Darn rotator cuff

rolomac

rolomac

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I'm not even sure how I hurt it but I sure did. Came on slow starting Wednesday and kept getting worse. Couldn't sleep last night until my wife persuaded me to take a pain pill at 3:00am. Fortunately I'm right handed so having left arm barely usable isn't as bad as it could be but still not pleasant. Taking anti-inflamatories and pain meds - which I don't like to do but wife is right - it helps. Had this once before and the Dr. said it wasn't bad enough to warrant surgery so just be patient and it will heal. ok - but the thing is that there is no way I can do any shooting with this left wing compromised. Two hand grip would be so painful it wouldn't be possible. I had planned to go to the range today but that didn't happen. Sat and whimpered and watched Martinsville (NASCAR) instead. I'd be grateful for expressions of sympathy.

rolomac
 
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I feel your pain. A crushing rotator cuff injury a few years ago (dirt bike tumble) forced me to put down my accordion, which I was just beginning to learn. I never needed surgery, but I haven't picked up the accordion since.
 
I had rotator cuff surgery (S.L.A.P. repair) on my left arm on 01/03/14. I went through physical therapy, which was slow and painful. I have better range of motion than before the surgery but little strength in the arm. I should of torn my arm up thirty-five years ago, I would of healed faster.
 
Doc gave me an RX for Lidacane. I alternate that with the extra strength Capcasion, and the spray on "Icy hot" stuff. Prayer is the best remedy for me-no pills. Mathew 8:17
 
If you can, AVOID the surgery. I had two done on my left shoulder. The most painful things to recover from I've ever felt. When the blocker wears off, intense pain! Then after a while, a bone started to poke thru my skin. Had to have clavicle surgery done. Ain't no two months no duty. Took over 3 1/2 years to get back to work. I retired a month after I got released.
I feel your pain buddy. Good luck.
 
Had one surgery 10 years ago, and I am afraid I may need another from re-injury. I have felt, and am feeling, your pain...:(
 
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my left one is partially torn but I just live with it. my right is torn, along with the bicep and surrounding tissue and can't be fixed. doc said he had never seen tissue torn like mine. I asked him if shooting old military rifles with steel butt plates for 20 years could have done it and said it probably did. 800 mg motrin helps and I really have to watch what I try to lift. I know the recovery from the surgery is long and painful and know a few who have had to have it more than once. lee
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I had this a few years back and it was
a very painful thing to go through. I also was told by many people not
to rush to surgery. That it could take as long as a year to completely
heal and that's about what it took. Not that it wasn't considerably
better much earlier but it took the year to get over it 100 percent.
Wish you the best and fastest healing. Goose
 
I feel your pain...literally! My right one is shot and I need surgery but have elected to forgo it for now. R&R and some home therapy sessions have gotten me back to 85%+. I hope I can get by for the long haul without doing the surgery. At my age, I have limited needs and usually can do what I need to do without major pain, so that's where I am. I can still shoot - that's what is important to me! They wouldn't (couldn't) give me any guarantee that the surgery was going to make things any better than I have now. All this came about after waxing my cars...wax on...wax off. I now have a buffer - no more hand waxing for this kid.

Hope you can heal without doing the cut.

Pete
 
It's as simple as this...

dmso.jpg
 
My late wife had the surgery in her early 50s. Reckon she injured it playing tennis in her younger days. She regained full motion and the pain was not too bad according to her. Biggest issue was that she could not do her hair during the early part of the recovery. This led to a few weeks of "dress by Dior, shoes by Jimmy Choo, hair by Steve". :D:cool:


Lee Barner said:
my left one is partially torn but I just live with it. my right is torn, along with the bicep and surrounding tissue and can't be fixed. doc said he had never seen tissue torn like mine. I asked him if shooting old military rifles with steel butt plates for 20 years could have done it and said it probably did. 800 mg motrin helps and I really have to watch what I try to lift. I know the recovery from the surgery is long and painful and know a few who have had to have it more than once. lee
Click to expand...

