rumrunn6

yeah no worries, I agree, very difficult to describe. I find if I'm on my back & roll to that side, the movement kind of grinds things inside, whereas if I stack pillows for my head, then position my shoulder squarely on my side, then I avoid those internal movements. upper arm is straight at my side tho the forearm is bent at the elbow. once in place I avoid any "rocking" back & forth. but again, it's only good for about 30 minutes tops, then I'm sore. so I mostly avoid it altogether

Cornchips

Just got back from the GP who has referred me to the Ortho (again). Said most likely course of action will be a 'keyhole' surgery to repair the torn labrum. I'm now wondering if 1) I can afford the surgery 2) How I will support myself taking 3-6 months off work.

rumrunn6

yikes that stinks. one of our sales reps had shoulder surgery. he timed it during his slow months & did a lot of work from home for a while. I guess it helps to have a job like that. maybe talk to your employer & see if they have any ideas that can help?

GhostRider62

Isn't everything free in Oz?


Why would you need to be out of work for 3-6 months? (My recovery was much faster than that)

Cornchips

I'm currently researching that now. If I go as a public patient, I think the surgery is 'free' but I don't get a choice of surgeon or location (also get put on a waiting list and will have no idea when a spot will become available). If I go private I have to pay for it but can get it done where and when I want.

But perhaps more so than the hospitalisation costs is the time off work. I'm not sure of the exact timelines, I more or less made 3 months up, but the fact of the matter is I'm just a labourer and lift things for a living. Now that I'm getting older. the last thing I want to do is rush back to work too soon and do further damage. I want to go the conservative route in that regard and try and get back as close to 100% as I possibly can before I return to work...

I guess you don't realise what you've got till it's gone. Before I injured my shoulder I didn't even consider my job 'physical' - thought it was easy just moving tables and chairs around a stadium and bagging groceries a few nights a week. Now these tasks seem almost insurmountable...

Speedskater

My 15 year old grandson just had labrum surgery. He might be out of sports for almost a year.

rumrunn6

sympathies. football?

Speedskater

Yep, days before the first game of the season. His other sports are bowling and baseball. And it's his throwing arm.

rumrunn6

sorry to hear that. this will be a learning / growing experience that will live with him forever. a challenge for a Dad too, no doubt. hang in there

Cornchips

If it's any consolation, the only other operation I had was on my knee from playing football when I was 12 or 13. A fairly minor procedure I think involving an arthroscope, but I have no lasting effects from it...

Cornchips

Just got back from the ortho (again) on my birthday. I've been referred to surgery in the public system after what he describes as a "pretty impressive" torn labrum. He said surgery is not strictly necessary but given I have 2 physical jobs and I'm sick of feeling like s**t all time, I've decided to get the ball rolling.

He said the Grade 2 AC joint was probably a 'red herring' and it is very unusual injury. He thinks I may have briefly dislocated my shoulder when I fell off my bike, only for it to pop straight back in. And looking back, I think that's what's happened.

He's put recovery at 6-9 months months, given I'm a blue-collar worker.

Going to be an interesting 12 months coming up for me.

rumrunn6

drats. It is what it is hmmm gotta wrap your head around it. You’ll get thru it. Might want to start your own separate thread for torn labrum?

rumrunn6

for my own record, 11 months out, today i increased the two shoulder press stations another 5lbs. funny how so little, can feel like so much.

rumrunn6

how’s it going w you?

rumrunn6

just got back from the gym where it dawned on me, for myself, looks like it's been exactly 1 year. I guess I'm as recovered as I'm gonna get. I would not say I'm good as new, but I can sleep on my side for extended periods before discomfort sets in. that seemed like the biggest benchmark. I'm not limiting any activities. my weight training seems on track with a cpl new small incremental increases, recently

staehpj1 

Don't give up on further improvement. I had a mostly recovered joint that I didn't quite trust after a year. I was white water kayaking at the time and it just wasn't completely a sure thing when I did certain moves. Mine gradually improved over a LONG period after the initial recovery. Ballistic motion was the slowest to come back for me (like throwing). I thought that would never come back, but eventually it did. I had similar surgeries on both shoulders and another surgery on one shoulder.

None of the three surgeries were that bad for my riding or kept me off the bike for too long.

Cornchips

Feeling strangely fine.

I played cricket on the weekend (similar to baseball). It survived a couple of dives and I even bowled a couple of overs. I pulled up pretty sore in the shoulder for two days after, and I still have no hope of actually throwing a ball with any great force, but right now I feel fine.

The past month or two the pain has really come down. Right now, my biggest concern is loss of strength. I'm still a lot weaker in my right arm which is my dominant side (1 year on).

This also coincides with my third and final meeting with the ortho on Monday (27/3). Maybe this is why they haven't been pushing for surgery? Just a couple of months ago I would have crawled onto the operating table, but now I'm having second thoughts. My ROM is close to 100%, I would say my strength is at about 75% and I do pull up a bit sore after any sort of rigorous activity - such as playing cricket or a big day at work.

So, right now I'm wondering if surgery will be worth it. Will it make the pain go away completely? Will I get my strength back? And perhaps more pressingly how I will support myself during recovery. Long-term, it might actually be better, as I feel I have to 'baby' my shoulder in most things I do.

rumrunn6

good. maybe take up some light weight training