Problem after rotator cuff surgery

After going to rehab my shoulder feels much better. We use hot compress to warm up and after workout we ice it down.
I have noticed the times I watch my posture; you know shoulders back, chest out; the pain immediately subsides and stays away. I cant wait to get this sling off tommorrow when I go see my ortho.

Wow, you guys are scaring me. But -- great blog. and thank you! I had surgery three weeks ago tomorrow (2 cm tear repaired and bone spur removed). I'm a daily tennis player (well... WAS). My doctor was pleased with the surgery... the tear was bigger than anticipated, but the tissue was in good shape, so prognosis is great. However, I am surprised to still be in constant pain -- not excruciating, mind you; just very annoying. There is no comfortable position for the arm -- in the sling or out... holding it up, or pendulum style. I do the exercises and am probably raising my arm 90-110 degrees now. My doctor wants it well over my head by the time I see him next week. I should be able to do that, I think, but my arm always feels like it's falling out of the socket. Not a pleasant feeling! They certainly don't prepare you for the lengthy recovery, do they -- but maybe it's just as well. I don't use the pain meds, but I do use Ambien and still sleep sitting up on the sofa (someone should have told me you can rent a recliner! too late now). Find it's best to split the dose: I take one 5 mg pill before I go to bed; and one when I ALWAYS wake up, 2-3 hours later. That way I get 5-6 hours sleep.
Good luck to all...

It is great to find all this info! I had right rotater cuff surgery in Sept,2009 and still have daily pain and stiffness. When I was released for strengthening(after 3 months!) I began to have increased pain and stiffness. My Dr prescribed a 6 day pack of steroids...wow..what a miracle drug! That was approx 1 month ago and now my pain and stiffness is returning(not as bad though). I am also taking 1 celebrex a day and am still on hydrocodone..1-3 daily. This is a very tough rehab!! I truly thought I would be farther along than I am! I am still in PT and my range is good, but pain, stiffness and weakness still a problem. I also am having trouble sleeping like so many others. I tore my rotater cuff at work so this is a workmans comp case. I have not returned to work as I have to be 100% to be released. This is very tough..as I was very active,on no meds and never had chronic pain before. Thanks for all your posts. It is great to know that I am not alone. My doc keeps telling me this is all normal..can take up to a year to totally heal!! My pain now feels more like a burning sensation..anyone else have that??

I am 5 weeks 3 days out, started PT the next day and 3X weekly since. I have occasional pain at night and sometimes take ibuproben. I am not pushing it and am assured it will take several months to regain ROM and freedom from all pain. The tear was in the suprsinatus, about 1/3 of it through. My age is 73 and I expect to return to tennis this summer.

I had surgery with shaving of the scapula also. ALL of your stories sound unfortunately familiar. My surgery was mid January. Dr. was very pleased with the surgery and felt I should be at 100% in 6 months. I can tell you I wasn't prepared for the painful, sleepless nights. They are a bit better. I go to PT 2x's a week and next week I'll be at about 8 weeks post-op. In the beginning, my PT said I was doing great. Well ahead of the norm. After doing the exercises with my Therapist, they finish up with stretching me out. As a yoga teacher, I thought, Wow that will feel great. I must also preface with I have a high pain threshold. I could not believe the intense pain while they were stretching and rotating my arm. My whole body stiffened up and I yelled to stop! I really thought they were going to rip my arm right off. I have never felt that kind of pain before. They told me to relax! Ha! Let them try! Anyway, 2 weekends ago I woke up and was unable to move my head and had neck pain. I taught a class a couple hours later and did a lot of neck stretching and felt a bit better. I still have a stiff neck and mild to moderate pain. My PT said I'm compensating by using my neck muscles to lift and use my arm. Since then I have been diligent in trying to isolate my scapula and shoulder muscles and to not use my neck muscles to assist. Can't say at this point if it has made a difference or not. Some odd things to note though. I have a shooting sensation down my arm to my fingers when they are stretching and rotating my arm. Not pain. I also have very cold fingers on my injured side. I have 2 more therapy sessions this week and next week I see the surgeon. We will see what he says. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. I have felt so alone and this helps a good deal. Best of luck to all!

