got an impingement in my rotator cuff

[onethatcares]

from surgery 14 weeks ago. Ortho guy says he has to open it back up to see the prob.

Has this happened to anyone else here?

I can't raise my hand above eye level.

[Laffy Kat]

1. Ouch! Sorry, onethatcares.

That totally sucks.

[onethatcares]

2. yeah, and I'm an oldie with

my own business supplementing my government handout (jk).

It's hard to work if you can't raise your hand, trust me. and Thanks.

[northoftheborder]

3. Oh dear -- that sounds dire.

I'm dreading shoulder surgery in the summer. I can't raise either of my arms above eye level without pain; but other involvements besides rot. cuff.

[onethatcares]

4. i'm really doing good otherwise

I've been therapying and working, but climbing the fingerboard and what the therapist calls "negatives" are beyond me. I was wondering if the doc screwed up.

I wasn't hoping but the offices of Dewey, Cheatum and How are right around the corner.

[KatyMan]

5. Shoulder issues suck

Mine aren't near as bad as yours, but I have tendonosis and something called 'quadrilateral space syndrome' which as I understand it is basically a pinched nerve deep in the shoulder. No operations or anything as bad as your shoulder and the others discussed in the thread, but I certainly sympathize with you onethatcares!
You don't know how much you actually raise your arms during the day until you have shoulder issues!

[Laffy Kat]

7. Part of my job is assisting with MRIs.

IMO the shoulder studies are the worst because the patients are positioned so snuggly in the tube which is quite painful; then, they have to HOLD STILL for up to twenty-five minutes. Some do ok and get through it, others find it excruciating.

[KatyMan]

10. I had an mri and it was snug

with that shoulder thing they put on you, but I actually kind of enjoyed it, all the weird sounds were pretty cool, almost musical.

[Adsos Letter]

11. I had to have an MRI for a herniated disc in my cervical spine that was compressing the nerve.

They put me in the smaller MRI machine, with the "ceiling" about 1" from the tip of my nose and my shoulders barely touching the sides (no exaggeration). With a badly compressed nerve. And a major case of claustrophobia. And, oh yeah, hold completely still.

One of the longest half-hours of my life.


Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[FSogol]

6. Oh, that's going take 10 mph off your fast ball.

Kidding aside, get well soon.

[woodsprite]

8. I had one after my dislocated/broken humeral head healed.

They did a manipulation under anesthetic as a first attempt at regaining my range of motion (they thought I had developed frozen shoulder during the healing process).

They assigned me back to PT but I still couldn't lift it above my shoulder or reach around behind my back. They did have to go back in and fix a 3cm tear in a tendon. I'm not so sure they didn't tear that when they tried the manipulation (which is basically they knock you totally out and force your arm to move every which way). During the surgery, they also released my bicep tendon and shaved down my collar bone (where the impingement was happening).

Almost a year later and I'm back at 100%, although my swimming stroke isn't as smooth on that side as it had been and I'm still working on building strength. Lifting a five pound weight out to the side and over my head is quite a challenge, but when you figure I started out a 0 after the surgery, I'm happy so far. The strength is coming back, and I am back to walking our 80lb dog again, and have the strength to control her, if needed.

Best of luck! The recovery isn't fun, but getting that impingement taking care of was the magic step I needed to gain back full use of my shoulder. I have a coworker who is going through the same thing right now. Also, they told me that reaching behind your back is the very last motion to come back.

[KatyMan]

9. I swear on first glance this said...

"after my dislocated/broken human head healed". Not denigrating your experience, sorry! But I glanced at the replies in the thread and thought "whaaa?????"
Hope all is well for you!

[onethatcares]

12. did you have a lot of

snap crackle pops in the area when it was initially done?

I can reach behind my back but the therapist said normal range was bra clasp height and that is out of the question presently.

I don't wear a bra but being an older guy I have unclasped a few in my time so I know of what he speaks..

[woodsprite]

13. Yes, so much that I asked about it to make

Sure I wasn't doing any damage. Dr said as long as I didn't feel a sharp pain along with the sounds, I was fine. His explanation was that they move all sorts of things around and they pump in air or fluid to gain space while working. About 3-4 mo. in to recovery and I didn't notice them as much. Still have a few (reaching around back) and I do stretches in the a.m. That seems to work them out.

Dr had said the back motion seemed to be more important to women than men, something about wallets vs bras. I didn't think it was as funny as he did

[davsand]

16. When I was in PT after I dislocated my shoulder (fractured the humerus as well) I was noisy.

My shoulder was making some incredibly loud sounds, to the point that as I was lifting weights my therapist was able to hear it. She explained it was gas moving in the joint that made the sounds and said it would probably decrease over time but might be a permanent sound effect at some level.

Two years out, and I'm still noisy, but it does seem a bit better than it was.

The hardest motion for me to get back has been the whole bra hooking thing, for sure. I for sure do not have strength on that arm like I used to, but I figure I'm not needing pain meds for it, so it could be a lot worse. I still do some moderate resistance stuff on my own simply because I really don't want those muscles to weaken and arthritis to get any worse.

Good luck!


Laura

[OnDoutside]

14. Yes I got an impingement after a torn inner bicep reknitted

back badly. It caused huge problems in other muscles overcompensating in the area, so bad I couldn't raise my arm above my chest or bring it round my back. I found the most amazing physiotherapist who got rid of all the knots in the inner bicep, reduced the muscles that had overdeveloped and increased the underdeveloped ones. It took a lot of visits and a lot of targeted exercise in my own time, but it is better than it has been in 30 years.

[LeftInTX]

15. Sounds very painful