Shoulder Surgery?

[LiFeStArTs@40]

Has anyone here been through having a shoulder surgery? Doc tells me I tore the suprasponatis (sp?) and that I need to have it repaired. The MRI doesn't show well enough to know if it is a full or partial tear. As of a month ago I did the cortizone injection which helped somewhat but is no longer helping and I'm still going through physical therapy. The funny thing is that I still have really good strength lifting, especially over head, but the mobility is for shiat. IOW, when I move arm in certaing directions, I get a shocking pain. I'm struggling with the decision to have this done because along with the rotator cuff issue, I have some mild arthritis in the joint. My fear is that after the surgery, the 2 months of not moving my arm, the physical therapy, and of course all of the pain, I might not be any better off than I am right now. Going to the gym and being physically fit are a really big part of my life. I don't want to invest the time into this surgery if it's not going to help. So far I've heard mixed reviews from people, but haven't talked to anyone who has gone through this specifically. Has anybody here been through this that might have some feedback? Thanks, Chris

[Jean-Paul]

Having had surgery 4 times on my shoulders I will share my perspective with you. I would avoid surgery as much as possible and only as a last resort. In your case though it doesn't sound like something you can avoid. A torn superspinatus is pretty serious. If it is indeed torn, you really need to have it repaired.

Don't just recover and go right back to what you were doing though. Your external rotators are doing a lot of work that they aren't designed to do if you are tearing them. You need to find out what is wrong with your training program and make some corrections so that you aren't back at your doc's office every two years when the problem comes back.

Good luck.

[John Izzo]

I'll share with you my shoulder surgery sentiment and tell you that if you have the mental strength to know what is going to be expected over the next 6 months, then go for it. My doctor told me I can live with my pain, bit as a personal trainer and active guy, I couldn't settle for performing at 80% the rest of my life. I wanted my strength back (by the time I was 21, I was benching 315 at 175BW and military press was 225). I missed lifting "carefree". After I experienced pain, I had 2 MRIs, and I did 2 bouts of PT. My training went downhill because I became depressed and my personal training business suffered too because clients can see my apprehension at demonstrating exercises and lack of enthusiasm on my part.

I decided to get the surgery and never looked back. I did about 6 months of intensive PT with a friend and suffered some set backs (mainly inflammation and overzealousness). But I am stronger than ever and although I don't put up the numbers like a younger fellow does, I am still "stronger" than I was at 24. Having this injury also helped me understand the body more and how joint dysfunction affects ALL function and it helped me become a better fitness professional.

[bryanc]

Everyone has surgery for different reasons. The general guideline I've seen most surgeons who I respect is really patient-guided. You don't have to have surgery if you don't want it. If you can get by doing all the things that are important to you without surgery, then technically, you don't really need it. But, for some people, certain activities are activities that they simply can't do without. They're activities that play an integral role in their self-identity, their employment, their leisure life, or just their life in general. Post-surgical recovery can be challenging for some--more for some than others, and I don't know where you will fall.

The risks you are playing are the chance at regaining the function you have lost vs. not regaining or worsening function post-operatively. If you don't have surgery, you might not get better on your own (this doesn't exclude the possibility, but you do have to realistic about it). If you do have surgery, your function might improve (and there's probably a more than good chance of that happening, otherwise your surgeon would not likely want to operate on you. Surgeons don't operate on people they don't believe they can't help. Whether their sense of ability to help is the varying component.)

I don't know how important training is to you. Personally, I likely have some form of exertional compartment syndrome in my legs that prevents me from running much. I could have surgery to release the fascia, but the reality is that I don't even enjoy running in the first place; so it's not worth the risk of surgery for me. But it might be if you live and die by your morning/evening run.

For the most part, unless you're dying, there are very few completely necessary surgeries. You could, theoretically, live without a supraspinatus. There are many people who do, just as there are many people who live without ACL's. But only you can tell if you can ACTUALLY live without one. So, while it's good to cull the collective experiences of people who have had similar problems to reassure yourself that "things will probably be okay", ultimately, you need to weight the risks and benefits of the surgery against your own expectations and needs with respect to function and life to decide if surgery is right for you.

[LiFeStArTs@40]

I really appreciate the feedback so far. To clarify, the Doctor told me I'm certainly welcome to live with my condition as long as I like and that some people have lived with it for years. He also said that in his opinion, only surgery (repair) would actually help me. Also, the PT that I'm currently doing is only teaching me how to compensate for my current condition.

I have survived testicular cancer and the nasty surgery that goes with it and am willing and driven to put in the efforts and time IF the end result is a real fix for my problem. It just scares the daylights out of me when I think about it and the possibility that I might not be any better off or worse. Keep the feeback coming, it's greatly appreciated!

Chris

[eastcoastsurfer]

I'll second what bryanc said. Only you can decide if the surgery is 'worth' it. I'm 30 and had ACL surgery 5 weeks ago. It wasn't affecting my weight training (I had unknowingly rehabed it on my own for 2 months prior to knowing it was torn and even squatted and pulled new PRs), but if I didn't get it fixed I wouldn't be able to do all the sports I love to do.

As far as shoulders go, I have a friend with lots of shoulder issues. His surgeries have been hit and miss so far. Maybe check with the Dr. and see if you can do PT for awhile and possibly get back to doing the things you like to do without surgery. As long as you're not doing anything to make the problem worse, there isn't any rush to get the surgery done.