Whew...I am so glad I found this site! Had surgery 2/18, tear repaired, and decompression, with a nerve block and general . And, sad to say, I was so unprepared for the recovery.Really had no clue as to how much I would miss my right arm. First two weeks, wowwie !!!!
Lots of pain. Started PT 2nd week, and really hate it, but I know I have to do it. Feel like a pro wrestler that has lost his match, only the pt won't let me tap out. Very surprised at the pain of it all, and my pt also tells me to relax! Kind of hard to do when it feels like he is pulling my arm out of the socket! Still up every night, I haven't had a full nights sleep since this has started. I hate the arm immobilizer, feel like I have a rubber band around me, adds to the sleepless nights.All sorts of odd TV shows on at 3 am. I am not taking too many pain meds, to be honest, I really don't like them, makes me feel crappy, tired and out of sorts, maybe a hydro 5/500 here an there, but...I am already on 2000mg of relafen a day for arthritis, so I imagine that helps. I feel like a prisoner, unable to do too much of anything. I am a letter carrier, lots of heavy lifting, and overhead sorting. I love my job, but am scared about going back, as I never never want to do this again. Worse than child birth! So many little issues, if you are going to have this surgery, plan ahead ladies! There will be NO hairdo's, no nice daily living skills, no cooking or housework,no cutting up your own food, no shaving, no easy on easy off of a bra or t shirts, even brushing your teeth is an adventure. Practice with your left hand before you go in ( or your right if left handed) I am a comp case, so I have had the extra worry of money,nothing as of yet, but I am " approved"One positive, I no longer have the horrid pain that I had prior to surgery.just mostly a discomfort type of pain. I am still using my ice machine after pt. My neck and back of my right shoulder is killing me tho, feels like a pulled muscle. My Doc keeps telling me I will be good as new in 2 months. I am having a hard time believing him, but we will see! One day at a time I guess! Good luck to every one out there!

Everyones story is different but yes the pain is real and If I had it to do again I would find a doctor that has actually had the operation. The one thing that helped me at first was to sleep in a recliner because it was impossible to get comfortable. The first physical therapist I had was pushing me to do to much to fast and I was in agonizing pain. When I requested more pain medication the doctor couldn't understand why it was hurting so bad. Once I changed therapist it evened out but most pain meds should be change around because for me they lost effectiveness and would require higher doses to get relief. Bottom line is it hurts bad and I ended up having to "suck it up" and deal with it because the only time I had complete relief was when I was unconsious. The surgery is now 2 years ago and I have no problem at all but I returned to work after 4 months and it was at least a year before I would trust to try and do anything heavy with it

This is a great site - it helps me to know that I am not alone. I am 5 weeks post surgery and am still wearing the sling at work, however not at home. My arm cramps big time from being in the sling all day. Only last weekend did I start sleeping just slightly inclined. I stopped using my pain meds after 4 days as I had to go back to work 1 week after surgery. My pain was never that bad. They gave me a nerve block which lasted about 2 days after the surgery, when the pain is supposedly the worst. I am bummed about the aching and stiffness that I still have and cannot wait to start active therapy. Also, I am tired of spending 2 hours per day in the cpm chair!

WOW 2 months to return to your job? That sounds very ambitious! I am 6 months post and till restricted to 10 lbs(lifting) and NO overhead activity. You may want to get a second opinion before trying to return that quickly. Your advice about a recliner and preparing for limited abilities is very good and spot on! I also agree that the pain is worse than childbirth!! I took percocet for several weeks and then hydrocodone which I still take at night. I dont know how you are coping without strong pain meds. My PT was limited to gentle passive ranging for 8 weeks and pendulum ex...and then active range started with isometrics. Good luck!

I had my right rotator cuff repaired 13 wees ago. I need to do my physiotherapy at least twice per day, otherwise the shpulder gets very stiff. My physiotherapist carries out deep message and releasing of the rotator cuff tendons every week and I get good relief from this. Deep message of the tendons lengenths the muscles and therefore makes the exercises easier to perform. Good Luck.

hi it been 6 months still pain 5 lb lifting no leaching off any kind.

