5 Month Post Op shoulder
 

I am 2 days shy of 5 months out from right shoulder, reverse replacement. Having been released from the surgeon's care and PT early this month, the shoulder has surpassed my goal of 80% recovery of motion, and It is still regaining strength, just slower. I have chronic neck issues, also.
I've been riding set ups with the handlebar/stem clamp area level, or a bit above, the nose of the saddle, matched with
swept back and rising handlebars.
Today, I was able to comfortably ride a bike with a handlebar
with less degree of sweep and shorter grjp area, along with a 15mm drop. For me, that meant going back to a Velo-Orange Porteur bar. The stem clamp still at saddle nose height. It felt good to be back to a more forward and aero position. My shoulder and neck did fine.
I tried a drop bar with short reach and shallow drop a couple of days ago, same bike and stem. Physically, I was not feeling all that comfortable, certainly not in the drops. It has me
convinced that they are out of my bicycle realm, permanently.
It has been a difficult and painful recovery, with a couple set
backs that had me wondering when and what level of use I
would return to. I can now state that my goal has been achieved, my shoulder continues to improve, and I am quite pleased with the results.

Excellent news. Having had shoulder repair myself, I can appreciate how much a working shoulder improves one's quality of life.

5 months out from shoulder surgery of any type is a short time. If your at 80% range of motion and strength, count your blessings. My recovery from shoulder surgery took 15-16 months and mine was not replaced, it was repaired.
Keep at the PT and strength training and you’ll hit full recovery soon enough. G-d Speed for a full recovery.

Well done! A shoulder replacement is straight up horrific, so chapeau for all the work youve done to get back cycling.
I kind of get it, I dinged my shoulder hard on Oct 1 and hoping to be OK for the road in Feb.

Good thoughts for your “ding” to be short lived and well quickly.

Glad to read that you are well on your way to full recovery. Just don't do what I did and that was having an off road encounter with Mother Earth on my replaced right shoulder. :bang: All was well following the impact with no harm to bike or me.

r.e. bold -- Reading up on the 2 replacement procedures, recovery and pain of a reverse is often less than a regular UNLESS there are extenuating circumstances. My Ortho replaced my right shoulder on Monday and released me on Tuesday the following day to begin riding my upright bike on Wednesday.

Yesterday, I was able to do overhead presses with my right arm with a 6.5 lb. dumbbell, 10 reps. That's a big jump from the 4 pounder I was limited to. If I can get to being able to do 15 lbs with the right arm, it seems I will have reached the limit that is common after the reverse replacement.
I am now also able to get my right hand to the midpoint of my back, rising from the bottom, and mid shoulder blades lowering from the top. That has already passed my expectations.
I am going to stop at my PT place to show them how well the recovery is continuing.
I think one of the best things I have gotten from all this, A commitment to more strength training. It has been a big plus in my everyday living.
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Congrats, overhead lifting is one of the most difficult movements to recover. One of the last movements I was able to recover was reaching back in my car to pull the sunroof cover forward. That movement is above your head and behind your shoulder. My PT, who I saw for 14 months always asked "what can't you do." He would then provide exercises to work on that movement. So, ask your PT for stuff to do at home or in a gym, it works.

Del, good to hear of fair success after shoulder surgery.

Can go either way. And as we age it seems recoveries (particularly from surgeries) seem to get tougher and tougher.

80% functionality and improving strength doesn't seem all that bad to me. Had a bunch of hip flexor muscles get torn up, decades ago, and it took far longer than that for ~95% recovery. And you're now able to do a range of lighter dumbbell exercises as well. Wonderful.

Hopefully it'll continue improving. "Spiders on the wall" ... "wax on/off" ... and all the rest.