This is why I shoot with a wearable pad. Seen enough similar stories around the Web to get the message. Call me a wuss if you like, but at least I'll still have the use of my arms in years to come. :eek: Now if I can just get this shooting straight malarkey sorted...;)
 
A few years back, my shoulder began hurting. I initially thought it was simply a strained muscle, and ignored it. The pain grew increasingly worse over several weeks, until I could not lift my arm, and I had to go to the ER at 1am as it felt like my deltoid had exploded. Long story short ... I had developed calcific tendonitis, and opted for immediate surgery. My rotator cuff was cleaned out, and the bursa sac removed. Post-surgery, my arm was immobilized in a sling for 8 weeks ... sleeping in an upright position, learning to do things lefty, etc. were a few challenges. With PT, it took a year for me to regain full mobility and strength. The calcium deposit was walnut-sized, and I have never felt pain like that before. Surgery is inconvenient, but is often the answer. In my case, there was no other option.
 
We are all different and have different conditions. In my case I have had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders. My surgeon told me that the problem was bone spurs and every time I moved my arm it was like taking a cheese grater to my tendons. I also had a small opening which the tendons passed through and he opened these up to give the tendons more room to move. I also feel your pain and in my case surgery worked out fine. I had almost full use of my arms within 3 to 4 months. Full recovery did take a little over a year. The only long term problem I have had is that I am now recoil sensitive in my right shoulder. It is no longer fun to shoot my .338 Win Mag and I now use a 20 GA to duck hunt with. Good luck with your problem.
 
Been there, both sides. Was a competitive weight lifter back in the day, (Work thru it sissy! The pain will go away. Yeah, sure). Left side healed with therapy, (It hurts, but you've gotta do it), right side required surgery, is now riddled with arthritis, is as painful now as it ever was. The doc says the only fix is an artificial joint. That's out, at least for now. Your situation may differ.
 
My sympathies for your pain. I tore my rotator cup in 2008 lifting a bucket of water during a trip to Ireland (it's a long story). Like yours, it started out slow on the plane ride back but just kept getting worse. I was taking the pain pills and trying to live with it but the night my wife rolled over onto my shoulder and I screamed was when she made me go to the Doctor. The MRI showed a complete tear of the rotator cuff but when the Dr. got in there, it was only a partial tear. However he had to do a sub-acromial(sp?) reduction to scrape the calcium off the underside of the acromiom. The calcium deposits were apparently causing fraying of the ligaments and inflammation in the shoulder. What was supposed to be about a 45 min surgery was actually over 2 hours with three entry points instead of one. There are people who say shingles is the worst pain they have ever experienced. They have not had shoulder surgery.

Now that I've scared you to death, it the pain doesn't go away, and keeps interfering with your sleep, the good thing about the surgery is the pain does go away. Plus since it's your left arm, you don't have to worry about recoil. Mine was my right shoulder and it was two years before I could shoot anything more than a .243. My sincere wishes and prayers yours heals on it's own.
 
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I had bone spurs, calcium buildup, and a partially torn right rotator cuff following years of sports related injuries. At 58, I had surgery, and the outcome was well worth the temporary pain I experienced during the three month recovery. Yeah, it hurt, and I thought my physical therapist was a sadistic Nazi, but I did all the post surgical rehab exercises and now my right shoulder feels as strong and pain free as I can ever remember it having been. Other than having a top notch surgeon perform the procedure, I'd credit the rehab therapy and light duty lifting for the recovery. It took about six months for me to feel completely recovered. If my back felt as good as my shoulders, I'd be pain free. This getting old stuff sucks.
 
Had both sides done a few years back. Good surgeon. Post-op pain negligible on one, a bit more on the other. Hated the sling with bolster on the first one, avoided the bolster on the second so that was good. Sleeping a problem both times so was pretty raggedy from that alone. Did everything I was told, so end result was good both times. Just not a lot of fun--but problem fixed.

Now I may have a torn bicep tendon; going to see the same doc next week and we will see. I'm living with it but reloading reps bother me after a while and it's not helping my offhand rifle shooting any.

At least the grandson is five now; I don't have to lift him very much anymore. I wonder when I can put him to cranking away on the Rock Chucker?
 
have had both sides done with bursa sac removal. exactly one year apart. had bone trying to grow in right shoulder, at 50yrs. of age. did the sling thing in bed, not fun, nor is the surgery and rehab. as far as most painful, not even close. kidney stones and joint replacement are far worse, along with spinal fusions.
 
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