I'm getting rotator cuff surgery Tuesday October 7

[Tommy Gunn]

On Tuesday October 7, 2008 I'm getting surgery to repair a 80-90% torn supraspinatus tendon. My doc did an anterior capsular release surgery on August 5 and said when he was in there he saw that 80-90% of my supraspinatus tendon was torn and peeled back from the footprint (medical term). He didn't repair it than because he wanted my range of motion back first (why he did the capsular release). Now my pain and weakness is unbelievable and surgery was scheduled. I'm 28 years old so I figured I might as well get this done now before the pain gets even worse (if that's possible).

He said I will be in a sling for 6 weeks. He really didn't go into much detail on my PT recovery yet but said at 4 months I could go back to restraining people at work (I do security).

Has anyone out there had their supraspinatus repaired? What is the time line of recovery like? How long until I can:

Do RC strengthening?
Lift weights?
Run?
Box?
Do grappling/wrestling?

Thanks in advance fellas.

[Iced696]

You probably saw my post already. Mine couldn't be repaired. But as ureal as it may seem my lifting is not over and I have slowly eased back into the gym. But, it's going to take some time. Make sure you sleep in a recliner for a while before even trying to go to a regular bed. Believe it or not, because you'll be drugged up, you WILL try to sleep on it if you try and sleep in a regular bed to soon. I slept in a recliner for almost two weeks and I still sleep with a pillow tucked under my arm. Keep the sling on for the time he says to. It may feel alright to take it off but believe me, it's not.

As for a time line when you can do all those things, everyone is different. Your doctor is going to give you some basic things to do after surgery. They are just movements to do to loosen it up, not to strengthen it. Follow these simple things and don't deviate. Your PT will be able to evaluate you more closely and will give you the rotator excercises you need. I believe I was doing those about 4-6 weeks post op. Believe it or not, I started lifting with 2lb dumbbells after about 2 months. It seems pathetic and from a guy who used to lift pretty heavy, it is still somewhat embarrassing to do but all the guys that know me know that I'm re-habing. You just have to shake the mindset that you need to keep up with people. Properly re-habed, you will some day anyway, just not for a while. It's not as slow as it seems but when you really want to get back to lifting it can seem that way. Taking months to work on bringing it back is far better than going to fast and re-injuring it. I know it may not be the specific answer you were looking for but like I said, everyone is different. The rotator is an odd muscle group. Re-hab it slow man and you'll be glad you did.

Good luck...