first shoulder was mangled in a car accident. a clear tear. no pain, but i could hold my arm out one way and i can carry 20 pounds. rotate it slightly and i couldn't hold up an empty coke can.

arthroscopic surgery and 4 days of non-stop rehab and i was 90% with minimal pain, and about 100% within a month.


twenty years later, i had something more like what you're describing. bone spurs had grown and started scraping away at muscles and whatnot, so some of the muscles were in tatters. range of motion was limited but i stuck it out until the pain was constant.

arthroscopic surgery again, but this time the rehab took months and recovery was very slow. i was only about 70% after maybe 3-4 months. eventually i was 100%, but that was about a years later.


sorry to say i'd guess you're looking at the latter scenario, particularly because of the atrophy.

best of luck.

I wasted over a year suffering needlessly as I tried to avoid surgery.

done on my right shoulder.Take it easy for the first year,you should have not problems.

Strength is still an issue, but I have almost 100% range of motion back. The one movement I am slow on is reaching across my body to my other shoulder. I'm fine reaching behind my back now (one of the last motions to return), and have 100% all other motions. They said I recovered from surgery a bit faster than expected.

In March of last year, my 80 lb German shepherd pulled me off our path to chase a raccoon in the rain. I ended up slipping, tripping on the curb breaking and dislocating my shoulder. It was a little over 6 months after that, that I had a manipulation under anesthesia because it wasn't healing/rehabbing as expected. That put me back to square one, back in a sling with intense PT every day for two weeks starting the day of the procedure, then 3x weekly. That didn't do the trick (couldn't lift out and up to the side) so they did an MRI and found a 3 cm tear in the supraspinatus tendon. They used arthroscopic surgery and reconnected and pinned the tendon, trimmed the labrum, released the bicep tendon, and shaved down and performed a subacromial decompression procedure. I was out of work immobilized for a week (desk job), in a sling for 2 wks, then a week of easy home movements, then back to PT 3x/wk. I think the trick to healing was keeping it iced down. It helped lower the pain level by keeping the swelling down.

It's only been in the past month that I've been taking the dog for walks again, and now it's with a Halti collar on her. I have regained about 50-70% strength back in most of the motions.

I wish you the best of luck. I'd do it again in a flash, if I had to. Thankfully it wasn't my dominant hand.

200lbs of drive in a 100lb bag he is.
and have to work this around his new hip. strict regimen w him re staying chill and no running, etc. not easy. he got one done in dec, and we start over w the other one soon. fun times.

Points to consider:

-Good surgeon who doesn't sugar coat the fact that its painful-it is.
-Expect to sleep upright-use of a recliner for about three weeks was necessary
-PT is a must and you must do as they say
-Latent stiffness is expected-you will have to work this baby on an ongoing basis
-Fatigue following surgery is real-1 month for every month you are under is the general rule

so i feel good about that. a good university system.
i already have a mechanical bed, since i have acid reflux, so i should be able to get comfortable.

hope they dont screw up my tat! got a big one on that shoulder. tho, since the wording is- you say i'm a bitch like it's a bad thing- maybe a nice big scar just adds.

The morning after my fall on the steep driveway, I knew something was wrong (I fell a lot and got knocked around with llamas, goats, and ginormous dogs so I was used to dings and bruises). This pain was different. Got an MRI which showed a quarter-sized tear. Sleeping upright was suggested (gravity is a culprit), so bought a recliner. Had surgery. Pain for a couple of days, but with good drugs and an immobilizing sling it was doable. I did not have PT, but rather had a massage therapist keep the scar tissue pliable. Back at work within one week, full range of motion within a month, no pain. That shoulder is probably the only part of my body that doesn't hurt.

i have fibro and pretty used to getting something looked at and finding nothing or close to it.
but i have gotten a few pain shots for it, as sometimes it does get unbearable. they usually help, completely relief for a few days but calming for a while. then i go and use my arm. but...

I'm doing great considering how bad shoulder was. I have a very bad torn rotator cuff and a torn bicep muscle. My doctor fix them both. He did a fantastic job. I've stayed true to my physical therapy and things are working out great. My doctor just letting me remove my sling this week. I go 3 times a week two PT. Yes it is painful but worth it. The pain I had before the surgery is much worse then the pain I'm having to deal with during recovery. I would do it again in a heartbeat. You have to follow what the surgeon says to a tee. My pain has already subsided significantly. I am already working on the strength with my physical therapist and exercises at home. Good luck.