Medical Question: Torn Rotator Cuff

[James Bond]

About 6 months ago I was playing football with some friends.
I arrived a bit late, and didn't bother to warm up my arm. I ended up throwing long passes for a pretty good amount of time.

That night, my arm was in excruciating pain. I could move it forward and backward (walking motions), I could also move it inward (across), but I absolutely could not move my arm outward no matter how hard I tried due to excessive pain and inability.

I saw a couple doctors, they told me I had basically torn one of the four muscles which comprises my rotator cuff.

Since then, it doesn't hurt very often. However, I can't throw anything more than once or twice, and I will deal with 24 hours of pain if I sleep on it wrong or have a girl fall asleep on that particular arm.

I'm going to go back to the doctor pretty soon--Is surgery my only option?

 

[clamum]

Yes.

- Dr. Clamum

 

[BoomerD]

MAYBE....depends on what's torn & how badly it's torn.

I have a torn rotator cuff, and the doc says it's not bad enough to warrant surgery. The shoulder pops and hurts, but I still have a relatively good range of motion.

 

[bctbct]

A buddy of mine researched this surgery when he needed this procedure. He said they had a poor success rate and he decided to try to live with it.

 

[Deeko]

It doesn't sound like its torn if you are fine from day to day. I inflamed my rotator cuff last fall in a similar way - I didn't warm up enough. It hurt like hell if I'd use it strenuously for almost a full year, but with rest & proper exercises, I'm perfectly fine today.

 

[lupi]

As a Jets fan I can safely say it depends

 

[JBT]

I hurt mine in HS Wrestling. It hurt pretty bad for awhile. It felt better the next football season and the first hit I hurt it again. It hurt alot for awhile and the doc pretty much said if I hurt it again I would need to go in for surgery. I chilled out the rest of the year and the pain slowly went away with a bit of physical therapy. In the winters it would hurt from time to time but I can't say I really feel it anymore ~5 years later.

 

[bleeb]

Yes.

Dr. Bleeb B.S., M.S., Ph.D., D.M.D., M.D., D.V.M.

 

[Cattlegod]

I doubt it. I tore my ligament in my shoulder. I can no longer do any heavy shoulder presses without extensive pain (I can normal bench though). My doc said they really don't do surgery on the shoulder anymore. I'm fine with it the way it is, it doesn't stop me from doing anything at all that I want to in life. Your muscle should heal fully if you do proper rehab.

the bad thing with surgery is you have nasty scars and it very well may not work, or will make it worse.

 

[FP]

Rub some dirt on it and quit being a baby.

 

[Liviathan]

Usually they don't like to do surgery right away.

Depends how bad is torn, they will start you of in anti-inflammatory, then get you in a routine. I think it's called RICE. Rest, Ice, not sure what the other stuff stands for. Then physical therapy.

I have a bad shoulder injury and I let it slide. Now the damage is worst...so get it taken care of. do the physical therapy even if you think it's a waste. Then give it time...if it still hurts, then look at surgery.

 

[SVT Cobra]

I doubt it is torn that bad after only throwing the ball. Back in HS I had it torn when my shoulder popped out along with it. I did not have surgery because I was young and it would heal quickly, but I went through 4-5 months of pain and rehab.

 

[gypsyman]

If you had an mri, it should show if it is a tear and how bad. Many times it is "impingement". They go in an clean off the shreded pieces of rotator tendon and then shave the bone in the shoulder so the tendons have clearance and don't get bit by the joint when you move. I have been there. A good site with lots of info is Shoulder1.com forums

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: gypsyman
If you had an mri, it should show if it is a tear and how bad. Many times it is "impingement". They go in an clean off the shreded pieces of rotator tendon and then shave the bone in the shoulder so the tendons have clearance and don't get bit by the joint when you move. I have been there. A good site with lots of info is Shoulder1.com forums

that still sucks.

i had surgery done on my shoulder a few months ago. hey shaved off some of the bone. while i did stop the intense pain it still hurts in cold weather.

 

[James Bond]

Thanks for all of the info guys.

I'll most likely get an MRI done within the next month or two.

That is mostly good news, I didn't realize rehab was such a viable option.