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swimming after rotator cuff surgery

Posted by oerin @oerin, Feb 23, 2020

Hi, I am a 61 year old active female who LOVES swimming. Before R rotator cuff surgery, I was swimming the crawl and the back stroke 3 times a week (a mile each time). I am post op 3 1/2 months; the orthopod is letting me swim the breast stroke and the side stroke; I got permission to try an abbreviated version of the crawl on Tuesday...no good! Lots of pain in the R arm in different spots. Originally, the doctor thought that I would have to wait until May (6 months out) before trying the crawl. So, now I don't know what my next step should be. My PT is wonderful, but he is not a swimmer. We are just trying different options each time I swim. Saturday, I used the waist belt just to try something different with the breast stroke; it was a fun new toy! I had been also trying the back stroke with JUST my L arm, but it is too much torque on that arm. Any ideas out there on how to progress? Thanks!

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svengland | @svengland | Jul 22, 2022
In reply to @ellerbracke "@svengland: You may have seen one of my earlier posts? Yes, you can go back to..." + (show)
@ellerbracke

@svengland: You may have seen one of my earlier posts? Yes, you can go back to playing tennis. I was back on the court (level 3.5, ladies doubles) 2 days shy of the 4 month mark. Powder puff serve, but true overhead serve. Around 6-7 months I was getting close to where I was before the surgery.
Considering that I had a torn rotator cuff, a bone spur, and an irreparably damaged bicep tendon that had to be severed, it proves that time, and persistence, does help.

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Thanks for the encouragement but why can't I play tennis after 10 months!!! Anyway, I head to the doctor in two weeks to see if there is some medical reason I still hurt. Going to ask for more PT and an MRI just to make sure I didn't do something to set me back. So glad you are able to play. Most people I've talked to are like you and can play which is why I'm concerned that I can't play. I'll keep everyone posted.

REPLY
carol | @carolasc | Jul 22, 2022

I had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders 6 months apart and I swim. I also started with doing breast stroke and side stroke. It took me 6 months to be able to do the crawl and even then it took time to regain the strength - I was doing one lap only, then working towards two etc. My advice - Don’t push it - you don’t want to end up in surgery again. It will come but I needed to have patience with myself and take it slow as I didn’t want to blow the surgery and go through all this again. You’ll get there but take it slow. It’s worth it.

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ellerbracke | @ellerbracke | Jul 22, 2022

@svengland: I will keep up with this post to see what your ortho guy says. I credit my super fast tennis return - among other things - to the fact that my dinner dishes reside in a somewhat high kitchen cabinet, so every day, or every other day, I had to put the plates up there after dishwasher. First 1 at a time, then adding more and more, until I could - two-handed - lift and place 6 at once. ……. somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment, but I am certain that this very simple, repetitive, daily chore was at least as effective as the proscribed standard exercises. Not, of course, that you should feel compelled to re-arrange the contents of your kitchen cabinets!!!

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