Rotator Cuff Surgery: How long until you skied again?

[janky]

I had rotator cuff surgery to repair a partial tear on June 26. The 6 months mark will be right around Christmas and I have my next follow up with my ortho on Dec 10 (and will ask him his thoughts). It's been a long recovery so I'm not looking forward to doing that ever again. However, I'm curious, for those that have had this surgery, how long was it until you were cleared for skiing again?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Rotator cuff and biceps tendon surgery here, doctor wanted six months, I offered four. He said fine, just don't fall down.

Also not to use my pole straps

[Shredhead]

I had mine done in September of 22 and skied by thanksgiving. I just took it easy at first and avoided poling really hard.

Dr. never cleared me. Obviously they are very conservative.

[BC.]

U guys that had rotator cuff/bicep tears…what were the symptoms of this type of injury?

I’m about a month and half of not being able to lift my right arm up/above my head. Bench press/Incline press are really bothering me/pretty damn painful…getting worried..

Didn’t do anything to “injure” it/ just started up mysteriously last month and is not getting better….have not gone to doctor “yet”.

My athletic trainer/PT says a possible bicep tear?….cuz its somewhat ok to do most things, except I can’t raise my arm up above shoulder height. How the heck does that happen?

I’m in good shape/ daily runner, workouts, marathon training, etc. 53/ don’t heal/recover as well as I used to.

Is this the type of pain u guys experienced?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Stabbing pain in shoulder, hurt like fucking hell, couldn't sleep.

[BC.]

Stabbing pain in shoulder, hurt like fucking hell, couldn't sleep.

Yes…

Like in the muscle?/ or the bones?….mine seems to radiate in the muscle all surrounding the shoulder….and shoulder is clicking upon raising it/trying massage gun to break up inflammation in the upper arm?….but doesn’t really help.

Dreading that I’m gonna have to eventually commit to a doctor visit to see what’s up.

Good luck…I’ll keep an eye out for ur recovery posts..

[janky]

Wow, so how many rotator cuff surgeries do you do in a given year? I bet a ton.

Thanks for the input. I have a feeling my doc will say "risk/reward", same thing response he gave me when I asked about fly fishing at 4 months.

Since you are a doc, if I'm 5 months, how heeled is the tendon at that point? How impactful would a fall be at 5 months vs 6 months?

Rotator cuff and biceps tendon surgery here, doctor wanted six months, I offered four. He said fine, just don't fall down.

Also not to use my pole straps

[janky]

1. Stop doing bench press and weights. Go see a doctor and find out what's wrong.

2. I've had two issues with my right shoulder where I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder. The first turned out to be bicep tendonitis. It was super painful but no tear. PT got me back on track. The 2nd time was after I fell skiing. I thought I had reaggravated my tendonitis but it turned out to be a tear.

3. Ortho sent me to PT for 4 months and that didn't do anything. I finally got MRI which showed tear. At that point I had to wait until June because it's not an easy recovery, it really is brutal and I had to plan it out correctly.

U guys that had rotator cuff/bicep tears…what were the symptoms of this type of injury?

I’m about a month and half of not being able to lift my right arm up/above my head. Bench press/Incline press are really bothering me/pretty damn painful…getting worried..

Didn’t do anything to “injure” it/ just started up mysteriously last month and is not getting better….have not gone to doctor “yet”.

My athletic trainer/PT says a possible bicep tear?….cuz its somewhat ok to do most things, except I can’t raise my arm up above shoulder height. How the heck does that happen?

I’m in good shape/ daily runner, workouts, marathon training, etc. 53/ don’t heal/recover as well as I used to.

Is this the type of pain u guys experienced?

[janky]

Thanks for the reply. How are you doing now? When was your surgery, what year?

I had mine done in September of 22 and skied by thanksgiving. I just took it easy at first and avoided poling really hard.

Dr. never cleared me. Obviously they are very conservative.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Sorry, I'm not a body shop doctor, just a frequent customer

I didn't charge it that season, just cruised mostly. I'm cheap and hate the idea of paying for things twice.

[BC.]

1. Stop doing bench press and weights. Go see a doctor and find out what's wrong.

2. I've had two issues with my right shoulder where I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder. The first turned out to be bicep tendonitis. It was super painful but no tear. PT got me back on track. The 2nd time was after I fell skiing. I thought I had reaggravated my tendonitis but it turned out to be a tear.

3. Ortho sent me to PT for 4 months and that didn't do anything. I finally got MRI which showed tear. At that point I had to wait until June because it's not an easy recovery, it really is brutal and I had to plan it out correctly.

Thanks…yeah/ I know…the press movements are killing it…I just keep trying to “test” my limits of pain…lol…but the fact it is not clearing up is concerning/ why I am posting/asking questions. So that’s my first step that I have a problem.

Have a good local PT, so I know that’s the route I am probably heading/ but have to go to Ortho first/ but they are a pain in the ass/ so that’s why I have avoided them.

Thx, Good luck.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Yes…

Like in the muscle?/ or the bones?….mine seems to radiate in the muscle all surrounding the shoulder….and shoulder is clicking upon raising it/trying massage gun to break up inflammation in the upper arm?….but doesn’t really help.

Dreading that I’m gonna have to eventually commit to a doctor visit to see what’s up.

Good luck…I’ll keep an eye out for ur recovery posts..

I couldn't raise my arm up past my shoulder, lots of popping. 800 mg ibuprofen was just bouncing off of it, couldn't sleep more than four hours. If you're at that point you need to see a doctor because shit ain't right.

