A question to those of you that have had shoulder surgery.

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EQGuy

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I had rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder in May of 2012. Prior to the surgery I was not very recoil sensitive. Now I am having problems. I am just getting back into shooting. I purchased a 20 GA Browning OU this spring so I could take up sporting clays. I am a lousy shotgun shot and want to improve my abilities. Unfortunately before I could shoot it I had to have back surgery and was not allowed to shoot until last month. It now hurts to shoot my .308 and last week I shot sporting clays for the first time and my shoulder is very sore. Last year I switched from a 3" 12 GA to a 3" 20 GA for duck hunting and it helped.

My question to those of you that have had shoulder surgery and found it difficult to shoot a long arm after is there anything you tried that helped. Waterfowl season starts in 2 weeks and I do not want to have to set it out.
 
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I had shoulder surgery in 2008 that included rotator cuff repair plus subachromial decompression (removing bone spurs and shaving bone to create more room for the rotator cuff). Last year was the first time I could actually pull the trigger on anything much bigger than a 5.56x45 without using a Past recoil pad. The pads are made in different thickness so you should be able to find one that will help. I will say that it still hurts when I get into the .30-06 or 7.62X54R range and even a .270 can be a wee bit uncomfortable. But I will put up with the pain if it means venison!
 
I agree with Straightshooter2. I had the same surgery he did in 2008 and although I went deer hunting that Thanksgiving, it was very painful. It took two years to fully recover. A Past recoil pad helped a lot. I have no problem with recoil today.
 
One of my shooting buddies had rotater cuff surgery about 1 1/2 years ago, and just started shooting skeet again. He missed two trap seasons. He hasn't shot any bullseye yet either as he complains about holding the gun up with only 1 arm. I keep exercising my arms & shoulders hoping to avoid any surgery.
 
Takes about a year to start feeling better, some more, some less. Four months after I had mine rebuilt I was pulling a hunting bow and that hurt like %^&* but my lust to bow hunt took control of my common sense!
 
Straightshooter2 said:
I had shoulder surgery in 2008 that included rotator cuff repair plus subachromial decompression (removing bone spurs and shaving bone to create more room for the rotator cuff). L
Click to expand...

Straightshooter2, that is pretty much the same surgery I had. I just ordered the magnum plus Past recoil pad. I have the standard one and it helps when shooting from the bench but I still feel the pain. Thanks for replying.
 
Hi:
Two shoulder joint replacements and three knee replacements (one had to be done over). Very sensitive to recoil, especially on cold damp days. I have gone to lighter calibers in handgun and rifle. Shotgun is still 12 gauge because that is the only gauge I have, but with the lightest loads I can find. Heating Pad and "Ben Gay" is my friends. OH, I forgot-running is out and walking is now "Hobbling". "Girl Chasing" is now "Girl Hobbling" and they still get away. (Go Figure).
 
Doug627 said:
I agree with Straightshooter2. I had the same surgery he did in 2008 and although I went deer hunting that Thanksgiving, it was very painful. It took two years to fully recover. A Past recoil pad helped a lot. I have no problem with recoil today.
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Doug the fact that you have no problem with recoil today is comforting. Thanks for that.
 
I just took delivery of a 9" twist 6mm Krieger barrel today. I am going to have a model 70 barreled to 6mmBR. I should be able to shoot that one without the recoil pad.
 
The best recoil pad...

The best recoil pad you can get. I had a torn cuff, but they didn't do surgery, just extremely painful rehab (the grown man cry sort of pain). Dang shoulder has never been right since.

I'm also enjoying downloading rifle rounds. They are fun to shoot but a LOT less recoil. SR 4795 is a good reduced load powder and 4895 is amazing at how much you can reduce it.
 
rwsmith said:
The best recoil pad you can get. I had a torn cuff, but they didn't do surgery, just extremely painful rehab (the grown man cry sort of pain). Dang shoulder has never been right since.

I'm also enjoying downloading rifle rounds. They are fun to shoot but a LOT less recoil. SR 4795 is a good reduced load powder and 4895 is amazing at how much you can reduce it.
Click to expand...

Rwsmith

About 7 years ago I had severe pain in my left shoulder. I could not lift my arm above my shoulder. When Xrays did not show the cause the Dr sent me on to physical therapy. After several months of PT I finally got the full use of my left arm back until 3 years ago. It started hurting again. My Dr sent me to see an orthopedic Dr this time and she ordered an MRI. The results showed a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder. During surgery the surgeon discovered that my bicep tendon was completely severed from one of its attachment points. That explained the problem I had earlier. My problem was that I had bone spurs and the area the tendons passed thru the bone was too tight. This is not too uncommon and if you live long enough it can create problems. After the surgery I asked him what were the chances I would need surgery in my right shoulder and his response was about 20%. As he explained it to me that every time I moved my arm the bone spurs were like taking a cheese grater to my tendons.
 
