Shoulder Surgery Fun
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[mention]neph93 [/mention] My insurance gave me hell trying to get this procedure covered and it still was expensive because we have a high deductible. They deemed it “medically unnecessary”. I had already done loads of therapy and cortisone shots to ease pain and increase mobility with not much relief. My doc finally got it pushed through because it was affecting my day to day and I couldn’t sleep. I envy your healthcare system though and wish the US could improve theirs in almost every facet. Glad your procedure went well!
And thanks for the well wishes, so far so good!
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I can tell you stories.
I dislocated my shoulder and broke a collarbone during a game playing football (the American version). Result was slap tear with a bankart lesion. I had surgery on the shoulder with really terrible pain and a sling for two months. They had to fix the labrum, replaced my biceps tendon and supraspinatus with titanium ancors. I did rehab (daily) for 6 months and now, 13 years later, I still have limited range of motion (above the head and external rotation) and sometimes feel pain. I got used to, but it's bothering and limiting.
Fortunately, it was my only major injury playing football for 18 years but I don't need this in my life again. -
Damn [mention]Dmart [/mention] that sounds like wreck! Won’t help now, but I wonder if the same procedure you had has been improved in the 13 years since? My shoulders were both messed up from competitive swimming in my youth. I’m 50 now and I’ve had both shoulders worked on. I can say that my most recent procedure was less invasive than the previous one 7 years ago. And my previous didn’t involve any rotator cuff repair.
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I don't know if the procedure changed in the meantime. Back then it was already endoscopic and there are only three small scars.
The main issue is the joint itself. It's the most complex joint in our body.
I would however highly recommend to anyone to start rehab as soons as somehow possible. I was late due to ongoing discussions with the health insurer, which is the main reason of the limitation in range of motion. -
[mention]neph93 [/mention] Yeah, start pushing 50 and things just start to give you problems, especially if you’ve played a sport or two. And I know it depends on where you live and the healthcare you have access to, but medical technology is progressing at such an amazing rate that suffering through injuries doesn’t have to be the acceptable route. With that being said, what would have to happen for Norway to hook you up with a knee/shoulder repair? Would it have to be debilitating? And who makes that call? Just curious
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I don't know if the procedure changed in the meantime. Back then it was already endoscopic and there are only three small scars.
The main issue is the joint itself. It's the most complex joint in our body.
I would however highly recommend to anyone to start rehab as soons as somehow possible. I was late due to ongoing discussions with the health insurer, which is the main reason of the limitation in range of motion.The doc had me doing at-home rehab the day after surgery. It’s not much but you could tell they didn’t want me to wait.
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Both of my shoulders are screwed, especially the left one from throwing softballs, really hard, for so many years. Like Peter Griffin said “you gotta throw every ball like a cannon, we are here to impress the girlfriends of guys we barely know”. I live that weekly.
Anyhow, it makes sleeping in certain positions a pain after prolonged periods and I fear what the future holds.
Until then, there’s random people to impress.
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[mention]jordanscollected [/mention] That’s kind of where I was…couldn’t sleep, couldn’t work out, couldn’t do things with my kids. And it kept getting worse. The one I had fixed 7 years ago has been great so I didn’t hesitate very long to fix the other. The recovery is 6-12 months but has been worth the inconvenience for me.
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I had what's called a biceps tenodesis with the subacromial decompression (which I'm pretty sure most docs just do while they're in there). My labrum was tearing at the long biceps head insertion, so this is a fix for that. I was late 20s at the time, doc said that if I was in my 50s or 60s they'd just let it tear completely off and my bicep would look funny, and wrist rotation (turning a doorknob) would be slightly weaker. I tried to work around it for a while, but I was running a gym at the time, and it would get like 80% better with rest, and go back to painful as soon as I stressed it at all which was annoying.
Recovery was fine, and they did a good job with the length so both biceps look the same. I went off pain meds after 36hrs because I wanted to drink at a friend's wedding and it wasn't too terrible. Took a while to stop sympathetically lifting things with the recovering arm since it was my dominant hand, but once I stopped doing that recovery was relatively pain-free. Brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand is maddening so I switched to an electric toothbrush and really glad I did, they're so much better. Overall very happy with the outcome.
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[mention]Dmart [/mention] [mention]Tvnuto [/mention] After reading your experiences again, I’m really struck by the amazing complexity of the shoulder. It’s a wonder to me that everyone doesn’t need them completely replaced by 60 I’m a week post op today and feel really good. I don’t know how I’m going to wear a sling for another five weeks because the pain has been minimal the last couple of days.
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Thank you. And hope your shoulder has minimal squeaking today!
One thing I found interesting about the repair of my partially torn rotator cuff is that the “patch” they put on it is made from bovine collagen. Told my wife and kids that it might make me moo now and then [emoji1]
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Don't want to derail this thread, but I give my shoulders (mainly my right), an immense amount of shit, casting large heavy lures long distances, retrieving them at speed (often with a very irregular cadence) and playing fish that completely and utterly bring me to my knees, but I have never had shoulder problems. My issues are in my left hip and knee, we think it is an iliotibial band (or IT band) issue. The way I fish puts a large amount of repetitive strain on the knee and the hip. I'm having physio atm….
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[mention]Giles [/mention] My wife is a runner and has had IT band issues on and off for some time. She does some pretty elaborate looking stretches in addition to the roller. Always seems to get it worked out but I know how annoying and painful it can be when it’s tight. Good luck!
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