Originally Posted by
BengalCat
If the torn labrum and supraspinatus muscle are in the same shoulder and you a middle age or younger surgery is your best bet IF, and BIG IF, you can get quality long-term physical therapy and are willing to endure the pain and time to rehab. Shoulders are about the hardest injuries to rehab. Generally speaking the needed quality PT usually isn't available to folks, even with insurance. The PT is too limited.
However, since you posted in the fifty-plus forum I take you are at least 50 years old. The older you are the more you should tilt toward just PT or a more conservative surgery if available.
I'm 73 and both labrums are torn as well as minor tears in both shoulders plus moderate to severe arthritis and some impingement. Surgery was offered as I'm always in pain, especially sleeping at night. I said heck no as at my age and relatively high level of conditioning from biking and other exercising I cannot to lose what I have to surgery and that I would never get back due to my age.
There is literature that past a certain age PT is better than surgery, but I am not there yet. Also literature that, past a certain age, if surgery is the option, replacement is better than repair, but replacement carries function limits, so the hope is that at that age the function limits are still past other bodily limits... Finally, also literature that PT can be comparable to surgery for non-traumatic tears (this might be directly correlated with age, since past a certain age everyone has nontraumatic rc tears), but surgery is better for traumatic tears. Mine was traumatic, although it was 3 incidents not just one.