Has anyone had a torn rotator cuff?

I've had one, but nowhere near as bad as yours, so this post is more about
sympathy than advice.

I was able to gain some relief by gradually buidling up the support muscle.
(Roger sent me a list of excellent rehab exercises. Thanks again, Labrat!)

Good luck!

Thank you, George. My sister had this and went to physio but it only made it worse so she went into yoga instead and she said she was fine after about 6 months.

MRI discovered my torn roatator cuff. I've lived with it in my right shoulder for six years. I'm very careful not to make it worse but, unlike you, I'm not doing the kind of activities you are doing. I wouldn't wait too long to see an orthopod to avoid further damage.

BBB

It is occasionally useful to me when I am faced with unpleasant tasks.
A brave but pained expression coupled with a careful rub of the shoulder
works wonders.

Well, I hope to see or talk to my doc by tomorrow (he doesn't work Mondays). Other than that, what can I do? I won't be in camp that long, so hopefully we can get things fixed up soon. It is really sore, though, from where they injected the dye. youch.

Strange thing. I had one in my right shoulder 10 years ago. I figured out I was sleeping with my head on my shoulder and started wearing a t-shirt to keep my arm from stretching out. After 5 months it completely went away.
Now I got it in my left shoulder but it's healing a lot slower.

Well, the bad news is that the supraspinatus tendon is torn through the full thickness in two places. No wonder the damn thing hurts. I need to see a surgeon (yes, I'll need surgery, no biggie, and a phsyio), but can't do that until I return from camp. So, I got some painkillers in the meantime. And I need advice about good and safe exercises to do while I'm away - anybody know of any?

The good news is that the lab tests all came back good - my cholesterol is LOW - exactly what it was 15 yrs ago. Not that I really care about that stuff.

Oh, and I have mild-moderate C-5-6 degenerative disc disease (ie, arthritis) which sounds normal for my age. Big deal.

Help me with physio exercises if you can - I don't want to exacerbate it.

Thanks!!!

Mame, I tore my rotator cuff a couple of decades ago. Very painful. I went to a shoulder/hand specalist who jumped to a prescription of surgery even without an MRI (or its equivalence). I suspected a surgery mill, so I had an MRI done at my expense and took the results to a recommended ortho-surgeon who after consultation with his parnters prescribed NO surgery. Instead he had me do--for the rest of my life--some elementary stretching shoulder exercises which cleared up my pain completely. One of my life-long passions is playing the violin so shoulder mobility is very important. Another doctor friend recommended that everyone having back and shoulder problems consider surgery only as a last resort.

Hi JLN - thanks for the advice. My doc wants me to see a physio and an ortho-shoulder specialist, plus the radiologists suggested an MRI prior to any surgery, so they're on the same page as you. Once I get through this camping experience, I can think about it. Thanks again - I'd like to avoid the surgery.

i had one from letting my ego tell me i could lift more weight than i really could. the guy in this video has some great rotator cuff exercises for rehabbing an injured or torn cuff. http://tekbuz.com/celebrity-news/health-beauty/rotator-cuff-exercises-for-rotator-cuff-injury

Hey, thanks, CoolAmp! I'm going to do those.

Mame, I had almost exactly the same condition about four years ago - a full tear, mostly the result of accumulated wear. I noticed it during workouts when I rather suddenly could no longer do straight presses or pull-ups without severe, sharp pain in my right shoulder.

I had the rotator cuff repaired (stitched together) at Johns Hopkins and the repair was successful. Thr recuperaqtion and physical therapy took about eight months during which I gradually restored my range of motion and the strength of the associated muscles which atrophy very quickly after the procedure. Now , four years later I am still pain free and have resumed my former workout activities without reduction.

My best advice would be to get the repair and put a lot of effort into the physical therapy. Let them know you want a full recovery of range of motion and activity and keep at it until you get there.

Thanks, Georgeob1... I'm going to do the exercises in the video and do physio when I get home, but I am going to be scheduled for an ortho-shoulder specialist, an MRI, and likely surgery. I'm not worried about it (although I worked with docs for 6 yrs so I should be) - it's just good to have the damn thing diagnosed.

I found that most orthopaedic surgeons were reluctant to treat the torn rotator cuff for patients who weren't in real pain in their daily activities. In my case the pain occurred only when I did bench presses or chin-ups, but I was unwilling to give up a life-long habit of working out. With that he was willing to repair it. A fairly quick procedure - I left the hospital about two hours after the surgery was done.

The recuperation involves about a week with your arm in a sling, followed by about two months therapy before you can lift your arm above the horizontal & regiain range of motion in your shoulder, and a few months of concentrated exercise to restore your strength. I got a full recovery with no residual pain or restriction.

Good luck !

Thank you - I'll make sure I have it scheduled for winter. I am in pain, quite a bit sometimes, and it really inhibits my actions. Since I've been lugging pails of water here, it hasn't been as bad - I haven't even been taking my pain killers - so maybe that's the exercise I should do

thank you! I am in more pain now that I am not lugging buckets of water so I will be happy to get back to camp. I don't think cooking aggravates it - I don't have to reach overhead or out to the side... and I have lots of cold packs since I am the medic, so thanks for your advice. I appreciate your help.

This is my first reply ever to this sort of forum. As the result of a fall I had complete tears of my superspinatus and subscapularis tendons, and the biceps tendon was stretched so that the biceps muscle was inoperative. The ONLY way complete tears can be dealt with is surgery. With a complete tear, the muscle is detached. In my case the superspinatus muscle had pulled the tendon into the joint where it squelched around. This is a very difficult operation and there are probably only a handful of surgeons that are capable of doing it successfully as the muscles are very small and the leverage of starting shoulder movement, which is what these small rotator cuff muscles do, is great. The operation is a long one, the rehab is long, hard and painful, and 100% recovery is not possible. I conduct an orchestra professionally so this is a major problem. My operation was a year ago, and while it was very well done, the muscles have atrophied and the proprioception has suffered badly. I am still trying to work out what is needed long term. There are 8 pins in my shoulder; the movement is about 80% of what it was before, thanks to expert surgery. However I don’t know as yet whether I will ever be pain free or regain the sort of stamina I had before, or the upper arm expressive freedom and flexibility. WITHOUT the operation, I would have had no chance!

The shoulder is the most unstable joint in the human body and it is the only one where nothing clips in, but all is held in place by soft tissue.

Hello torn shoulder.

Is your rehabilitation continuing at this point?

Torn Shoulder, my shoulder pain is not as bad as yours.

You mentioned that you conduct an orchestra professionally. I love classical music. Will you tell us more about your orchestra?

BBB