Anyone ever tear their roator cuff?

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xmaddchillx

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Pretty sure I did at work last week. Doctor in the A.M. to confirm it. How long does it usually take to heal?

Worse this is I can't afford the time off! So i'll have to keep working with it.
 
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had my right shoulder rebuilt last August (rotator and labrum)... if it needs to be surgically repaired, you can expect a 6-9 month rehab. If you can "save" it through doing the rehab cycle without surgery, which is possible if the tear isn't all the way through, it is just painful...you can still do most everything!

PM me if you like...
 
I dont think surgery is needed just some much needed rest, but damn.. what a painful injury! Hurts more than when I get two tendons in my left hand
 
yup tore mine a few years back. had surgery, :rolleyes: SWMBO mashed the pain killers and put them in my kool-aid then took me to Home Depot. She got a $40,000 kitchen, :eek: :confused: I got 12 weeks off work, because my shoulder froze about 4 weeks after surgery and the doc had to go back in and break it lose. Keep doing the physical therapy no matter how bad it hurts.
 
I've torn both cuffs twice and had 3 surgeries. They go in through a small hole, sew it back together and if you will wear a sling for about 2 weeks it will repair pretty quickly. One time it tore in shreds and took over 4 months to mend. After a number of repairs there winds up nothing to sew back together and then it is a major rebuild. It is about a one hour surgery and you can go home in about 3-4 hours. It's normally just a minor day surgery.

My last "4 hour day surgery" to repair the cuff was a real fiasco. The anesthesologist put in a nerve block on my shoulder to lessen the pain when I woke up but he put the block in the wrong place and it caused my diaphram to paralize and I stopped breathing. They did the surgery with me on a respirator and then sent me to to the real hospital to intensive care. I woke 2 days later with the respirator tube in my throat and in cardiac a-fib. I spent 3 more days in ICU trying to get me out of a-fib. Finally they sent me home still in a-fib, and it took 2 weeks on special medications for my heart to go back to normal.

Point is that no surgery is minor as long as there is a docor or anesthesologist to screw it up.The medical profession is getting like the government....incapable of doing things right. My long time (over 30 years) cardiologist recently screwed up my Pacemaker operation by not leaving the wire leads with enough slack. When I stood up my heart dropped some in my chest and the wires pulled out of where they were placed. They are now monitoring this to see if it needs to be redone. For this mistake, I may have to have the surgery again for another $12,000.

Hope your shoulder will repair it's self but if not, the surgery is normally not much and the outcome will be good. Good luck.
 
A year and a half ago, surgery and 6 weeks of physical torture I mean therapy. Don't know the workers Comp. law in La. but if you were injured at work wouldn't you be covered for at least partial pay?
 
I have had 7 operations on mine. The torn rotator cuff portion should heal on its own as long as you watch it. Therapy as well. Try basic movements little at a time such as using your fingers standing next to a wall, walk up the wall with your fingers.
Dont let it go though.
 
Due to a car accident in 2006, I finally had surgery last Nov on my left AC (took 3/4 inch of bone out) and about 6 weeks ago I sprained my RC during physio.. Still have about another 6-8 weeks of physio (TORTURE) left.. I feel your pain.. Shoulder pain is NOT fun!

Being a self employed carpenter is not easy when you have shouder injury. Hoping to get back to work sometime this summer and finally have an income again..
 
I have torn mine about 15 years ago and didn't do the surgery. It took about 4 months for it to stop actively hurting and then 2 more months before it was fully "normal" to me. After the the first month, the pain seemed to largely subside, but it was still there if I overexerted the shoulder the least bit (and that's not hard to do when you start feeling better and before it's properly healed).

It was all good for me until 2 weeks ago when I tore it again. But I am just going to wait it out and it will heal.

Good luck with yours.
 
What in the world are you people doing out there???:doctor: 7 times, 3times and others, Do we have a bunch of major league pithchers here that all this is happening???? Please people be more carefull. :peace:
 
Tore mine. Instead of surgery, they started giving me cortisone shots into the joint. The shot was ok but when the lidocaine wore off, I couldn't breath without it hurting but that only lasted about 12 hours. Then I'd be pain free for a few months before I had to get another shot. I never had time to rest it for weeks. Had to pay the bills.

I was told (at the time) that it wouldn't heal without surgery but that was a long time ago. They said the healing time after surgery was 6 weeks immobilized. I couldn't deal with that so, no surgery.

I still feel it sometimes, usually when I do something stupid.

I still can't bowl with my right arm but I've moved on...mostly.
 
Years ago my dad fell off a ladder and tore his cuff, also broke his arm. The arm healed faster than his shoulder. He didn't pay for therapy though, just went to the gym and worked it in the hot tub....he said it was excrutiating and it took him MONTHS before he had full motion again. But hey, now he's 55 and powerwashes houses for a living. That's a full recovery right there!
 
Knocking on green wood - with both hands (Rapping the side of my head).. but you guys scare me... I have either bursitis or arthritis in both my shoulders, but don't think the rotators are bad. I start every morning with two tylenol and grimace when I put my shirt on, but otherwise nothing to worry about yet... after a long day in the shop, may need a couple of tylenol in the evening too.

My wife just had a total hip replacement in January and in talking with other patient significant others during surgery, one of whom was a physical therapist, he said in order of complications, pain and progress of rehab, Hips were the easiest, then knees and shoulders were last and most difficult. I think that may be because we use our arms more than we realize and probably in ways we don't realize.
 
ozmandus said:
Knocking on green wood - with both hands (Rapping the side of my head).. but you guys scare me... I have either bursitis or arthritis in both my shoulders, but don't think the rotators are bad. I start every morning with two tylenol and grimace when I put my shirt on, but otherwise nothing to worry about yet... after a long day in the shop, may need a couple of tylenol in the evening too.
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I'm with you Chuck, I think that is probably the only joint I haven't damaged, I did break a shoulder blade and arm in a horse wreck, but other than hurting to put my arms over my head, the shoulders are still functional, (two of the few remaining body parts that still semi function) :rolleyes:
 
Follow the Doctors advise!!! I kept reinjuring mine and the damn thing took months to heal. My own fault everytime it started feeling better i would go out and do something stupid again. The physical therapy did wonders and the excerises only hurt at the beginning.
 
I tore it, and a bunch of other good stuff in my right shoulder about five years ago. It happened while I was pull starting an engine and it missed a compression stroke. Full strength pull and no resistance. Arm went up and I heard a bunch of the shoulder innards going 'snap, crackle and pop' , followed by considerable pain that lasted a couple months. Tough guy here didn't see a doctor for a couple years. Too late, surgery cannot help now. So, my right shoulder in several movements is very weak. I'm having to sell my pistols because I can't hold one up to shoot. I used to love pistol shooting and was pretty good.
 
Me too. I did an endo from a bicycle over in Germanyin 2005. Broke my elbow and tore the rotator cuff and soft tissue damage to my knee. Like Brian's Dad, the break healed much faster. Six months of three days a week physical therapy. I got one cortazone shot that helped a great deal to get past a barrier to progess. The therapist made the recovery possible. Reading the postings I see the macho problem that I had to overcome too. Can't ignore it or rush the process. Last spring I tore the cuff in the other shoulder. This time I was polishing the headlights on two cars. I did such a good job on the MIL's cadilac that jumped on doing my truck. This was short stroke wet sanding; something that all woodworkers do. A year later I can barely pull my tee shirt off. Pulling that arm across my chest in an 'X' fashion just won't do. It is improving. Oxicodone? Oh Yeah!
Regaeds,
Michael
 
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