Advice: Shoulder Injury

[Matthew Brawley]

I'm looking for a little insight and advice. I awkwardly lifted some groceries out of the backseat of our car last week and felt a pop in my shoulder. I didn't think about until Sunday when my shoulder started hurting and continuing to get worse until I finally went to the doctor today. Without having a MRI, which is being scheduled they think I either tore my biceps tendon or my rotator cuff.

After getting home I done a little research and it seems if it's a biceps tendon it does not require surgery and will result in 20-30% strength permanently lost in my left arm. However, if it's a rotator cuff which they believe it is, it will require surgery and 3-4 month recovery time.

Has anyone here ever had either issue and/or did you have it fixed? How bad was the recovery? What would you do if you had to do it again?

Thanks for your time.

[ron david]

get it fixed.
ron

[Richard McComas]

I've had both shoulders done. Both do to slips resulting in falls. One on the ice and one on a wet tile floor.

The first one, left shoulder, was surgery and 3 months off work and several weeks physical therapy. The right shoulder was about the same thing only this one was worst and it was 5 month out of work.

You'll have to wear a sling a lot longer than you think and doctor will get all over you for taking it off when you shouldn't. The worse part of it for me was the months of sleeping in a chair in the living room. If you try to sleep in you bed you can't get comfortable and the pain will drive you back the chair.

Working overhead isn't what it use to be. I've lost a lot of over head strength.

Bottom line is you have to have it taken care of.

[William C Rogers]

+1 everything Richard said. Broke my left shoulder, no surgery. It just takes time. It's been 8 months and just now getting to about 85% of what it use to be. Rehab guy said shoulders take the longest to heal because they move so many different ways. Get it fixed. It just takes time to recover, but better than not fixing it.

[Pat Barry]

Like Richard, I slipped and fell and ended up tearing my rotator cuff. This was originally misdiagnosed as a simple strain and after 3 months of PT which didn't help (probably made it worse IMO) I convinced my Doc to have an MRI. The MRI confirmed the rotator cuff tear (which won't ever heal on its own) and during surgery they also found and repaired the biceps tendon which was also damaged but didn't show up on the MRI clearly. The surgery was done is late Sept and I missed 1 week of work, needed a sling for 6 weeks, healing enough for using the arm was 12 weeks. The pain after the surgery was FAR worse than the pain before. Its just now getting back to 80% mobility. If you have a job where you actually use your arm (trades for example) and not engineering office type work like I do where I could manage my normal computer work with a bum arm, you may be out of work for 3 to 4 months.

[Joe Tilson]

Injured both rotator cuff's playing ball in high school. Didn't have them looked at until two years ago after going through many years of pain. Had the right fixed. Waiting for the proper time to have the left fixed, which will be after the left knee is replaced. What a mess! Get it done as soon as you can. "Being a man and living with the pain" does not work. Almost waited to long. Feeling much better since right sides have been replaced.

[glenn bradley]

Tore up a knee. The surgery itself was basically a non-issue. The recovery was long (6 months) but, I was diligent with my physical therapy (however minor) and everything has been fine for years.

[Steve Peterson]

Why are you asking a bunch of people to help you diagnose your issue over the internet. Go see a doctor.

Steve

[Wade Lippman]

I have calcium deposits on both shoulder blades. Orthopedist say I had to have a very minor surgery, but sent me for therapy first.
Therapist said the surgery was minor, but the rehab afterward was 4 months. He said if I could work with him I didn't need the surgery.

That was 5 years ago. So far I am fine, but have to do shoulder exercises daily.
YMMV, but I would talk to a good therapist before surgery. If nothing else, being in good shape reduces the rehab necessary.

OTOH, my son's 19 year old girlfriend just had shoulder surgery after 3 years of having her arm dislocate frequently. She is on the swim team and the crew team, yet her rehab is still 3 months.

[Richard McComas]

Why are you asking a bunch of people to help you diagnose your issue over the internet. Go see a doctor.

Steve

He has seen a doctor. They are scheduling an MRI. He will be getting a professional diagnoses.

He's just asking what our experiences have been with similar injures.

[Wade Lippman]

Why are you asking a bunch of people to help you diagnose your issue over the internet. Go see a doctor.

Steve

I saw a TV show called "How to win anything" or something like that.
They claimed that asking alot of people gives a more reliable result than asking an expert.
I find that really really hard to believe.

But of course, that is not what he is doing.

[Mark Blatter]

I saw a TV show called "How to win anything" or something like that.
They claimed that asking alot of people gives a more reliable result than asking an expert.
I find that really really hard to believe.

But of course, that is not what he is doing.

I find it believable. Particularly since medicine is not an exact science. My wife has endured migraines for years. The first few docs led her to believe that migraines are understood and really quite simple. Not so. In fact I believe my wife knows more about migraines today than the vast majority of all docs. The ones that know the most will tell you that they know very little. That is why getting some shared experience can help a great deal. If the question was what is 2+2, the answer is simple, exact and known. No so with medical questions. Not to say you don't see a doc, get the tests, etc., because you do. But there is a great deal of validity in asking groups about their experience.

Sorry for the soap box.

[Randy Rose]

He has seen a doctor. They are scheduling an MRI. He will be getting a professional diagnoses.

He's just asking what our experiences have been with similar injures.

^ Thank you.

[Matthew Brawley]

Thanks for the input guys. I have a MRI scheduled next Tuesday. I just wanted to get an idea of what people with these injuries went through with surgery, other methods, rehab, and overall experiences. I trust doctors to a point, but I want as much information that I can gather to help me make an informed decision before just automatically going surgery if needed.

[Matthew Brawley]

I find it believable. Particularly since medicine is not an exact science. My wife has endured migraines for years. The first few docs led her to believe that migraines are understood and really quite simple. Not so. In fact I believe my wife knows more about migraines today than the vast majority of all docs. The ones that know the most will tell you that they know very little. That is why getting some shared experience can help a great deal. If the question was what is 2+2, the answer is simple, exact and known. No so with medical questions. Not to say you don't see a doc, get the tests, etc., because you do. But there is a great deal of validity in asking groups about their experience.

Sorry for the soap box.

Which is why they call it practicing medicine.