Post-Op Shoulder Rehab Log

[G21]

Originally Posted by TheMuscleMan

I slept in a recliner for over a year while I was recovering from my first shoulder surgery, I was in a recliner recovering from my second surgery 3 years later but it only took half the time as the first. It sucked real bad!!! I had tore both bicep long head tendons and both rotator cuff tendons!

Thanks
TMM

TMM,

A year? Why so long? Did you complications somewhere along the line?

[G21]

Originally Posted by trip

Great Log, Thanks G21

Had similar issues starting in 1998, took 13 doctors to get correct diagnosis.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, had left done in 01 and right in 02, which is rare.

Basically Middle Scalene Muscle on neck was binding, damaged due to read end car wrecks and bare foot water ski-ing when young. Eventually it rubbed off the mylin on the nerves running through it, and all kinds of problems ensued

I have only 70% usage of left upper body, 100% of right because we did surgery two weeks after injury, versus 7 years.

Good Luck

Trip,

Damn, thats not good. I cant say ive ever heard of the mylin sheath being rubbed off, but damn that mustve been painful.

While nowhere near the same severity - my left shoulder was really mangled, all the docs i went to said i was fine, numerous MRI's later nothing came back - finally convinced my current doc to go in and look...yup, you guessed it, heavily damaged. In fact, i remember my first post-op visit he made the comment that he didnt know how i was able to use my arm. Fun times.

[TommyD]

Originally Posted by TheMuscleMan

I slept in a recliner for over a year while I was recovering from my first shoulder surgery, I was in a recliner recovering from my second surgery 3 years later but it only took half the time as the first. It sucked real bad!!! I had tore both bicep long head tendons and both rotator cuff tendons!

Thanks
TMM

I did exactly, well almost, what my surgeon and pt told me to do after the first surgery and it took forever to recuperate. The second surgery I supplemented with IGF and Cissus and about halved my recovery time, I kept a log on another site for this recovery after a sponsor donated the Cissus. I felt so good I think I may have rushed the recovery, that shoulder still gives me issues. My pt was amazed at my recovery speed.

I used to play a LOT of softball, outfield, and had a pretty decent arm. After all my recoveries were said and done, I now have a rag arm. I now play infield, first base or pitch, and have a hard time with accuracy and distance. One play I had a shot down the first base line with a play at third. I chucked the ball and, basically, spiked the ball into the ground just past pitchers mound. Was told by another surgeon I see for cortisone shots in my shoulders that rehab for sports is different than what I got, something to get back some ROM.

My 10 y/o daughter throws better than me and likes to pick snowball fights.

[Tinymk]

I have had 3 labrum/RC tears over the years. 2 on right and 1 on left side. All 3 went well. I am also a fan of the cryo-cuff and my nerve blocks worked wonders.
They tied my arm down for 8 weeks, another 8-10 weeks trying to get some ROM back in PT and was back in the gym.
It took me right at a year to be back to original strength and painless. Best to you and look forward to reading the log..

[TheMuscleMan]

Originally Posted by G21

TMM,

A year? Why so long? Did you complications somewhere along the line?

No everything went like it was supposed to. I had real bad tears, my bicep long head tendon was more than half way torn through and my rotator cuff tendon was 3/4 torn through, the doc said it was the worst shoulder he had ever seen in someone my age. I waited 15 years before I did anything to fix them. It started with my right shoulder and over the years it got worse and my left shoulder was taking up the slack and thus ruining that shoulder, so by the time I went and seen a doctor, got x rays, and mris it was way over due. The mri didn't show the full extent of the injury, I was initially told I would be in surgery for 45 mins and have three holes around my shoulder, it actually took 3.5 hrs and I have 8 holes around my shoulder. It took a year and a half to recover from the first shoulder surgery and 7 months for the second. I had a catheter in my neck which had a tube that led down my back and around to a fanny pack that had 400ml of pain meds in it and a control button on it, it gave me pain meds straight into my neck every hour and I could add an extra bump by pushing the button once every hour if needed. The second surgery I didn't have that, I had pain meds to take but I never took them after the first week because I didn't like the way they made me feel.

I followed all the rules on what I was supposed to do and that was how long it took me to recover. Heck after I got out of the sling it took me almost 6 months to get my arm fully straight before I could do PT or any kind of rehab.

Thanks
TMM

[TheMuscleMan]

Originally Posted by TommyD

I did exactly, well almost, what my surgeon and pt told me to do after the first surgery and it took forever to recuperate. The second surgery I supplemented with IGF and Cissus and about halved my recovery time, I kept a log on another site for this recovery after a sponsor donated the Cissus. I felt so good I think I may have rushed the recovery, that shoulder still gives me issues. My pt was amazed at my recovery speed.

I used to play a LOT of softball, outfield, and had a pretty decent arm. After all my recoveries were said and done, I now have a rag arm. I now play infield, first base or pitch, and have a hard time with accuracy and distance. One play I had a shot down the first base line with a play at third. I chucked the ball and, basically, spiked the ball into the ground just past pitchers mound. Was told by another surgeon I see for cortisone shots in my shoulders that rehab for sports is different than what I got, something to get back some ROM.

