Shoulder injury. Anybody ever been there?

[heatheroo1]

I've been back to (a normal) full range of motion for like a year now, but doing that PT is super important. I tend to push hard on the therapists and docs as I'm an athlete and I focus my recovery to maintain performance as much as possible. It sucks, its hard work, its often painful and its a drag, but its WORTH IT in the end.

My rehab place has this sneaky system: for the initial, early PT, when you still have internal stitches healing and whatnot, they assign some random dude to stretch you out. Once the real PT starts they assign you a continuing rotation of cute, 20 something girl therapists, who start each exercise with "let me know when this hurts". No self-respecting guy is going admit they can't take it to a pretty lady, so the result is you get a brutal workout each time. Like-wise, they will say "do 3 sets of 10", so you do 5 sets of 20 to prove what a manly guy you are. it's ingenious.

 

[Pocket Dave]

My rehab place has this sneaky system: for the initial, early PT, when you still have internal stitches healing and whatnot, they assign some random dude to stretch you out. Once the real PT starts they assign you a continuing rotation of cute, 20 something girl therapists, who start each exercise with "let me know when this hurts". No self-respecting guy is going admit they can't take it to a pretty lady, so the result is you get a brutal workout each time. Like-wise, they will say "do 3 sets of 10", so you do 5 sets of 20 to prove what a manly guy you are. it's ingenious.

20 years ago after an injury, I ended up with an old-school 300-lb Sumo wrestler who did a bunch of deep-trigger stuff that was purely torturous, but then there'd be a couple weeks of relief.

Problem was, he kinda ruined it for me - The women therapists I later saw didn't have that same weight and upper body strength, and the results were never as long-lasting.

 

[perfektspace6]

This thread is timely OP.

I have a torn biceps tendon and bone spurs in my shoulder socket and am scheduled for surgery in about a month to repair. The pain is manageable but there are several things I simply cannot do, like swing a tennis racket, and my range of motion is poor. Tried PT and other non-surgical treatments and it just kept getting worse. That lead to an MRI and my scheduled surgery.

For anyone with similar experiences, how long did your recovery from surgery take to the point where you could play bass or other instruments without pain or restriction? Also, how quickly could you get back to more strenuous activity? I lift weights and play tennis and lacrosse.

 

[Pocket Dave]

This thread is timely OP.

I have a torn biceps tendon and bone spurs in my shoulder socket and am scheduled for surgery in about a month to repair. The pain is manageable but there are several things I simply cannot do, like swing a tennis racket, and my range of motion is poor. Tried PT and other non-surgical treatments and it just kept getting worse. That lead to an MRI and my scheduled surgery.

For anyone with similar experiences, how long did your recovery from surgery take to the point where you could play bass or other instruments without pain or restriction? Also, how quickly could you get back to more strenuous activity? I lift weights and play tennis and lacrosse.

Age is a big factor. How old are you? It took me a lot longer to recover from injuries by my 40's than as a teenager. I don't even want to think about it in my mid-60's.

The good news is living an active lifestyle helps.

The enemy is inactivity.

 

[perfektspace6]

Age is a big factor. How old are you? It took me a lot longer to recover from injuries by my 40's than as a teenager. I don't even want to think about it in my mid-60's.

The good news is living an active lifestyle helps.

The enemy is inactivity.

42. Very active. All that activity probably took it's toll. The injury was gradual. There wasn't any particular event that caused it from what I can tell.

 

[Pocket Dave]

42. Very active. All that activity probably took it's toll. The injury was gradual. There wasn't any particular event that caused it from what I can tell.

As long as you maintain moderate activity after the surgery, it should have a positive affect on your recovery time.

 

[heatheroo1]

This thread is timely OP.

For anyone with similar experiences, how long did your recovery from surgery take to the point where you could play bass or other instruments without pain or restriction? Also, how quickly could you get back to more strenuous activity? I lift weights and play tennis and lacrosse.

when I had my right shoulder replaced, I could play pretty much immediately. The tricky part was getting my strap over my head. I quickly realized that strap locks were they key: connect up the bass after you draped the strap over your neck. The entire rehab process to where I had regained my shoulder strength took almost a year.

BTW - post shoulder replacement, I asked the surgeon about throwing a ball. He said "no.....throwing is not a natural motion for the shoulder".