Ten years ago I had my right shoulder rotator cuff repair and the biceps muscle reattached. It took about two years of slowly getting back into shooting and gradually from .22's to big stuff. PT and the past recoil pad helped. Three months ago, I had even more extensive repair work on my left shoulder. Fortunately, I shoot right handed, but missed a few month's of shooting. Keep up with the PT and be patient. My surgeon threatened me if I did not take care of what I have left. No more repairs available.
 
My surgeon did not prescribe physical therapy. When I asked his reply was "I do not want them messing up my work". Basically he just had me do the butterfly exercise. When I started that one I thought my shoulder was ripping but it did the trick. My back surgery is another story as I am still in recovery from that and just finished the PT for it. I have a whole list of exercises for my back. When the therapist asked me what my goals were I told him I wanted to shoot sporting clays. Fortunately he was a shooter and knew what to do. I shot my first round last Friday and that is when I discovered that my shoulder was not 100% yet.
 
Add me to the rotator cuff plus bone shaving/shaping/fixing list. I had an 85% tear and a lot of roughness (both bone and soft tissue) to fix. My surgeon did an extra heavy duty fix as I was working with animals at the time. It took well over a year before it started feeling almost normal and my doctor warned me it may not get 100% ever.

4 years later I was able to shoot some (had *very* limited access to shooting) and seemed to be fine though I didn't try a shotgun. Now horseback riding irritated it pretty good at that same time.

Now, 12 years later, I sometimes forget it was done and have no problems with it as far as shooting goes from 22 pistols to 20 gauge shotgun. (haven't gotten to try a 12 gauge yet.) I did try a rifle (30-something, can't remember exactly what...) and *that* made me sore after a few shots so not sure how well it would hold up with regular shooting of that rifle.
 
I had rotator cuff repair on my left shoulder in 1999. Even with physical therapy I never regained full strength. Now I have 4 full thickness tears on the right shoulder. The Dr does not think it can be repaired. I do upper body exercises for an hour every day to try and maintain my strength. I am almost 71 so losing muscle strength is a fact of life. My biggest problem is that it is difficult to fully extend my arms and when I try, I barely have the strength to hold a pistol long enough to shoot. That is really depressing. I tried to shoot the .22 rifle I have had since I was a kid a few weeks ago and could not hold it up long enough to aim it.
 
I had a bone spur removed and a rotator cuff tear repaired in June of 2012. I had physical therapy for 6 months. I don't have a problem shooting my 1903 Springfield, 1917 Winchester or my M1 rifle using my reloads (46 grains H4895 and 150 grain FMJBT projectile).
 
I had work done on my shoulder in 2001. My left shoulder - I shoot right handed.

I did physical therapy for several months to regain range of motion. Missed two hunting seasons.

Shoulder still hurts but hasn't limited my shooting except to limit me to only one round of sporting clays in a weekend and make me feel it most days.

Since then, I've been able to enjoy shooting without more limitation than age and modest skill dictate.

I usually shoot light double shotguns (Parker O frames and English upland guns) with 2 1/2 " ammo: what they were designed for and haven't failed to be successful because I needed 3 or 3 1/2" loads. Sometimes I use a model 1100.

I shoot the same center fire rifles I did before the surgery : 270, 308, 30-40 Kraig and 350 Remington Mag.

None of my shotguns have recoil pads except the 1100

My center fire rifles all have the pads they came with
( if any).

I've been lucky to be able to keep shooting with little limit.

Best of luck to you:

do the physical therapy: it's miserable but will make all the difference. I did it every other day, alternating between one therapist who literally made me scream and cry with another who was more merciful. I owe the function I have today to the therapist that made me scream.
 
Had rotator cuff surgery on both sides, one year apart; right (shooting arm) side first. Did the therapy religiously. Got back to shooting an AR carbine fairly early, but waited a while to shoot the M70 .30-06, probably about 18-24 months. It took time but I got there. I do admit to thinking before I grab onto something for a max effort. And if I had to think about it it was probably a bad idea and I leave it alone. Macho hurts.
 
EQGuy said:
My surgeon did not prescribe physical therapy. When I asked his reply was "I do not want them messing up my work".
Click to expand...

Lucky. Mine did and there is one manipulation where the therapist holds your shoulder down flat against the table and works your arm up behind your back. I confessed to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby, being on the grassy knoll on Nov. 22, 1963 and told them where Jimmy Hoffa was buried!:eek::eek::eek:

CW
 
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