Reverse shoulder replacement 😩

Good morning @barocco. I have followed your posts and was hoping for a positive report. Was your reverse on your right shoulder? Which is your dominant side? I do hope you can return to golf. Unfortunately, my reverse shoulder arm ended up being a couple inches longer than the other one. I tried changing my swing and found it cumbersome. So....I had to find a replacement for golf. For the next 10 years I went trekking with a group of ladies. We did a lot of preparing......sometimes walking 3 miles in the morning and another 2 miles in the evening. And we did get to go to Ireland and Canada and Vermont and, and ,and. It still wasn't golf though. Then I had to replace the trekking.

Are you using a Lidocaine patch or a custom Lidocaine topical? Is it pain that is most pronounced or inappropriate functioning?

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

Good Afternoon Chris:
Thanks for the quick response! It's my dominant shoulder, my right. Never had a patch. Just discovered spray Lidocaine. Much better than rubbing that crap over it. Where can you find a Lidocaine patch. Sounds good.
I was never great at golf but presentable. Went from being a 18 index to now a 26. Oh, BY THE WAY, my doctor told me after I woke up that he had cut my tendon because he said it was damaged. Ugh. I'm going back for yearly next week but I'm sunk. Hate to gripe because so many people have it much harder but it's really tough. I genuinely believe that most of the world simply wants we Seniors to just die and go away.
Anyway, thanks for listening,
Joe B

I am sorry to hear what you are going through. I really think you should get a consult with a shoulder specialist as continuing pain and loss of function warrants another look. I consulted with 4 orthopedic surgeons before finding the perfect fit. They ranged from doing 20 shoulders a year to 200+. It could be one tiny thing that needs fixed. You have already done PT, so you know the exercises to do. You shouldn’t have to go again-and you can refuse a second round of PT.
In a reverse Shoulder they do not use the tendons, the deltoid takes over and does the power work. The rotator cuff and biceps are usually just left alone because the area to attach them to is too frayed and damaged. That is my understanding at least. I could have details wrong.

I would like to hear from those who have hd rsr and swim. I used to swim but am unsure now if i ever will again.
I am about five months out and the shoulder PT is done. Am continuing with strengthening work which i think will go on a long time,
My biggest problem is nerve issues on that hand (of course the dominant one). Weakness, numbness and tingling. CT shows problem is C5-C6, but since it started about four weeks after surgery....... Dont know if that really is the issue possibly due to unnatural position of everything with the sling, or if there might have been some damage done during the replacement.

I had a reverse TSR about four years ago, and swimming is no problem for me. Have you been able to get to full straight vertical reach with your arm? Pushing through with working on that might be the key. I credit the exercises that had me pushing a folded towel up a slippery wall pushing as far as I could reach, mostly straight up and but also just off center to the right and left sides. My reach was the same as my non-surgical arm by the fourth month. However, I did develop a problem similar to your hand, which was probably from the pressure I put on my wrist during these exercises. I developed pins and needles or a constant sandpaper feel to my fingertips on that hand. I had carpal tunnel release surgery, but it really didn't do much. So I would warn not to put too much pressure on your cocked wrist when you do these exercises. Hard to remember when you are concentrating on pushing hard to gain another half inch of progress.

@ddsack I reverse shoulder repair 4 1/2 years ago and my arm has never been the same. I first started out with PT and was doing pretty good and then a few months later not good. I can’t lift it all the way straight up because my deltoid muscle is so weak even with doing the exercises I’m so disappointed in this surgery. I’ve been opened up three times and now I have a lump on the incision which could be scar tissue or lipoma. They are not sure I already had one lipoma taken off and now I have this other one within two months after the first one this is so discouraging.

@renee78

Renee78, I am so sorry to hear about your continuing problems. It sounds like your body is having some side issues with the surgical site for whatever reason. It might be worthwhile to try to find a different PT specialist with a certification in shoulder rehab to see if you can get a fresh idea of why you can’t seem to strengthen your deltoid.

@ddsack
What swim strokes do you do? With or without modifications?
I can almost get vertical, but that also irritates thumb etc. at times.
Thanks

@grandmahiker — I am by no means a serious swimmer! My swimming mostly consists of fun time in our lake, or some pool time in the winter months. I suppose I mostly use a side stroke because it’s most relaxing and I don’t like swiveling my head much because I can get positional vertigo (dizziness) from too much rapid head movement. My rTSR arm has the same vertical reach as the other arm, so that is not an issue in my swimming, so could do freestyle or breaststroke if I were more serious about it.

I had a RSR at age 71 and things generally went well for me. I was an avid lap swimmer and former college swimmer. Once I was cleared to swim laps things went well and I recovered full swim form until I sprained my shoulder. This was possibly from pushing myself too hard. After a 4 month layoff for the sprain to heal I started swimming again and it happened again. So I am no longer doing the exercise I love. I'm 73 now and have thought about getting back in the pool and just swimming slower with less pressure on my shoulder. I am able to play golf with no problem and have pretty much full motion with my shoulder.