Looking for Advice on Full Rotator Cuff Tear Recovery After TraumaInju

Good morning aidenkristo. I had the same issues. I had a severe rotator cuff tear about 9 years ago in a work accident.
The repair didn't hold, no matter how careful I was. I had a revision surgery a year after my attempted rotator cuff repair. That didn't work either.
After living with the pain for years, I had a reverse total shoulder replacement five months ago. Now my shoulder bothers more than ever. I still go to physical therapy twice a week. That doesn't seem to help either. Presently, I can not recommend this procedure. I'm in pain most of the day. It restricts my driving, and everything I do with my right arm. I hope you have a better outcome with your shoulder.

Don't tell your Mum but this is the worst surgery. I had open heart surgery and it did not hurt nearly as much. The pain is awful and it took 8 weeks to recover totally. And PT is essential 2-3x a week. Good luck!

@aidenkristo I had a rotator cuff tear in 2008. After several months of physical therapy my shoulder did not improve in function, range of motion or pain. I didn’t know I had a tear at that point. On the advice of the physical therapist I went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI. That’s when I found it I had a tear in the rotator cuff tendon. I had surgery and was ordered to immobilize my entire arm in an arm sling for about 6 weeks (I think). After that, I had physical therapy for several months. I can tell you that my shoulder really hurt for several months after the surgery and the physical therapy as well as the exercises I did at home also hurt. But I kept at it. It took a good 12 months before I felt no pain at all in that shoulder. Since 2008 I have had no problems with that shoulder and I can do all the things I like including weightlifting, x-country skiing, lifting things around the house and reaching. I wonder if the outcome of such surgery is very dependent on the quality of the surgeon. My surgeon had done hundreds of these repairs in the past. I was 56 when I had rotator cuff surgery.

What is your Mum’s age?

Due to a very physical job, I had a rotator cuff injury back in the mid 90's and eventually went for PT.
But the physio really didn't help much. IMO, I just thought physio was a cash grab. But I guess it does work for others.
I just took it easy by being very cautious of my movements and didn't raise my arms in a quick manner etc.
Eventually I created my own exercises which really helped, because I really wanted to get this thing to heal and end the dull ache misery.
But because of the pain that came from the motion of just lifting my arm(s) period, I really knew that I couldn't not lift and use my arm and have things seize up even more and/or end up with "Frozen Shoulder" syndrome, which is actually almost more painful, so I created my own exercises for my rotator cuff, and eventually for everything Shoulder related.

I would plant my hand on a wall either with my arm fully extended out towards the wall or at an angle.
I then would Crawl my fingers/hand Up the wall until it was as high as I could possibly make it crawl up over the head, and then I would kinda lean my body inward to my arm and kinda turn so as to add a little bit of pressure into the shoulder back area to kinda stretch things out.
And then, after a bit of the stretching of things, I would then Crawl my hand back Down the wall.
I started with a couple repetitions at first and eventually would do 5 or more because the more I'd do, it would actually make my arm kinda a heavy tired, so I'd just do what I felt was not gunna cause more harm.
But, if I did this a few times throughout the day, it really helped with the pain, thus why I believe I healed my own rotator cuff alot sooner than had I gone to PT.

And I know this hand crawling exercise sounds weird, but that's because it's really hard to explain exactly what and how I did it, but this is the jist of it, if you can imagine using your Fingers to Crawl your hand Up and Down the wall so that it raises for arm and shoulder.
But in doing this exercise with the Crawling motion of my hand going Up and Down the wall along with the careful leaning into it and kinda turning/moving the upper body so I could feel a little bit of pressure in the upper back and shoulder area, it truly helped me far more than any Physio Therapy (PT)!!

However and Unfortunately, Later on in life, I did end up with Frozen Shoulder syndrome, but on the opposite side.
Frozen Shoulder kinda feels like the Carpol Tunnel syndrome agonizing dull aching pain, but it's in your shoulder!
But I did these Hand Crawling exercises for that as well and it absolutely felt really good on the shoulder and arm and helped ease that Dull Achiness because with Frozen Shoulder, it almost makes your arm feel dead...

I know this isn't a "Medical" Cure, but I hope this helps your Mum like it truly did help me, especially with the pain and laggyness of time in trying to heal...

Mikaylar is correct. This is a very difficult surgery to recover from. I have had 3 rotator cuff surgeries one included a bicep tendon tear that also needed to be repaired. The sling that you are needed to wear is a pain. Therapy is long and painful, but it has to be done. I know longer have pain in either shoulder, but my range of motion in my left shoulder is affected...that was over 16 yrs. ago. My best wishes for you Mum, but be prepared for a long recovery.

It is true that recovery is a long process, but I'm at 3 months and finding it tedious but not painful. I am over 70 and have had a lot of ortho surgery, this is far less painful than most.
In September 2 previous small tears became complete tears and I tore my biceps tendon. In October all 3 were repaired and two major bone spurs were removed. Post surgical pain was less after one week than the day before surgery. I used an ice machine and kept it iced 20 minutes on/20 off for the first 2 weeks and was totally immobile for 5 weeks. And iced at least 4 times a day the first 2 months. I have managed pain with Tylenol and ice since the second week. I am on week 10 of PT and am sore after so I ice.

According to my surgeon, his PA and my PT it will be up to a year to regain full strength and use. And the most important ingredients are patience to let all of the tissue heal completely and persistence to regain range of motion. No strength training until 7-9 months.

i had a superb surgeon and recovered well. Surgery was in 2017

Thanks Helen. I'm so glad to hear you had a great outcome.

I've had my knees replaced with similar success. The shoulder and knee joints are very different though.

I think the quality of the surgeon is just as important as the work a patient puts into his or her recovery. Your story is perfect. You had a very good surgeon, you were patient, and you worked very hard on your rehab.

Do all those things and I think the chances for a successful joint replacement skyrocket.

To Aiden - I don't know if a reverse shoulder replacement can be problematic, even with a dutiful post-op rehab. Certainly there is some limitation in flexibility v a "normal" shoulder replacement, but I'd ask patients who have had a successful RTSR. I think this would eventually eliminate pain, I'm just not sure about that.

All the best to your Mum Aiden! Joe

This is really helpful advice Kay, thank you. Shoulders seem to require a lot of patience/time and hard work to see results. I had both knees replaced in 2022 at age 67 and the results have been phenomenal. I had a great surgeon and did all the rehab work.

I love this exercise you describe for the shoulder, which appears to increase range of motion and decrease pain. Great job and great advice!

Joe

Thank you Sue.

I think you've summarized the process behind every successful joint replacement, patience and persistence. Ironically, this is hardest on the very active (people who want to get back to the gym asap) and very inactive people (just not used to the amount of PT required and the time).

Good surgeons are also required, but surgery is the easy part. The weeks and months of rehab are hard because it seems like it will never end. But it does end and the results are almost always great.

I have heard that a lot of people are unhappy with a reverse shoulder replacement. So for Aiden I suggest talking to as many people who have done it as possible. I do believe that with a great surgeon and a lot of personal commitment and work, successful joint replacements can happen.

Joe