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Thanks so much for your response. I’m definitely going to copy off your questions. I had my shoulder replacement done there in 2012. At that time I had no idea what to ask. I wish I would have had a better idea what I was getting into. The surgery went fine. My sister-in-law works at Mayo and she looked at the incision the day after the surgery and said it was the cleanest incision she had ever seen. However I did therapy back home and I feel like I wasn’t made aware of what to expect. When I went back to Mayo a while later - not sure how long after - I saw a physical therapist at Mayo. I wish I had seen someone there after my surgery. I’ve questioned how my doctor here acted when I saw her. I’ll probably see her again for my annual physical and see how she is then.
Anyway, thanks again for your help. It’s so good to hear from someone whose been down this road before. I’ll let you know how it goes next week when I get to Mayo. I’m so glad my back is feeling better now. It should make the trip there easier.
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@farmgirl57 Hi Carol. It sounds like you are doing great and handling this well and directing your path down the road. I was thinking last night that I should have mentioned the possibility of nerve entrapments that are not spine related, but have overlapping symptoms. For example, I have thoracic outlet syndrome which causes tight tissue that entraps nerves and vessels under the collar bone, in between scalene muscles (at side of neck), and under the pectoralis minor muscle on the front of the chest where it makes an attachment in the armpit. TOS prodices arm tingling, weakness and numbness. Ask the neurologist that you see at Mayo if you could have something like that. It's possible that your shoulder surgery is causing tightness from fascial scar tissue and causing nerve compression. Mayo can diagnose and treat TOS and that can be physical therapy with myofascial release. I had both of these problems at the same time (TOS and a ruptured spinal disc). I still do MFR with my physical therapist, and also doing it for a few years before spine surgery helped make it easier for my surgeon because the muscles were looser for retraction during surgery. There is surgery for TOS, but it can make a patient worse because of fascial scar tissue and I was advised that physical therapy long term was best for me. Here is our discussion about myofascial release. It can help you loosen surgical scar tissue after surgery, and you will have some also from your shoulder surgery. I didn't know you had prior treatment at Mayo, so you know how nice it is there. I'll be rooting for you and waiting to hear about your visit.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988