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Success stories: Reverse shoulder replacement surgery
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Aug 26 8:37pm | Replies (131)Comment receiving replies
@kilh thank you for the good wishes! I am sorry to hear that it sounds like you are losing your range of motion. I don't know much about what's medically possible joint-wise after a TSR, but could you be experiencing frozen shoulder/adhesive capsulitis now in your TSR shoulder?
Before I had any right shoulder pain, I went through frozen shoulder which took a couple of years to develop, never did have good behind the back twists with my right arm. Eventually when I could no longer get my hand up to my head to help wash hair, I finally asked to be referred to physical therapy to do something about it. I never felt shoulder pain at that time, just a limited range of movement. I was skeptical that PT would help, because I was an active person so felt that I should be moving my arm enough to keep this from happening. But PT did help by designing exercises that stretched the particular areas, and I got back to about 80% of my range of movement in about 6 weeks. So I'm wondering if there is something PT could do to help you regain some of your range of motion if indeed the problem is adhesive capsulitis.
Replies to "@kilh thank you for the good wishes! I am sorry to hear that it sounds like..."
@ddsack and @kilh. Thank you for your experiences and suggestions for the functionality of your shoulder after a reverse shoulder replacement. It is so helpful to have interchanges with patients who have different histories and who have explored different treatments. As @sueinmn has told us all, the shoulder's function after a "reverse" will be different for every patient and will also be different than the performance of the shoulder before an injury and/or surgery. I, too, was so happy to just be relieved of three years of pain after falling down a bit of a mountain. The slowpoke was not my surgeon but the insurance company which wanted me to try opioids first, then PT, and acupuncture before considering surgery.
Only after a long discussion with my surgeon as he sat on the floor giving it his best shot, did they approve the reverse surgery. I too was thrilled to experience three years of pain diminish rather quickly after the surgery. And then I was excited to find out how much I could actually use it since it was my dominant right arm. It has been several years now and I have determined that it is virtually impossible to achieve the range of motion I had before the fall. I can wash my hair when I hold my head down a bit. I can put glasses away in the cupboard on the first shelf. What I can't do well is what I call finer movements. They require support from my other arm. And so....life goes on.
I think what helped, surprisingly, was another fall down 16 steps with injuries to the other shoulder. With surgical repair, I find it more functional and yet also more painful. My most difficult task is tying my shoelaces. So, I buy the elastic ones that you just pull until they tighten. They're not as pretty on my new Hokas but they work.
Good luck to you both....keep up the good work and let me know if you find some more hints and tricks to improve that ROM.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris
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Thanks for the information. Every time I go back to see the shoulder doc, they take x-rays and tell me all is fine and in the right place. Then he may give me a shot for pain. This helps for a while till I do too much. My muscles are shrinking down so less support. I do not have a lot of strength in my arm anymore. And I am left-handed so this does not help. My right arm is torn also and needs to be replaced but I am not so sure I want another new shoulder.
Glad you got your motion back. I never really got that far to start with. I am not so sure about the RSR. Time will time what I end up doing. Keep in touch as to your progress. Good job and stay healthy. KLH