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Shoulder pain 5 years after replacement

Posted by Ktgirl @farmgirl57, Mar 24, 2017

I had my left shoulder replaced June 2012 and I am having some of the same pain I had before the surgery. I have RA and my elbows are bad as well. Does anyone else out there have pain after the surgery?

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mack1946 | @mack1946 | Oct 17, 2021
In reply to @dmk "I had reverse total shoulder in 2019 was extremely long recovery was in physical therapy for..." + (show)
@dmk

I had reverse total shoulder in 2019 was extremely long recovery was in physical therapy for a year and when done at therapy still had some pain. Therapist told me to keep up the exercise regimen for life. It did get better but I sometimes overdue and my muscles get ticked off. Hopefully you have been back to surgeon to make sure all parts are still in place and are still working otherwise I’d recommend finding a good therapist that knows how to do dry needling which I find myself going back for every month to two months and it works as does taping the shoulder for me. These parts also, apparently, in most people don’t last forever but should last longer than yours. I find it hard to accept limitations having a reverse total shoulder which is what gets me into trouble sometimes, but to date my therapist is able to fix it each time so far. Insurance does not cover dry needling so I pay for it out of pocket but well worth it so far. It beats living on a aleve during those episodes.
Exercise regimen is so important to keep going. I do pulley everyday, weights twice a week, gym machines I’m allowed with weights twice a week and therabands twice a week
Good luck to you.

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I'm outside most of the day working around the yard. Cutting firewood with a chainsaw and stacking wood. Driving a tractor around, weed eat'n and just stuff like that. Doing wood projects out in my shop as well. So the my shoulder that I had the surgery on has really never been pain free unless I'm sitting and just not moving it. When I roll over at night it always wakes me. It's like the middle of my arm to the top of my shoulder is sore from working out with weights. I'd think if that's what was causing the issue it would get better. But it doesn't. Every time I pick something up with any amount of weight it's painful. And now I'm going in for another shoulder replacement on my other shoulder with quiet a bit of reluctance. I'm using another doctor this time and he said we may have to go in and replace the hardware on the shoulder I had the shoulder replacement. They've X-rayed it and nothing has moved and all is intact. Thanks,

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1 reply
mack1946 | @mack1946 | Oct 17, 2021

Getting old isn't for wimps.

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mack1946 | @mack1946 | Oct 18, 2021

Yes, and I don't really know what to do about it now.

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dmk | @dmk | Oct 25, 2021
In reply to @mack1946 "I'm outside most of the day working around the yard. Cutting firewood with a chainsaw and..." + (show)
@mack1946

I'm outside most of the day working around the yard. Cutting firewood with a chainsaw and stacking wood. Driving a tractor around, weed eat'n and just stuff like that. Doing wood projects out in my shop as well. So the my shoulder that I had the surgery on has really never been pain free unless I'm sitting and just not moving it. When I roll over at night it always wakes me. It's like the middle of my arm to the top of my shoulder is sore from working out with weights. I'd think if that's what was causing the issue it would get better. But it doesn't. Every time I pick something up with any amount of weight it's painful. And now I'm going in for another shoulder replacement on my other shoulder with quiet a bit of reluctance. I'm using another doctor this time and he said we may have to go in and replace the hardware on the shoulder I had the shoulder replacement. They've X-rayed it and nothing has moved and all is intact. Thanks,

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I was not out of pain when I left therapy for my shoulder but I kept up the exercise regimen and eventually no pain. Having said that reverse total shoulder does have limitations! I still go for dry needling when pain comes back in places when I overdue it and I get pain free for quite a while. Try to find a therapist that you go to that knows many things ie dry needling, cupping, mfr etc. Also I had to use an electric muscle stimulator to get muscles working. I have a working regimen every day that he devised and said I would need to keep it up for life and I have had to accept my limitations. I also do water aerobics. Taping also helps a great deal

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1 reply
Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Oct 25, 2021
In reply to @dmk "I was not out of pain when I left therapy for my shoulder but I kept..." + (show)
@dmk

I was not out of pain when I left therapy for my shoulder but I kept up the exercise regimen and eventually no pain. Having said that reverse total shoulder does have limitations! I still go for dry needling when pain comes back in places when I overdue it and I get pain free for quite a while. Try to find a therapist that you go to that knows many things ie dry needling, cupping, mfr etc. Also I had to use an electric muscle stimulator to get muscles working. I have a working regimen every day that he devised and said I would need to keep it up for life and I have had to accept my limitations. I also do water aerobics. Taping also helps a great deal