I am 3 weeks post op. My surgeon is a shoulder specialist, recently trained and a great communicator. He required me to meet with the PT BEFORE the surgery. She was able to give me the passive exercises I do for the first 6 weeks. She also showed me how to dress and adapt my wardrobe and home. She also told me that ice is the best and quickest pain killer - I keep a half dozen gel ice packs in the freezer and use them right on the spot of pain, wrapped in a tea towel. I'm in the slingshot sling and abductor pillow 24/7. Pain is minimal at this point; but I know that the PT after the 6 weeks of healing will be painful. I've had both a hip and knee replacement and learned to be serious and tough...breathing through the pain. It's not unusual that we all heal differently - the shoulder is so complex and areas/types of injury differ. I had repair done in four areas. Also, we all have different pain tolerance/s. But I bet the one thing almost all of us share is trouble sleeping. I use one of those reading pillow with arms in bed and put other pillows behind and in front. It's just not natural to sleep sitting up, and that, rather than pain, is what makes it tough for me. I too have been watching sit-coms at 3 or 4 a.m. I am trying not to nap during the day now (I napped several times a day in the first few weeks); so that I have a better chance of getting a few solid hours of sleep at the beginning of the night.
For those who are reading this before surgery, don't panic. From my previous joint replacements, I've found many great tips on sites like this; but often, those who linger and have horror stories are the exceptions. Remember that knowledge is power.






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Hi ... Sorry to hear that all of us are in the same boat. But true it is that this is not an easy surgery... I had rotator cuff surgery nearly three months ago and still in pain. This is not easy and therapy it is a must to keep things moving. I'm a secretary that has not gone back to work yet. Pain is a big factor here..... Shoulder, neck, arm and elbow pain.... Ice and meds... what can we do????? Good luck to all and hang in there.....

Hi... Is there any one out there that has problems with their short term disability insurance ??? This is terrible.. I had a 60 day wait period and now that I sent the paper work in to them, well several times. I'm still waiting..... WHat the heck...?? They asked me to re-fax and doc's office to resend their portion , 3 times. I think that they are accustom to treating their customers with lies and then some. Its been a week and a half now and now they sent for my medical records .. They want to be sure that it was not a pre-existing injury ?? Give me a break... They don't tell you these things when you are signing for them... If any one has experienced this bull... please let me know thanks.......

I'm now 6 weeks post op. I wrote the blog on 3/11. Life is better, and pain has let up some! Still pretty screwed up tho, can't really use my right "flipper" for much of anything. Have come up with amazing ways of taking care of everyday stuff, it is interesting how you can adapt to your situation. Seems like everything posted is the "norm" with this surgery. And, the bigger the tear, the more messed up you are going to be.I can raise my arm to about shoulder level, but that takes A LOT of work, and I can not hold it there. If I attempt to "do" a normal day, be it walking around shopping, (no lifting) or some minor housework, I'm beat, and my arm aches like hell. My pt tells me to go about and use my arm as much as I can, even if it hurts, as this will help get it back. And, I sure do want it back! PT is going ok, I have times when it it so painful I do not want to return. Mostly the massage type stuff kills me. Any one else with these issues?Still can't sleep on my right side, still taking pain meds now and then, Got a curly perm, so my hair do worries are minimal. And, I still am having occasions of getting up in the middle of the night.
I wanted to comment on the poor soul dealing with disability..... Make SURE all the I's are dotted, and the T's are crossed, double check your Dr 's paperwork. Seems it is MORE than normal to wait 60 to 90 days. Just enough time to drive you completely in debt. My Doc does disability rating 4 weeks at a time, so I am constantly submitting paper work ( I've been out since 2/1) and I have insurance on every thing, so that means lots of paperwork for each insurance. Carefully READ each, it is your responsibility, make copies of everything, whew....And , a funny point, lots of these places "call" and want info, which means you need to WRITE, in my case I had my hubby write while I tried to talk. If is doesn't right it self so, go see a lawyer. I've never had an illness, or operation prior to this, and never had to "use" my insurances before. Some are pleasant to deal with, others act like it is coming out of their pocket.