I certainly don’t want to have to do it over again!!
Thanks guys for the support . It is always nice to hear others success stories.
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