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Thank you. You have shared a wide variety of coping strategies. We all know that replacement joints aren't ever going to be quite as good as the original (undamaged) one, that the goal is to get the best possible results as far as use and limited pain. It is very hard for some people to accept that there is work involved in maintaining the improvement - just like there is work involved in taking care of our "original parts."
I have a variety of replacement parts, and keeping them mobile indeed involves a care regimen, much like skin care or shaving...
Sue

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kilh | @kilh | Oct 26, 2021

I had the same surgery almost three years ago and now the pain is there a lot more than before. We live on the farm and a year ago had to sell all my sheep which we have had since 1978 because doing my chores was getting harder especially at lambing. Now my right shoulder is torn and it needs to be replaced but I have more pain in the new shoulder than the old one But we still have cattle on two places and then there is my garden. I have canned 50 Qts of tomatoes juice and 20 Qts of applesauce (But have a lot of apples to go).
If the pain gets too bad I call my surgeon and he gives me a shot in my shoulder and my other shoulder gets a shot every three months along with both thumbs and my left foot get two shots. Besides all that the docs have been working on my neck all the way to my tail bone. I do my exercises and try to keep active but sometimes that is hard to do. Now cold weather is coming and my Reynauds gets active more so than summer.
What is dry needling? Hope you find some answers and stay well and healthy. KLH

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michael57 | @michael57 | Jan 19, 2022
In reply to @mack1946 "I had a full reverse shoulder replacement about three years ago and the pain is now..." + (show)
@mack1946

I had a full reverse shoulder replacement about three years ago and the pain is now back to what it was before I started. What a waste of time & money to achieve noting. I suppose I am going to just live with it. I am open for suggestions though. Feel free.

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My right shoulder was replaced 10 years ago and without issues. Five years ago, I had a reversal replacement due to a mountain bike crash. I have now had pain in the shoulder worse than before the first surgery. Waiting for the VA to outsource my care to the community. Until then I am in a lot of pain in that shoulder they can't explain. HELP.

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craigchaley2 | @craigchaley2 | Mar 2, 2022

I had my shoulder replaced 6 years ago and have such muscle weakness and pain that I can’t use my shoulder. The location of pain changes to different areas of my shoulder from day to day. I would like to know what cause the pain to relocate.

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dmk | @dmk | Mar 22, 2022
In reply to @rickyred "I had a total Right shoulder replacement in 2015. The first two years I had some..." + (show)
@rickyred

I had a total Right shoulder replacement in 2015. The first two years I had some improvement but now I am in much worse shape than prior to surgery. Mine was done by a private doctor paid by the VA. Now I am using the VA totally and have an appointment on Aug 17 2021 to be reevaluated once again. It has been suggested to me on my prior consult they feel the tendons/muscles failed to reattach to the bursa area. I also have major muscle atrophy in my right arm's bicep. In addition I had 3 surgeries in my Right dominant hand last year due to a major sepsis infection after a minor surgery. I was antibiotic IV therapy in my chest for almost two months. They say I have Psoriatic Arthritis. Their suggestion at that time was to do an exploratory surgery followed by a probable Reversed Total Shoulder Replacement. The problem I'm having in making this major decision, is that I now live alone at age 63 with a roudy and large puppy. If you have had a replacement you know the difficulties you have at home. I truly have no support system. I want a clear list of choices explain to me and really desire to avoid surgery if they agree to do cortisone injections into the bursa area. At this time they from what I gather are afraid to do that as per their policy with Vets who have implants.

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No my ortho surgeon said I could never have another injection in the arm I had my reverse total shoulder because risk of infection. Am having issues with an area they could not fix during surgery and now has developed moderate osteoarthritis in the joint where clavicle and scapula come together

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1 reply
mashelly | @mashelly | Mar 23, 2022
In reply to @dmk "No my ortho surgeon said I could never have another injection in the arm I had..." + (show)
@dmk

No my ortho surgeon said I could never have another injection in the arm I had my reverse total shoulder because risk of infection. Am having issues with an area they could not fix during surgery and now has developed moderate osteoarthritis in the joint where clavicle and scapula come together

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I am 9 months out of right shoulder reverse shoulder replacement, and pretty much live in pain. I relate it to the Osteoarthritis, on top of shoulder.I have great mobility, with pain. Really nothing helps,...I still continue to do exercises for my own well being. I hope you can feel better, and have some great days!

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