Sorry to hear about your brother. Rotator cuff surgery is a tough recovery once, let alone twice. The surgery is technically more difficult the second time around, and his surgeon will have a very specific recovery path in mind, so I would adhere to that carefully. The outcome is generally dependent on 1) repair healing, and 2) avoiding stiffness in the shoulder. Obviously, those two things are somewhat at odds with each other - hence, it's a balance between immobilizing the shoulder long enough to heal to the point that some motion is doable without ruining the repair, but not so long that it's entirely healed but then the shoulder's too stiff to move. Therefore, initially there is usually no real PT for range of motion, and after a period of time (dictated by your surgeon) there is a subsequent focus on passive range of motion. Active range of motion comes last so that the rotator cuff doesn't actually fire (and therefore stress the repair) until the repair is healed enough to withstand it.
Best of luck to your brother...
Originally Posted by jm2e:
To be a JONG is no curse in these unfortunate times. 'Tis better that than to be alone.
Bookmarks