Tom Stormcrowe

When she crashed a while back, she banged up her shoulder. Well, the upshot is that she hasn't healed up like they felt she should have, so they re xrayed the shoulder, and now that the rotator cuff is a bit less swollen, they found a tear. yep, she blew her rotator cuff. Guess who gets to have it rebuilt?

Missbumble 

OH dear - Give her love from Miss B! Let us know when the big day is so we can keep you in our thoughts!

txvintage

Oh dang, very sorry to hear this.

Of all the surgeries I have in my collection I can honestly say this is the one where the physical therapy is absolutely criticial. Do the PT and all gets better in time.

Bikeforumuser0022

I'm sorry to learn of this. No surgery is fun. Surgery is no fun.

If I may play Devil's... doctors like to cut. It's what they know, and what they do.
And it's not always necessary.

I'm NOT saying surgery isn't necessary -- not at all.

I wouldn't feel right however, not mentioning a guy who claims to have fixed his rotator cuff problems without surgery.
Really pissed off his doctor too.

https://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_a..._savers_part_i

https://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_a...savers_part_ii

Mr. Beanz

Ouch! A speedy recovery to her!

Tom Stormcrowe

We'll know more from the CT scan, but I saw the xrays myself and it's a definite tear in the R Cuff. She's got only 50% 0f her shoulder mobility and it appears to be pretty necessary. I do know quite a bit abut human anatomy and structure, since prior to switching to Psychology, I was studying Nursing. It's not like we're standing in front of the Dr, insurance card held out, making a decision based on no knowledge..

Tendon and ligament damage will heal, but very, very, very slowly, since there is very limited blood flow to cartilaginous tissue. There are also some bone spurs where the ligament has torn away from the bone. WHen she crashed, it was on a recumbent trike rolling into a corner too fast. The offset of the rear wheel set up a catapulting from the seat and shear force on the impact, as a result.

bautieri

Sorry to hear this Tom.

Wishing a speedy recovery to Crazylady!

Mazama

What bad luck. Didn't you hurt your shoulder last year Tom?

Speedy recovery!

Neil_B

Yes, long-married couples begin to act alike.

I'm very sorry to read about Crazylady, Tom. I'll pray for her swift and complete recovery.

Pamestique 

A very good friend of mine incurred the same injury 2 year sor so ago mountain biking. She had surgery (last September) and everything is better now but it has been a long road to recovery. This lady is stoic when it comes to pain but I know the repair was painful. She was off her bike more than 6 months and is only just returning to active cycling.

Sending positive thoughts your way that her recovery will be swift and painless.

dahoyle

I had a tear in my left shoulder, and was sort of scheduled for surgery, but could never manage to get it in. I was also somewhat put off by the long convalescence of the surgery.

I started going to the gym almost every day. Ultimately, I never got the surgery, and am glad that I didn't. I also have a good working knowledge of anatomy, especially orthopedics, as a former Special Operations Medic and Paramedic. All I can say in the matter is to not rush into it. Not getting the surgery is easily reversible, but having the surgery can't be undone, and doesn't always have the best results.

Lots of time in the gym strengthened the surrounding muscles, and ultimately, I healed completely in about 6 months. The convalescence was expected to be 9 months.

In all that time, my surgeon was continuously hounding me about getting in and getting the surgery done. I know that he meant well, but the fact of the matter is it will heal, probably stronger than with the surgery, and just as quickly. The key is to use it. Note that I did not say over use it. The one thing that really aggravated it, was cycling, but I was working up above the snow zone for about 4 of those months, and was unable to ride.

I read thru the article, and it is really amazing how closely it mirrored my own results, it was just what seemed intuitive at the time, and I had no knowledge of it.

Not trying to sway you or your Mrs one way or another, just throwing out another POV, from someone who has been there. My surgeon was convinced I would not heal, and was somewhat amazed that I did. When they injected the contrast dye into the capsule, it ran out immediately. It took me close to 2 years to get them to MRI my shoulder, but once it was done, it took about 15 seconds for the Doc to decide on surgery, so it was apparently pretty serious. I'm not a very good judge of my own pain because I usually just ignore it.

Tom Stormcrowe

No worries and no offense was taken. If there had't been the bone spurs, then we might look at a less intrusive method as well, but given the location, it's not healing up, and will be a chronic problem unless repaired and may well get worse. She can't lift any weight yet at all with her left arm, for example. She can't even support the weight of her arm alone.

funrover 

Prayers with her for a quick recovery

EasyEd

Sorry to hear about the Mrs., Tom. If she is feeling down about all this, just remind her that now you will be doing all the housework and cooking for a while. So there is a bright side to this situation for her.

Tom Stormcrowe

Actually, I do most of the cooking anyway. I love to cook. I'm also pretty good at it. She much prefers my food to hers. She makes stuff like Beef and Noodles, and can make great scratch noodles and pastas, and is a great baker.

I make things like Smoked Chicken.

dahoyle

Yeah, as I said, I'm not the best judge of my own injuries, because of a screwed up pain threshold. I generally feel pain on a lesser scale than others, and consequently am able to override it to a large degree. My range of motion was pretty limited, probably somewhere between 50 and 60 percent, and in this case, I was well aware of the pain. I could push past it, and with my arm above shoulder level, it would diminish somewhat. I wanted the surgery myself, and had dealt with the pain and an increasing loss of function for 2 years, but had just settled into a new job, and was trying to schedule it in a manner that would work with my employers schedule. Somewhere along the way, it healed itself. If I had to deal with it again today, I'm not sure which way I would go. I'd probably ignore it like an idiot.

Tom Stormcrowe

I know what ya mean. Last year, I rode 42 miles of a Century attempt with a fractured collarbone. My shoulder isn't at 100 % yet, either. In the wife's case, the spurs will just make it worse and worse, though and eventually sever her upper biceps tendon (Highest probability outcome if untreated, based on the XRay.).

breadbin

More prayers for her speedy recovery