My 10 y/o daughter throws better than me and likes to pick snowball fights.

I followed all the docs orders both times and did PT just the first time, the doc said the second time to try rehab on my own because I already knew what to do. I didn't take any supps either time. My right shoulder is almost perfect and my left shoulder I lost some range of motion in.

Shoulder surgery sucks!!!!

Thanks
TMM

[G21]

Had my evaluation on Friday 11/24. My surgeon is known for making tight shoulders; my PT and my surgeon know each other well, and apparently had discussed my case in person prior to me being evaluated by my PT. Why? who knows, but i find it kind of funny. Anyway, the three numbers that i know for sure...

Flexion: 45 degrees
Abduction: 45 degrees
External Rotation: 3 degrees - This really surprised me.

To me these numbers are tight. I have a ton of work to do, and look forward to it.

OTC Supplements:
Multivitamin 2x a day
1000 mg Vitamin C 2x a day
Zinc Gluconate 50mg 2x a day
Vitamin D3 1,000 IU 2x a day

Not so OTC supplements:
4 IU GH EOD...This is how i took it before for my first shoulder surgery back in 08'-09' the consensus was, is that it allowed for the benefit of additional GH but did not disrupt natural production. I healed lightening quick and lost a ton of fat with this. Id like to hear current thoughts on this, please share.
200 mg a week TRT - Test cyp
500mgs Metformin with largest meal - Prior to getting back in the gym and having surgery life kicked me in the ass a whole bunch. Needless to say things slipped - this includes dietary intake. My blood work prior to surgery put me in the pre-diabetes category:
Glucose: 99 mg/dL range 65-99 mg/dL
Insulin: 20.2 range 2-19.6 uIU/mL
A1C: 5.1 - 5.7% of total Hgb "consistent with increased risk for diabetes (prediabetes)"

I never had bloodwork like, or close to this before, so while my levels are bad now, i have no reason to believe that they will stay this way after a few months, especially since getting back in the gym. Time and bloodwork will tell.

First full session is 11/27 - i'll see if i can get a copy of my PT's full evaluation and post it up. I'll post up my routine after every session if things change and weights are adjusted based on progress. Lets get it!!!

[G21]

First full week of PT is in the books. Im going M/W/F, need the off day to allow inflamation etc to subside.

Week 1 Protocol - I'll do my best to describe everything:
-20mins wet heat
-15mins stationary bike
-5mins hand bike - 30sec forward, 30sec reverse
-Manual eval and joint stretching
-Body blade 3min total - 30 sec each set. Three sets arm to the side. Thre sets to the front, slightly bent over
-Modified pushup on smith machine - similar movement to scapular retraction
-Bicep curls 2 sets 20 reps each, 5 lb DB - Never thought a 5lb DB would kick my ass, but it is. Humbling to say the least
-Tricep extensions 2 sets 20 reps each. This is a 2:1 pulley so the weight indicated is really 50% of what it says - indicated 45, real 22.5 pounds. Very light
-Ball presses against wall - forward, back, laterally, in towards body. Really hard to describe this. Two times through - 20 reps each direction
-Ball presses against wall forearm bent at 90 deg, pillow under armpit. Motion is squeezing arm in towards body, and then the opposite.Two sets, 20 reps each
-Back strap- strap goes over my left shoulder, i hook my right thumb in the loop and pull, gently, with my left hand. Objective is to slowly increase distance that your thumb travels up your back. Not sure what the technical movement would be called. Three sets 30 seconds each
-20 mins ice.

It doesnt sound like a whole lot, but by the time im done, my shoulder is fatigued and ready to rest. While i could push it and ask for more, this would be foolish, especially at this point

A few notes:
-Flexion is coming back quickly, i am close to 90 degrees from body plane
-Abduction is lagging behind flexion, i am at about 70 degrees from body plane
-External rotation ive picked up a few degrees, cant give a number but i'll ask my PT
-My scapula, for lack of a better term, is really tight. I mentioned this to my PT and he agreed, we will be doing some extra work for this.
-Trapezius is also tight, im thinking its a function of the scapula needing extra work, going to watch this. Im doing some extra stretches on my own as well
-Wednesdays session was a bit awkward. My PT had an emergency, and a new girl was tasked with working me. She was very nice, cute (yup, had to throw that in there ) knew her stuff, but seemingly lacked the strength to adequately stretch me. This translated into me being considerably more tight for Fridays session - my PT noticed this and asked if i had come in on Wednesday. I told him yes, and then explained things to him. I made it very clear to not say anything to her because i felt bad about it. He laughed and said that i was probably a bit much for her, whatever that means lol - Needless to say he made up for it, good session on Friday.
-Food intake has been steadily increasing. While i am carrying more fat now than at any point in my life my diet has changed significantly,and i have the demand on my system to heal. I also think the GH is starting to kick in as im down a few pounds since starting it.

My PT is back this this week and moving forward, Im hoping things start to transition from passive, to more strengthening, but that will be for him to decide.