any fellow bassist here have shoulder surgery before?

I had a torn labrum. Repaired it twice. I tore the same spot again two years later, FYI. Not because the doctor did something wrong, I played ice hockey and reinjured myself.
So, the surgery is pretty tame. I was out the same day with a sling and taking pain medication. Recovery, and then rehab and stretching for months. Since it wasn't bass related, I had no trouble playing bass before or after. If you have trouble playing bass now, it will probably get worse without surgery.

 

I haven't had surgery, but I have had shoulder injuries that either hindered or prevented me from playing--sometimes it was simply holding the bass or putting my right arm over the body.

Don't rush your recovery...it could be worse in the long term.
Different situations may call for different measures, but patiences is common to them all.

 

No shoulder surgery, although my left shoulder probably needs it to avoid future arthritis. I have had similar knee surgery, and I walked out of the recovery room the same day as the surgery. The surgeon did a spectacularly good job, that's all I can say. Point being, if the surgeon knows what he or she is doing, the recovery can be pretty short if it is arthroscopic.

 

I have a couple of friends who have had shoulder surgery (and knee surgery). The surgery isn't bad, but the rehab is no fun. Do the rehab right and do what the therapist tells you and you'll come out of it just fine. Just remember, the rehab people aren't there to help you feel good and comfy while you're doing therapy, they're there to get your full functionality back. Parts of that are gonna hurt....but DO IT.

A couple of months of down time playing bass is nothing. You have a whole life to live, and you need your body to function. Get it done.

 

I've had a dislocation problem at left shoulder, following a sport accident. I tried rehab but it never worked. So i came to surgery. My surgeon recommended me a special stop, screwed in my bone, to replace my defective upfront ligament; over a ligament repair because of risk about limited mobility after recovery. My recovery was very quick, no mobility problem and i never had a problem since.
That said, it was in 1992 so surgery has certainly improved a lot since.

 

I've had two minor surgeries on my left shoulder. The first was after I flipped my car and the seat belt damaged my shoulder. They stuck in a little vacuum tube to suck out bone fragments front the joint that was irritating the bursa.

The second time was a few years later when I developed bone spurs in the same shoulder. They grinded them down and sucked out the itty bitty pieces of bone yet again.

Trust me, you'll probably be better off with surgery than without.

 

Well I have Injured my ligaments but It wasn't my shoulder It was my ankle, I didn't have any surgery only physiotherapy about a month, I was already running the next day after my last physiotherapy. My doctor told me about a medicine that you inject that will help you recover faster I don't know much about that though because I said no.

 

I had the Supraspinatus tendon reattached. Four weeks and I was out playing again.....carefully though. I had just joined a band and they moved all my equipment for about 3 months. Nice bunch of guys. 6 months and I was back to weightlifting.

 

My wife had rotator cuff surgery 2-3 years ago. The surgery wasn't that bad but the therapy was brutal. She also developed frozen shoulder after the surgery (not uncommon) so they had to put her under in order to "break it loose" non-surgically. She's fine now, but is mindful of over-extending it.

In her case, it mainly affected her ability to raise her arm above her head, which is not a common bass-playing technique. Sounds like you have something different, though.

 

a good friend of mine who's primarily a woodwind guy, had shoulder surgery for the same reasons about a year ago.

he plays professionally, and teaches full time. he's also a pretty good bass player, and was able to play shortly after surgery. nowadays he's 100%.

 

Glad to see this post, as I'm going in for shoulder surgery (left side/my fretting arm) on January 7th. I tore the ligaments during a
martial arts seminar. I was to go in Dec 17th, but I postponed it because 2 gigs came up that I didn't want to cancel.

I teach martial arts (Japanese sword and staff/spear) and play bass, both to make a living. I've been worried
about recovery time and if I'll have any motion and/or pain problems after I'm fully recovered.

 

You will want to follow stretching routines advised to you by the doctor and/or physical therapist. Don't over do it, and don't under do it. You'll be fine.
Keep your arm in the sling as long as the doctor recommends. You might be at 80% recovered and feel you can go about without the sling, but the last thing you want is for someone to unknowingly grab your left arm and pull it in a bad angle. Usually, most people will not grab your arm if they see it in a sling.

 

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. I realize, as the day gets closer, I'm not looking forward to it. Part of it is just hoping that all goes well.
Another part is the downtime from playing. My band is on a good roll right now, and I don't want to loose momentum. I've been playing and singing
regularly, so my skills have gotten much better than they've been in years. I don't want to lose any of that.

Also, I'm not learning to play upright bass, as well. I don't want to lose momentum with that, either. In the long run, it will be ok, I know.

 

I had the surgery yesterday afternoon. Spent 1 night in the hospital. I've been back home today as of noon.
All went well. The doc was very happy with the results. He told me that it was a mess in there. All my connective
tissue was shredded. The only thing holding my arm in place was my skin and thankfully that I'm in good physical shape.

However, he said healing time would be relatively quick. By Tuesday I'll be starting exercises for strength and flexibility.
Within 2 weeks, 3 at the most, I'll be playing bass again. And, once I'm healed, I should be as good as new,
aside that I have an artificial piece in my shoulder.

And the only pain meds are panadol and something else for swelling. It hurts, but nothing major.

 

All your ligaments were torn?
What is the artificial piece for? Osteoarthritis?