[TBS]

^^^This

I tore most of my supraspinatus muscle off the humerus, had a bone spur on the acromium the size of a Hershey Kiss shredding muscles, and a grade two SLAP tear.

Surgery was done mid January. No way did I feel like I could ski by May. Finally got on MTB in June. Second roughest recovery I’ve had (ruptured Achilles was first).

Good luck

[janky]

Ha. It's not even the cost. I never wanna go through this again, so brutal of a recovery.

Sorry, I'm not a body shop doctor, just a frequent customer

I didn't charge it that season, just cruised mostly. I'm cheap and hate the idea of paying for things twice.

[janky]

Ouch. I had achilles tendonitis but didn't tear it. It's still not right. It always acts up. I can't imagine tearing it. I gotta keep reminding myself to do those slanted stretches and use the massage gun (!)

^^^This

I tore most of my supraspinatus muscle off the humerus, had a bone spur on the acromium the size of a Hershey Kiss shredding muscles, and a grade two SLAP tear.

Surgery was done mid January. No way did I feel like I could ski by May. Finally got on MTB in June. Second roughest recovery I’ve had (ruptured Achilles was first).

Good luck

[Shredhead]

Thanks for the reply. How are you doing now? When was your surgery, what year?

It was September, either 21 or 22.
Yes, it's been the most painful injury, recovery I've had and I've had a few.
My fastball and tennis serve suck.
Lifting stuff overhead is difficult. Anything below shoulder level, no problem.

[Bunion 2020]

Major RC surgery in March of 23. Skied last season, carefully.
Still PT-ing it at the gym and at home. 95% ROM, pain 2/10 for some motions above my head, it has gotten so I can sleep on that side for short periods.

Yes, it's been the most painful injury, recovery I've had and I've had a few.
My fastball and tennis serve suck.
Lifting stuff overhead is difficult. Anything below shoulder level, no problem.

Same but my golf swing has improved.

Take the PT seriously, I had 2 great therapists who made a ton of difference.

[californiagrown]

I'm 5 months, how heeled is the tendon at that point? How impactful would a fall be at 5 months vs 6 months?

The general consensus is that at about 3 months the tendon will have healed back to the bone, or will have grown new tissue to connect the tear so you arent just relying on the sutures/anchors to hold things together. That is why most tendon repairs call for strengthening to begin at around the 3 month mark. Obviously, this is very person specific and some people will heal faster than others due to genetics, age, and environmental factors. You also need to listen to your ortho because they saw the repair, know how fucked up your shoulder was, and how good their repair was... that helps inform them about how much leeway to give you and your PT to push recovery (ie if the tear was pretty clean and the repair was solid and stable, Vs if the tear was frayed as fuck and the repair was barely holding on between two pieces of shredded pastrami).

Around the 3month mark, the repaired tissue is still remodeling and is weak and prone to retearing from excess load but is functioning on its own. This is where strengthening, scarring, and remobilizing the tissue occurs in conjunction with strengthening and remobilizing the musculature. You want muscle and tendon strength to increase in conjunction with each other so you dont get muscles that are stronger than tendons....


So, the answer to your question is that your tendon has healed already, and you should have been working on strength for a month or two by now. At this point it is very much up to you and your PT to take stock of your strength and function and determine what level of activity you feel comfortable to return to. The GENERAL rule of thumb for athletes is that return to sport can take place when you hit 90% ROM and 90% strength and have the ability to protect yourself.


FWIW, the biceps tendon is typically going to be a much easier recovery and rehab than a RC... if i was you i would be way more worried about the cuff than i would the bicep tendon.

[janky]

I was out of the sling at 5 weeks. I started one pendulum exercise at that point and then I started PT at 7 weeks. I've been religious about going to see the PT and doing my exercises daily. But I'm not going to push it. If ortho says I need until January or February to ski then I'll figure it out. Will suck not seeing my son's ski races (since you have to ski to see the races) but he will race next year too. By the way, I meant rotator cuff in my OP, not the biceps tendon.

The general consensus is that at about 3 months the tendon will have healed back to the bone, or will have grown new tissue to connect the tear so you arent just relying on the sutures/anchors to hold things together. That is why most tendon repairs call for strengthening to begin at around the 3 month mark. Obviously, this is very person specific and some people will heal faster than others due to genetics, age, and environmental factors. You also need to listen to your ortho because they saw the repair, know how fucked up your shoulder was, and how good their repair was... that helps inform them about how much leeway to give you and your PT to push recovery (ie if the tear was pretty clean and the repair was solid and stable, Vs if the tear was frayed as fuck and the repair was barely holding on between two pieces of shredded pastrami).

Around the 3month mark, the repaired tissue is still remodeling and is weak and prone to retearing from excess load but is functioning on its own. This is where strengthening, scarring, and remobilizing the tissue occurs in conjunction with strengthening and remobilizing the musculature. You want muscle and tendon strength to increase in conjunction with each other so you dont get muscles that are stronger than tendons....


So, the answer to your question is that your tendon has healed already, and you should have been working on strength for a month or two by now. At this point it is very much up to you and your PT to take stock of your strength and function and determine what level of activity you feel comfortable to return to. The GENERAL rule of thumb for athletes is that return to sport can take place when you hit 90% ROM and 90% strength and have the ability to protect yourself.


FWIW, the biceps tendon is typically going to be a much easier recovery and rehab than a RC... if i was you i would be way more worried about the cuff than i would the bicep tendon.