Rotator Cuff Tears

L

LogicsHere

Member
It turns out that the MRI I had of my shoulder after a fall two weeks ago shows a massive rotator cuff in that all of the tendons are torn. I have an appointment tomorrow with a surgeon to discuss all my options.

Has anyone had to deal with this type of injury before? I've done some reading and they say some are irreparable.
 

I'm bumping this thread so others might see it and give you some advice Logic, I undersatnd the rotator cuff tears are very painful so I feel for you, and I'm sure someone else other than CR told me they'd done the same in the past so hopefully you'll get some advice from those who've been in your position.

Incidentally CR was online yesterday I believe :D

Good luck with the surgeon I hope they can do something for you very soon..
 

LogicsHere said:
It turns out that the MRI I had of my shoulder after a fall two weeks ago shows a massive rotator cuff in that all of the tendons are torn. I have an appointment tomorrow with a surgeon to discuss all my options.

Has anyone had to deal with this type of injury before? I've done some reading and they say some are irreparable.
Click to expand...

I had a rotator cuff tear about 2 years ago. Luckily, I was able to work through it with some good therapy, and a couple of cortisone shots. On the flip side, one of my Son-in-laws did a real number on his shoulder last Fall, and required surgery, as he had torn the ligaments completely loose. It took him about 2 months to get out of his shoulder "sling", and now, 6 months later, he is just starting to be able to do any work with that arm. A good surgeon can probably repair the damage, but the recovery process can take some time...depending on how severe it is. Do some research on the Web....Mayo Clinic, WebMD, etc., and if you still have doubts after meeting with the surgeon, get a 2nd opinion.
 
I had the same injury from wheeling and putting very heavy wheelchairs with clients in them into vehicles.
i had a series of tests and X-rays and I was all linned up to have surgery then the doctors told to me and could not assure me I would not be left with a frozen shoulder permanently, I refused to have the surgery as they could not assure me I would be any better, however I did develop the frozen shoulder, it was the most painful thing I have ever had, I was refered to a physiotherapist who relieved the pain and eventually I regained 80 % movement in my shoulder
 
I had RC surgery last Wed. (Mar 11th) AM on my left shoulder. My wife was with me and so far, real good. Sort of surprised us, but my surgeon asked us if he could say a prayer with us while I was in the Prep Area......we immediately said "yes, of course". It was really neat of him doing that. Even though some of his patients do turn his prayer "request" down, I was told by his Staff that he asks all of his patients, at time of surgery, to say a prayer with him. Wife and I didn't know this before, but this surgeon is Christian and we loved it.

Anyway, I went to my first PT last Friday and my next one is today. I've been able to take three showers since my first PT last Friday. I had a full tear in one tendon and a partial in another. My surgeon told me the only way to fix a full tear is thru surgery. My left arm is in a sling, of which I will have to wear for about 6 weeks. I do take it off to take a shower and change what I'm wearing (top). I sit and SLEEP in a recliner we have.

This is my second RC surgery. I had it done on my right shoulder in Feb 2007. I fell in snow/ice by our house in Colorado. I was getting frozen shoulder from that and my MRI showed a full "ragged" tear. At that time, I chose surgery over getting complete frozen shoulder. Glad I took the surgery. I was out of work for 7 weeks then.

Full tears, whether it be a "ragged" one or "smooth/straight" one, require surgery to get full ROM back to the shoulder.

I think the most painful part of RC surgery is the PT that comes after the surgery. It can, and does hurt.........but, that is why my surgeon gave me a prescription of Percocet 5-325.

Yep, one of the worse things an old/older person can do is fall!
 
Thank you for your response.

Had an appointment with the surgeon today and it seems I may not have listened as carefully as I should have to the other doctor; however, it's massive tears in two of the four tendons. He told me if "new", they were repairable; if old, not so much. He also told me about the recovery time from surgery of this type. He had me try to raise my arm above my head which to my surprise I managed to do. In my case and inasmuch as I have a 95 year old demented mother I care for, he felt that if I could raise my arm above my head with pain, that he should be able to get me to raise the arm without/or with minimal pain and that physical therapy was probably the best in my situation.
 
That's pretty much how my rotator cuff injury manifested itself...I could not raise my left arm above my shoulder without experiencing real pain. The doctor I went to specialized in Sports injuries, he gave me a Cortisone shot and referred me to a good therapist at a local Senior Citizens complex. The therapist worked up a set of exercises that only required a bath towel and an old broomstick, for tools, and after a couple of visits I had the routine down pat enough to do these exercises at home. After a couple of months of daily exercises, I was able to hold my arm straight up and touch my ear with the bicep...with little or no pain. Since the tendon had not torn itself completely from the muscle, time and exercise allowed the healing to occur.

Based upon my personal experience, and that of my Son-in-law, I would recommend trying Every Other option before surgery.
 
For my first RC injury, in 2007, my surgeon didn't recommend PT at all due to the total jagged tear and partial tear I had, plus the frozen-shoulder that was happening more and more. Actually, that surgery was done a month and a half after the fall.

For current RC injury, which happened in August 2013, a VA Medical Ortho doctor asked me if I wanted surgery, PT or a cortisone shot. I'd had the shot to try and help the pain I'd had in my right hip in 2005, but it didn't help that hip at all, so I declined the shot for the shoulder. Wife wanted me to have the surgery and I wasn't sure. She knew how the first (right shoulder) surgery turned out for me, which was very, very good, but, of course, she wasn't the one getting the surgery, PT and pain that comes with both. A few months after consulting the VA doctor about my MRI, the VA recommended PT for me. The PT Consultant (doctor) could see that I could comb my hair, with no pain, I could reach up, with no pain, but couldn't reach around in the back of me without pain. She pretty much put-down Ortho surgery right in front of me saying "those surgeons just want your money". To wife and I, that was a "crock" because of the good job the Ortho Surgeon done on my right shoulder! Anyway after going to PT for a couple of months, still having pain and taking Tramadol for it, I decided to go outside the VA and get a second opinion on the MRI I had.

So, I went to an regular Ortho Surgeon (not VA). By this time, it had been an entire year since I'd fallen. He looked at the MRI and told me the only way to repair the full tendon tear and partial tendon tear I had, was with surgery. Finally, a year and a half after I'd fallen, I got the surgery. With the VA, it had taken a month to get an regular x-ray done of the shoulder, that showed no broken bones from the fall, and then it took another 4 1/2 months to get an MRI done with the VA, and then it took another 4 months for the evaluation to come thru to recommend the PT. So, in other words, I fell on August 12th, 2013, and it took the VA 9 months to recommend PT! When I was finally able to get the surgery, last Wed., it had been a year and 7 months since I'd fallen! No more VA for me!
This is the reason I'm leaving the VA and going completely with Medicare, Florida Blue and Humana Rx!!!

If you have "massive tears" in two out of four tendons, there is a very good chance that PT will not help and that is money gone! In fact, your shoulder could even get worse in time due to those "massive tears".

My suggestion is too get a second opinion on the MRI........just to make sure. Like I did this time.

If the "second opinion" doctor says "PT", then go with it. If he says "surgery recommended", give it some really serious thought to get it done.

Please remember, to have FROM (full range of motion), all of your tendons have to be in good shape.
 

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