Has any member had shoulder surgery ? Im kinda curious what I'm in for. The surgery is scheduled for 1/15/26.
I was set to retire 3/1/26 after 31 years at Harley Davidson. That has been put on hold.
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Has any member had shoulder surgery ? Im kinda curious what I'm in for. The surgery is scheduled for 1/15/26.
I was set to retire 3/1/26 after 31 years at Harley Davidson. That has been put on hold.
Good luck with surgery. If they don't recommend it, get something like this, it was a game changer for pain management.
https://www.polarproducts.com/polarshop/pc/Post-Surgery-c497.htm
Edit: My recovery was pretty progressive, The first few weeks of pain and getting ROM back sucked, once I had my ROM and focused on rebuilding strength it wasn't as grueling of a process. After the 1st surgery I was doing push ups by month 3. Keep in mind I was early 20s for both of these procedures.
P.S Orthopedic surgery has come a long way over the years.
I was a pitcher in high school and college. First one was a labrum tear. I was working out / prepping for a showcase at Notre Dame and some of the Red's pitchers were in to get some PT work done and I was trying to impress them and a few days later, something didn't feel right. I couldn't pick up a glass of water. So surgery was needed.
Second one was a minor rotator cuff tear. I was warming up in college to come in, felt my right shoulder get very warm and then I had no strength. Got it repaired.
Third one was a dirt bike accident and landed right on my right shoulder and tore all 4 tendons in my shoulder off the bone. That did my baseball career in. Couldn't throw over 80 MPH. Before my first surgery, I was low to mid 90s.
I still have issues to this day. I have arthritis bad in my right shoulder and can't lift anything over my head. Shoulder is very weak. But hey..it doesn't mess up my golf swing! lol.
I was just in the doctors office last Wednesday to get my right pec looked at because I pulled it laying down on my chest on top of the counter to move my oven / range up over a 1/8th inch plywood to put back into place and I immediately felt something. Went in and the doc said it's just a grade 1 sprain and will to an MRI on Monday, 11/24 to make sure nothing is torn but I passed all of the tests with flying colors. Just a little sore right now. So when he came back in after looking over my x-rays for the chest / shoulder area he said "damn, your shoulder is garbage!" I just laughed.
Also, playing sand volleyball last October, I stuck my right arm out fast to get to the ball and my right bicep from my shoulder popped. So now I have a golf ball size bicep when I flex. No pain with it at all though.
All in all, get the surgery and take care of yourself. Crush PT and do all of the exercises at home. The shoulder tightens up quick if not consistently doing the PT work.
Best of luck!
Not sure it could fix something that needs surgery - but might be worth a shot? And if anyone else reading this has a "crunchy" shoulder that gives them fits when doing push ups, bench press (I gave this up) or wakes them up at night - this thing worked like magic for me and my boss.
If this info can help anyone else - just passing it forward as it did for me.
They send you home with a nerve block good for 4 - 5 days. It works! Do not take any other pain meds while the block is going! Constipation is not your friend.
Try to have a comfortable recliner to sleep in for a week or so. Ask your doctor for Ambien or something to help sleep if you think you might need it. I used a chilling pad to keep shoulder cool. Not sure it really helped me and they're a pain in the ass.
For me, pain was never really an issue. I saved my Oxycodone for my physical therapy sessions. Really helps extend those stretches, which you'll be doing a lot of.
Had my arm in a sling for 8 weeks. Went back to the gym for leg work after two weeks, also some of my good arm (not much at first until wound is fully healed).
Four months of PT twice a week (plus homework and gym). Improved steadily until 3 months, then hit a plateau, nothing helped. Until I took a full week off doing nothing. Next PT session movement improved so much I got my t-shirt and sent me home. So you can overdo the excercises, give yourself a break.
I'm 71, which may make a difference
ctjalsma wroteWhen you say replacement - you don't mean a full rotator cuff surgery - you mean the joint itself was replaced - right? Not sure I know anyone that has had this done. Knees and hips yes, but not a shoulder joint itself.Just coming off 1 year with complete left shoulder replacement. In at 7AM and home by 2:30 PM same day. Couple of things I wish I'd known.
They send you home with a nerve block good for 4 - 5 days. It works! Do not take any other pain meds while the block is going! Constipation is not your friend.
Try to have a comfortable recliner to sleep in for a week or so. Ask your doctor for Ambien or something to help sleep if you think you might need it. I used a chilling pad to keep shoulder cool. Not sure it really helped me and they're a pain in the ass.
For me, pain was never really an issue. I saved my Oxycodone for my physical therapy sessions. Really helps extend those stretches, which you'll be doing a lot of.
Had my arm in a sling for 8 weeks. Went back to the gym for leg work after two weeks, also some of my good arm (not much at first until wound is fully healed).
Four months of PT twice a week (plus homework and gym). Improved steadily until 3 months, then hit a plateau, nothing helped. Until I took a full week off doing nothing. Next PT session movement improved so much I got my t-shirt and sent me home. So you can overdo the excercises, give yourself a break.
I'm 71, which may make a difference
Recovery was pretty brutal for the first few weeks, but i really focused on the rehab. 6 months of physio weekly, followed by another 6 months bi-weekly. Also started with a trainer who took courses on shoulder rehab after 3 months.
After a year and still to this date, that shoulder is better than my "stock" shoulder(i had separated this one 4 times as well).
It was definitely worth it for me, just suggest you really focus on rehab.
Having said that, people I've talked to that had both generally say knee surgery recovery is worse, by quite a margin. I'm not volunteering for another shoulder anytime soon, but can't say recovery was all that bad. Worst single event was constipation from opiates I didn't need, if that tells you anything. Watch that stuff.
I delayed my disk replacement for almost 2 years because I didn't want surgery, but finally gave in when sleep became impossible. Like he told me 2 years prior - it was a snap. Wheeling me in at 9:20am, waking me up at 11:15am, being driven home by noon and pushing a shopping cart around a store by 3pm because I was bored at home. Double disk, but went movable so no fusion and went thru my throat so no muscle cutting. I could have went to work the next day.
Thinking about crap like your shoulders and knees makes me cringe! Everyone I know that had rotator cuff surgery said it was a terrible recovery process. Let's hope they find a better way in the future. Watch my Dad go through a knee and he was a tough ass old farmer who never complained, but I could read his face.
I guess it beats pain forever, but damn thinking about it sounds terrible.
Marmugmotleocay wroteGood luck - I hope the meds keep the pain at bay!I had the surgery done today at noon. It seems like everything went fine. They did find a spur they had to remove as well. I guess I will see the real pain when the nerve block wears off.
