Sunday, May 23, 2010

I had rotator cuff surgery in April, and I'm still having pain and have poor ROM. How can i get my rom?

I was hit by a car last summer and my should was the last thing to be fixed. It wasnt a emergency per Drs. But now im still haveing problems. Im still in Physical therapy. Im back to work now and i need my shoulder working fully. Im a nurce and i work in ICU mostly with Brain injurys and Spinal cord injurys. so im always liftin pulling hoding up patients. I cant go to a new area as a nurce and i dont want to. I just want to get back what i had befor the accident. And i know Im very lucky to be bitching about this it could have been a lot worse. But that dosent help with my shoulder.
Answer:
Full rehabilitation from rotator cuff surgery usually takes a year...well beyond the time in physical therapy (which can be 3-6 months depending on the size of the tear). My question would be: Is your lack of range of motion due to tissue restriction, or lack of strength (in otherwords, if someone took your arm, could you reach full ROM)? If it is the former, if you are still struggling to get past the 100 degree mark for flexion (especially if you had a delayed rehab protocol), I would suggest you discuss with your surgeon whether a manipulation may be in order. If you are getting more than this, you still have some time to play with this. If it is due to strength, it is still expected at this stage. I would guess you are on light duty...and I would continue with the rehab and following the instructions from the surgeon.
Gentle stretching on a regular basis, and light training in weights. I would most definately find a trainer who is use to working with other patients in this same situation. You may need a few cortisone shots if pain is a problem. You have to understand your muscles in that shoulder need to be retraind before you start trying to use them in ways you did before with your job. You could end up messing your shoulder up again if you are not careful .
My surgeon actually gave me a prescription for swimming. I started out with swimming after working one month only on improving the range of movement, then went swimming in physical therapy 3 times a week for 3 months, and after that did I go swimming 5 times a week. In addition to that did I start taking a supplement called glyconutrients. The combination of the swimming and glyconutrients worked so well that the pain was gone within 8 weeks and the full range of movement was back within six months--to my doctor's amazent.Good luck
time and lots of it .. my son broke his elbow and he still cant move it the specialist said time ... and keep using it
Your best bet is to stay with a physical therapist.They'll keep you on a program of stretching and other activities tailored to your needs and condition.

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