@bushy: If it helps you, by all means take some pain medication before PT. When I had my first shoulder surgery (repair of rotator cuff, removal of bone spurs, severing of 1 of my biceps tendons) I was encouraged to do that. However, since I valued my independence - as in driving myself - I never did. My therapist group is very much tuned into each individual patient, so even without pain medication they kept the ouch factor within reason. Another shoulder surgery, knee repair surgery, and finally TKR - all without pain pills for PT, and even post-surgery pain management at home max 9-10 days of opioids in each case..... worked for me.