I just found out this morning that a woman who works nearby to me, is out for the same thing! She got a 90% tear when she lifted her laptop & case out of the trunk of her car.

She was to have surgery this week, and she'll be out of work 6 weeks. After 2 weeks she'll start physical therapy. Her co-worker said she was eager for the surgery, because her arm was hurting so badly. She'll be on a restriction as to how much weight she can pick up, he thought she said 10 lbs at first, then 20 lbs, etc.

That's all I know, wish I could help more. I'm sorry you're going through this! It really does sound painful.

A friend of ours just had this surgery two weeks ago. He got along fine. He's in rehab now and says that's very painful. He's off work for six weeks and will go back with some lifting restrictions. He was in so much pain before he was glad to get it done. If you had it done now you wouldn't be up to cooking. He had to wear it in a sling for the first week and half.

I'm sooo glad you made this post...I had my first Physical Therapy session today for an injured rotator cuff...I'm already plotting the PT"s Demise...for two hours they worked my arm and shoulder and at the end I wanted to beat him with that rubber hose he had me pulling...LOL...Actually it feels better now but it was intense during therapy..

My problem comes from lifting bags, shutting overhead bins, pushing and pulling 250 meal carts for 30 years as a flight attendant..I've been nursing major pain since July...went to my doc in October he prescribed Celebrex..spent a month with a Chiro...that didn't help..so Tuesday the 4th I went and got a cortisone shot from an orthopedic dr...he took extensive X-Rays and I have a buildup near the bottom of my cuff that is causing excruciating pain all thru my shoulder and right arm...sometimes it hurts clear up to my ear!...the shot of cortisone didn't help so I started PT today and will do that twice weekly for three weeks...if that doesn't help, then it's back to the Doc for an MRI...all the while I'm continuing to work and trying to baby it as much as possible...

Good luck with yours and keep me posted on how it's going and what their doing for you...I'm praying like the dickens I've just injured it a bit and not torn it! I don't want to even THINK about surgery! I don't have TIME for this.

I have a torn rotator cuff, and I'm trying everything to avoid surgery. I hear that 90% of the time, the surgery doesn't work. I too, am in constant pain. It gets better or worse, depending on what I have to do with that arm. It's my right arm, so it gets a lot of use. I'm on pain meds, two kinds, one for night, one for day. They dull the pain, but it still hurts when I move it certain ways. I had an MRI already, but I'll probably have to have another soon.

I've had problems with this arm since an auto accident many years ago, but it always got better within a week or two. Right now, it's been 9 months, with little or no relief. I have had two cortisone shots, that only relieved the pain a little for a few days. I only had those when it got to where I was having to take narcotics to sleep, the pain was so bad at night.

I guess since I'm much older than last time it acted up, that's why it's taking so long to heal. I could lose my job if it doesn't heal soon, because they are running out of things for me to do.

I had a torn one and chose to go with just PT.
It is a long haul no matter what
A year isn't unusual and painful
Ibuprophen for inflamation helps pain and
further damage cause swelling is what causes
more damage.

I went to a Therapist specializing in sports injuries,
Surgery isn't a guarantee.

Yikes, I don't know what sounds worse, PT or surgery!! We have excellent physical therapist where I live. I'll just have to wait to hear what the surgeon says. I hope he isn't a knife happy one. Thanks for all your imput, I think!!LOL

I found out when I had all the MRI's for my bicep that I have a badly torn rotator cuff....
They were talking about "fixing"...I said WHAT....I remember when I did that...it was about 30 years ago...and it took about a year or two to heal...I even played soft ball for years...on two or three teams at a time...and I got along fine....I told them "no thanks" you don't need to fix it now.

patti

Rotator cuff injuries can vary widely. The "rotator cuff" is actually the arrangement of cartilege and ligaments that hold the shoulder together and attaches the muscles, so there is a lot of room for various kinds of damages.

I had a horse rear and snatch my shoulder Halloween 1993. From then until well after I had surgery in June 1994, I could not lift my elbow and the pain was intense. The MRI showed only a few tears in the cartilege so the orthopedic surgeon anticipated a simple arthroscopic procedure - that would have meant a couple of tiny incisions, a few weeks in a sling and one to two months of physical therapy.

DH said about the time I was supposed to be out of surgery the surgeon came out and sat next to him. His first words were, "It looks like a bomb went off in there." Out of the seven ligaments that connect the muscles in the shoulder, three were still attached and one of those was damaged. The cartilege in the joint was shredded. Surgery lasted over four hours instead of the 60-90 minutes estimated.

I have a scar that goes from the front of my armpit, over the shoulder to the back of the armpit. My arm was immobilized and strapped to my side for a month, then I went through six months of intense PT. But my arm is 95% of what it was before the injury and I have full range of motion - which I did not before the surgery.

One of the most debilitating parts was that from the day of the injury until months after the surgery, I could not lay flat in bed. I pretty much lived in DH's recliner. If you have to have surgery, especially if it looks like it might be serious, get a recliner that is comfortable to sleep in!

