Arthroscopic Surgery - Shoulder

[mr.radon]

Just had my shoulder repaired. the doctor preformed a decompression of the bone. My rotator cuff was frayed from abrasion with a "lump of bone".

Also I had several tears to the labrum. I have the shoulder isolated right now. I'm looking from others who have had similar as to what i'm looking forward to. I know I'm looking at a lot of physical therapy, but how soon did others start climbing. I don't want to miss a season of ice climbing.

[RuMR]

Hey Hey R...

 

Hope things heal up well and fast...don't rush it and you'll be as good as new...

[erik]

poor you my man..

 

i had this done about 5 years ago...though i went for the bankart method....i had severe shoulder damage...not smart enough to gt it fixed right after it happend....i was out for nearly 9 months.....and that was with extensive physical therapy.......i know have about 95% range of motion back.....

 

hit me up with a pm for more details

 

erik

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

The Doctor went through shoulder surgery for a labral tear recently.

 

Be prepared for physical therapy to be exceedingly painful for the first month or so as you try to get your range of motion back. This was not a pleasant surprise, and DFA was not warned . Not any fun at all, but push yourself to stay with the stretching exercises, as falling behind is kind of demoralizing, and progress is slow. Just bear down and work through the pain, it will definitely pay off.

 

Also, don't expect to be back at it 100% for several months. Shoulders don't heal lickety-split, and they're quite easy to re-injure, especially once all that choice muscle you used to have is basically gone, which it will be.

 

Hmm, that all sounds kind of doom-and-gloom; sorry. The Doctor's doctor told him it would be 3-6 months to full recovery, so who knows? Your shoulder could heal way faster than DFA's, so you could be back at it sooner.

 

Anyway, good luck, and here's to a quick recovery!

 

[ 10-10-2002, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: Dr Flash Amazing ]

[mr.radon]

A picture of my novacain pump...

 

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Hey, looks just like DFA's shoulder!

 

Huge-ass bandage, and a tiny hose running in there keeping you out of agony. Hopefully they gave you more than a 2-day supply. The Doctor was hurting once his ran out.

 

Say, did they give you a pump you can control, or is it one of those little balls that just delivers a controlled, constant dosage until it empties (DFA had the latter)?

 

And hey, what are you doing out of your sling, buster?!

 

[ 10-10-2002, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: Dr Flash Amazing ]

[mr.radon]

The doctor warned me about what will happen when the stuff runs out. Not looking forward to it....

Its a spring loaded pump, set to empty about 48 hours after it is hooked up. The doctor told me to pull the tube when that happens.

I had to put on a sleeveless jacket. The doctor suggested I put on something comfy and stay in it for a few days.

For once I'm using my Lazy-Boy. Makes a perfect sleeping platform with the get up I've got.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Yeah, definitely start hitting whatever pain meds they gave you BEFORE the thing runs out. Apparently the pain management gig is much easier when you're ahead of the game. DFA, unfortunately, started on the Codeine and then began puking, and was still quite ill all day when the numb-juice wore off. That was extremely un-fun. Hopefully you have better luck with it.

[eric8]

Mr Radon

I had surgery for a severly torn labrum in April. I have full range of motion with the exception that when my arm is out at shoulder level, elbow at 90 degrees it very stiff rotating back. As DFA stated the first month of physical therapy is the hardest. My recovering was really boasted by the fact that I had an awesome physical therapist. If you live on the east side and are interest in a good physical therapist pm me. Once physical therapy starts make sure that you have the same physical therapist every time.

 

I first started climbing rock in july but I only did that twice that month. Thats about 4 months since surgery. Note that I didn't have any setbacks. I still do exercise to strength my shoulder but not with a physical therapist. Hope your recovery goes well.

eric

[mr.radon]

Pain pump is empty. Fuck it hurts. I haven't taken any pain pills yet, but I don't think I can sleep without one...

 

Dreaming about Ice Climbing....

[mr.radon]

Thought I'd post a note as to my progress to date:

The Good:

After surgery I went the Sebby clinic in Edmond for physical therapy. Eric runs the place and is a climber himself. They gave me the best of care and taught me to recognize the difference between fatigue and pain. In addition to the exercises Eric recommended, swimming was an excellent resistance medium to rehab the joint. I ended up going to the YMCA’s pool a lot. The swimming pool and hot tub did wonders for the shoulder joint. I finished physical therapy two weeks ago.

My goal is to go to Ouray this February and climb without pain.

The Bad:

I still had some narcotics for the post surgery pain and used them at Smith Rock this weekend. I did my first four, post surgery, pitches with jdog, Rudy and TheLawGoddess. This was also my first trip to Smith Rock, nice place. After reflecting on what I did, it was stupid. The chance of slipping and torquing the shoulder joint was too high. I didn’t lead, I didn’t fall, but I did use it in ways to cause discomfort.

I spent yesterday horizontal, telling my shoulder I'd make it up to it if it would only stop hurting. My shoulder wasn't ready for climbing but it was nice to get out.

The Ugly:

I finished four weeks of physical therapy. The very next day I was rear ended by an 18 year old driving daddy's new sports car. I'm heading back to physical therapy.