Success stories: Reverse shoulder replacement surgery

You will need to try to diagnose the cause of the pain before you can cure it. A good PT technician can help with this by figuring out which muscles or ligaments are involved and whether specific exercises trigger more pain or will help. If it's just constant pain whether or not you are using the arm, then I would go back to the surgeon, or get a referral for a 2nd opinion from your primary care doctor, if the surgeon does not take you seriously.

Let me just say, I went through extensive PT back in 2020, right in the shut down, during pain management treatment. The therapist released some frozen muscles and vertebrae over a period of several months, taught me some stretches & exercise and coping mechanisms, and I was good to go. Fast forward to this Summer, after an exacerbation of my lung issues & a "mystery" problem with my neck - my doc sent me back for a "tune-up" - today I was discharged from therapy even better than before. He helped me increase the range of motion in my neck and spine from 50% (for my age & issues) to over 90%. He designed some new stretches and exercises to address my ongoing back issues. I will do a check-in with him in December.

I second @ddsack in the suggestion to get PT - but ask for a "full assessment & rehab plan" not just some set exercises as usually prescribed post-surgery.

Sue

Sue:
I will attemp to get my surgeon to do this. These guys are such egomaniac’s they can’t imagine that anything he did was not working.
Thank you for your response & I will attempt to get more PT

May I suggest an approach to the surgeon that has worked for me? Make it about your needs and your body, not his work.

Something like, "I appreciate that you have confirmed that the [specific surgery] is healing and there are no problems with the [implant or repair]. But my body doesn't seem to be adapting like I expected. Would you please refer me to a Physical Therapist who can assess why, and recommend specific [exercises, therapy]? I don't want all this hard work to be wasted, and I really don't want to live with this pain."

Yes, you are sort of catering to his ego, but if the goal is to get well, maybe that's the key. It's a form of being your own advocate by figuring out what will get the provider to do what you need. If you are beyond dealing politely with them due to your frustration, perhaps write a note to the patient portal, and have someone read it before you hit send, to make sure you get the right tone.
Sue

Hi everyone, I’m new here. I’m scheduled for a reverse shoulder replacement on March 30th after failed injections. I have a rare blood clotting blood disease. My shoulder is bone on bone and extreme pain with barely any mobility left. We are just discovering thru websites the long recovery process. Any recommendations or suggestions would be so greatly appreciated. Please and thank you.

Hi had my RTS in 2019. First thing I did was get educated. Dr told me to find a therapy place I was comfortable with close to home. Called and visited a variety of places and lucky for me I hit the jackpot. Also surgeon recommended pt prior but never did that as I had been discharged by another pt because of pain and inability to make any progress. Found on Etsy And reboundwear websites tops and night shirts having Velcro and reboundwear had multiple zippers. Rebound wear was my fav. You will need help esp if it’s your dominant arm. Recliner to sleep in for first 2 months. Cryocuff ice machine was my lifesaver for pain control narcotics didn’t take but a couple of days cause they didn’t really help me. Took pillow in car cause every bump in road was painful. Also was on antiinflammatories and had lot of nausea and vomiting but had medication for that stool softeners because narcotics and antiemetics very constipating. Lots of pillows, bags of ice for machine. Dedication to what the therapist has you doing. I was in therapy for a year and still do my exercises every day I use set pulleys, one two three four and 5 pound weights and therabands for my regimen daily. Also water aerobics which I didn’t do but was recommended but after my TKR I found a place and do water aerobics. Also used muscle stimulator as instructed for quite a few months after and a spirit stick for exercise. It requires a lot of work on our part. My therapist used hands on where he did the work in the beginning, deep tissue massage not fun but necessary muscle stimulator taping dry needling to name a few. Any issues I had with doing things or pain I told my therapist and he had a way to fix them. I still tape once a month or more with dry needling because there was a bone in a muscle at the acromiun that surgeon said he couldn't fix but I’m not in the pain I used to be in. It did take me 3 1/2 months before was able to drive. Others are able to drive sooner just I waited 12 years after a failed shoulder surgery before I got a RTS pain just got more than I could take so I went to see what could be done if anything surgeon said it’s the second worse shoulder he had ever seen. Oh and was not allowed to take a shower for a week post op couldn’t go to the dentist for 6 months and have to take antibiotics for two years before any procedure dental and anything physical. Did a lot of walking out of boredom. Also you can watch surgery on you tube video, surgeon used a robot with me. Also try to eat anti inflammatory foods such as blueberries strawberries . I’m sure I have left something out, but hope this helps. Still use my pulleys every day, my therabands 3 times a week and my weights twice a week to keep shoulder going.I will continue to do this routine for as long as I have the ability. And last but not least a positive attitude. Best of luck

Thank you for your thorough report. My husband is scheduled for this surgery this spring.

Thanks dmk - terrific work. I had both knees replaced last year, also with the Mako assistant. Couldn't be happier but I put in the work, pre and post op. I'm in the gym 6 days a week.

Shoulder is bone on bone, left side. I don't need a replacement yet but have to be careful doing chest presses and some arm exercises. Oh well, no one said getting old was easy. I hope I can avoid a shoulder replacement for a few more years. I will save your reply though for guidance.

Thank you! Joe

My reverse right TSR went easily, though I worried about it ahead of time more than I worried about both my knee replacements. I asked about pre-surgery exercises, but they said no. Which made sense because of the pain and very limited range of motion I had. I had been through rehab the previous summer for a frozen shoulder, and I did get 80% of my range back after PT at that time. I was told I was a candidate for a replacement then, but I held on for another year because I did not want to rush into surgery. But finally the constant ache day and night, restricted range of movement with inability to pick up and move a coffee pot or cooking pan, or wash or comb my hair with my right arm made it clear that I could wait no longer.
People react so different to surgery that it is impossible to predict the outcome ahead of time. I had no extreme pain with any of my joint replacement surgeries, just a general dull aching feeling in the area. I asked my surgeon about this, since I am usually a wimp and can feel any little paper cut as an irritation. I read here about people who say they are in extreme pain after surgery, and I never experienced that. He said he makes sure to use a lot of long lasting pain blockers during surgery which may not allow the nerves to react to the initial trauma of cutting damage. So if part of pain is nerve memory asserting itself, if the nerves are prevented from feeling the worst pain of surgery during and afterwards, you can limit the pain to the later after effects which emerge slowly as the pain blockers wear off. I don't know if I explained it right, he said it is not that well understood yet. I did not take any of the prescribed opioids after leaving the hospital, extra strength tylenol and ibuprofen were all I needed at home.
My recovery went very well, I did the pendulum exercises at least three times a day, as well as the other elbow to hand exercises they told me to do in the hospital before I started PT about two weeks later. Shoulder rehab does not start at once, like knee rehab. I thought I would need more help when I got home, but after about a day, I discovered a way to put my immobilizer/sling on by myself by reversing it and fastening it on the other side of my waist, and then twisting it around to the right side. By unhooking the velcro wrist strap from the waist, I had freedom of movement of my elbow to wrist for minor tasks while still keeping my upper arm immobile from shoulder to elbow via the elbow velcro strap. Could use a keyboard and mouse. I had hoped to finally train my husband to do cooking while I was recovering, but it turned out that I could do a lot with the limited motion I had by disconnecting the wrist strap as needed. By the end of 8 weeks of PT, I had regained nearly as much vertical stretch as my other arm. I am so happy with this surgery, and rarely even think about it being an artificial joint.