If the pain is really bad and the steroid shot does not make it bearable and return function to your arm, I recommend having the surgery. If you have access to an orthopedic surgeon that specializes in shoulders, use him (or her). Our town is home to a top collegiate football team so we have an excellent orthopedic clinic and physical therapy center. They've also seen me through two knee surgeries and we're all looking forward to knee replacements in the future. =8-O

I called my therapists, physical TERRORISTS! ;-)

I agree with woodswell,
a recliner is a must
No matter what, look at a fairly long
recuperation and get a good surgeon if
surgery is need and get a good PT,
It will make all the difference in the world
As said before, someone who practices with sports medicine.
They are so experienced with this type injury.

My mom just went through all the MRI's and Doctor visits. She has to get her shoulder replaced. I feel terrible for her. My son and I are both goign to the doctor this coming week for shoulder problems. Mine they usually give me a shot of cortisone and I'm off, but his I'm going to insist on an MRI because he hurt his when he broke his arm.

My friend had the surgery about 2 years ago, and it has not helped her a whole lot. However, she has a severely handicapped son (physically he is 25, so he is around 120 lbs) that she is constantly tending to, she may not have taken proper care after her surgery.
So my point would be, if you do have the surgery, follow the advice of your Physical Therapist, exercise as advised, follow weight restrictions whatever they tell you.
Remember that the PT is the one trained in the exercises best for this or that muscle/injury etc.
Good Luck! Ellie

I too have a rotator cuff injury. Probably from years of using a wheelchair. I've had 2 rounds of physical therapy. That gets tiresome and expensive. The doctor is not too positive about the surgery since it doesn't have a great success rate. You still have to take a long course of physical therapy. I had been using all kinds of pain relievers with limited success and attendant side effects such as sleepiness and higher blood pressure.My neighbor mentioned that her PT used the Interferentail Therapy Unit like I had at therapy and had given her a unit to use at home. I mentioned this to my doctor on my next visit and she said Oh yes you can try that, in fact I have one right here you can take home. The unit is a little 9-volt battery pack that you wear and attach sticky pads with leads to surround the injured area. It supplies the area with mild shocks to stimulate the nerves and muscel fibers. All I know is it stops the pain and no nasty side effects. Take to your doctor about the possibility ofusing a TENS unit at home. Mine is from Zynex medical.

Dh has had rotator cuff surgery twice. Good luck with yours.

Wow, I can't belive how common this is. I was diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury in the Fall.
Unfortunately, the cortizone shot(s) only worked for about 6 weeks, so it is time to go back to the doc.
I'm really not sure how I did it.

I don't have a clue as to how I injured mine. I understand one of the four ligaments is torn. He called it a "Complete tear". I really appreciate all your input.
I will let ya'll know what the surgeon thinks and I decide what I want done. It is taking 2 pain pills every 4 hours to keep me at ease.

Hmmm....I don't think I have one yet...supposedly just impingement syndrome. Which I'm told if left untreated may very well lead to a torn rotator cuff. I saw an orthopod and he recommended PT - which I did and have been doing the exercise every other day for six months. I don't think it's helped much. I do find one naproxyn tablet about twice a week pretty much eliminates the pain. I think this has been caused by working in the software industry for about 25 years and spending alot of time working at a computer with bad posture. Rounded shoulders hunkered over a desk - if you do this you better straighten up.

All that said, I know three guys who have had rotator cuff surgery - they all seem to have done pretty well. One is very active and has resumed playing tennis - DH is a good tennis play and he apparently killed him - post surgery. The other guy also plays alot of golf and he was able to resume that about six months after surgery. The third guy also kind of an extreme sports guy who plays alot of tennis and does alot of kayaking - he's doing all of that again without any difficulty as far as I can tell.

Like any other medical treatment one big factor in the outcome is the skill of the surgeon - and the therapist. They are not all created equal and I think some people think if someone is a doctor or a surgeon or a shoulder surgeon that they'll be able to get the job done successfully. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Also, I think results are dependent upon how dedicated you are to following through with the therapy. Two of the three guys said they spent alot of time on rehab and that getting a good PT was critical.

Good luck - I am pondering this shoulder surgery issue myself - trying to avoid it.

My neighbor severed her rotator cuff in a fall. Her orthopod told her surgery would not help it. She has pain off and on and it limits her activities.

There is something I just don't understand. Can someone explain to me how physical therapy can help a torn ligament?

arosegirl,
If a ligament is really torn, PT will not help, but often the pain is from inflammation and overuse. Then a cortisone shot and PT can help reduce the inflammation and build up the muscles to help support the shoulder.

I think that is one reason the surgeon did not think my injury was so bad - my muscles were very strong from working horses, cleaning stalls and all the other farm work. But the physical therapist knew after only two sessions that she could do nothing to help me and sent me back to the surgeon.

One of my ligaments - the one going to the muscle over the shoulder blade - had been torn so long that the muscle was atrophied from not being used. I have no idea when or how I injured that one. It could have been when I was a kid. The surgeon said it had been at least two years but I never realized that it was not right.

I've had problems with mine as well. In September I could not lift my right arm at all. I've had many rounds of PT and I can move it again, but it's still sore. He said it's like a golf ball on a tee. Very sensitive.