How to prepare for shoulder replacement surgery?

What is the best pillow support for after shoulder surgery? Wedge pillows, ice packs, etc.

Ice machine was my pain reliever and sleeping in recliner for 8 long weeks

What was the name of the ice machine and where did you get it?’
Is that something that medical insurance might cover?
Did you have the nerve block for the first few days?

There is an ice machine called Game Ready that was used after I had a total knee replacement. I'm guessing it would work for shoulders but I'm not sure. These machines are expensive - $4k or so and then more for the different attachments. That said, they are excellent most op and probably useful anytime you stress something at the gym, at home, and on.

There are a number of ice machines on the market - some are quite reasonably priced (around $200.) You fill them every 8-12 hours with an ice & water mixture, then a circulating pump sends the cold to a cuff wrapped around the surgical site. There are specific cuffs for several joints, including shoulders. My insurance covered the cost with a 20% co-pay. Some examples are Cryo-Cuff and Polar Care.
Others are quite expensive, but may be available for rental from a medical supply, and often covered by insurance of prescribed. They include a compression component which may not be helpful for a shoulder.
Since cold therapy is very useful for many weeks during healing, these devices are a wonderful convenience, maintaining cold all night without running to the freezer for a new ice pack every hour. The only downside is the need for a ready supply of ice. The icemaker in my old refrigerator barely kept up, but the one in my newer whirlpool supplies plenty of ice for 24 hour use and has some left for my beverages.

Thanks for your reply. My shoulder
Replacement is scheduled for
The end of November. I will
Definitely consider an ice machine.

Sent from my iPhone

It seems that many people chose to sleep in a recliner after shoulder replacement surgery.
What are the advantages?

I was given a cryocuff ice machine to bring home from my RTS and another new one for my TKR surgery. I had it done by a military surgeon at a military hospital. It was my lifeline for pain control the narcotics didn’t do anything so didn’t take them except one at night for the first few nights. I have researched the machines for you. Make sure to get one that has good cooler size for water and ice and make sure it plugs in the wall like below[IMG_0647.PNG]
They are not that expensive $200 some less some more but all less than $250 worth their weight in gold
Also bought Velcro shirts sleepwear from Etsy and special zippered tops from rebound wear that were awesome. Allowed my therapist and surgeon easy access! Make sure you have an exceptional physical therapist. I had my same therapist for each visit for a year. He also rehabbed me for my TKR too. Takes a lot of hard work on our part too!
Best of luck.



Welcome, @effienana. You'll notice I moved the 2 similar discussions you started into one discussion about how to prepare for shoulder surgery. You've received quite a few responses already.

I think you'll also find these related discussions helpful
– Shoulder replacement: Post-surgery suggestions — https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/curious/
– Shoulder replacement needed: What can I expect? — https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/shoulder-replacement-229495/
– Success stories: Reverse shoulder replacement surgery — https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/reverse-shoulder-replacement-surgery/

Had a block before I went into surgery but that was all pain from surgery was different than the sharp pain I lived with for years prior it was more of an aching pain for me