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Rotator Cuff full tear and retraction of supraspinatus tendon
General consensus for a senior non-athlete seems to be to give physical therapy a good hard try before jumping into surgery. Thoughts & experiences? Jim
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I too will be discussing physical therapy as an alternative to left-shoulder replacement -- am right-handed -- or a future of reliance on medication to alleviate the intense pain. I just cannot understand how the stress of physio would not increase the tearing of the muscles involved.
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1 ReactionFell and damaged my ROTATOR CUFF which split the nerves away from each other. Got a black brace where I have to hang my arm close to my heart which is annoying. PAIN at night where I have to hang my arm over a pillow. WILL PHYSICAL THERAPY HELP? NEVER DID IT BEFORE....Margaret O
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2 ReactionsI tried physical therapy cortisone shots gel shots. I wanted to avoid surgery. None of it worked. Had a large tear in rotator cuff that turned into a hole. My bicep was shredded. Fell on ice Dec 2020. Just had the surgery Nov. 2nd 2022. It’s a hard recovery. In the beginning PT hurts a lot. I still go 3 times a week. Dr. Said I’m ahead of schedule. I tore my left rotator cuff but not as severe T work. The cortisone injections and PT WORKED. Also kayaking helped. Hope you get some relief.
It’s worth a try. Worked for my left tear but not the right one. Depends how bad the tear is.
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1 Reaction@anisman1 @margaretob - @nanny23 is right. It it all depends on how bad the tear is.
Physio exercises for rotator cuff tears/injuries are quite gentle. I was pleasantly surprised at how doable they were for me.
My physical therapy hurt in the beginning. They force your arm up after being in a sling for 6 weeks. My therapy started 2 weeks after surgery.
@nanny23 my physiotherapy hurt in the beginning too because I couldn’t lift my arm, but my therapist encouraged rather than forced me to raise my arm just a bit higher each day, till I was finally able to lift it all the way up. Among about ten exercises I was taught, the pulley exercise was very helpful in my being able to achieve that.
I used the pulley too. The physical therapy works very welll. ❤️
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1 ReactionI have had three rotator cuff surgeries. The first one on my right arm included a bicep tendon tear as well. Not only did I have that annoying sling, I also had a cast on my arm. The second tear was on my left arm. The third was to clean out scar tissue on that arm. Therapy is tough, and healing takes time. Both of these surgeries were years ago, and I still have some trouble reaching over my head. After sixteen years, I was scheduled for my fouth surgery on the right arm, but it was cancelled due to my wife's illness. I don't have much pain in that arm, just not a lot of strength.
I have torn rotator cuff but I also have chronic back pain and I’m 78 yrs old I told the surgeon I didn’t think I could handle the pain of recovery for my shoulder because of my back so I’m just getting the shots I can’t lift my arm pass my shoulder but that’s ok I manage with it . The way physical therapy works is that it strengthens the muscle to the point that it overrides the tear and the pain but if your very bad it won’t fix the shoulder but it can postpone surgery sometimes