Post Shoulder Surgery Excercise

michaelpd101

Question for all the doc's and therapists in the house.  Last May I crashed the road bike and landed hard on my left shoulder and chose to push through the rest of the year and scheduled events with PT. Had the shoulder checked post IMAZ and into surgery on March 6 (soonest opening on doc's schedule).  In the post op appt they went through the repair and gave me a sheet with the following information:

ASD, DCR, RC Repair (subraspinatus,subscapularis), biceps tendonesis

I have been in a sling until this weeks follow up and got rid of it.  In the initial consult the Doc indicated that running/biking would be possible at the 6 week point.  At the 6 week follow up he indicated that everything was right where it should be and indoor biking on the trainer would be ok but running wasn't advised (stated it wouldn't damage anything but could irritate muscles/tendons).  My question is whether this is an overabundance of caution on his part or have people that returned to running at this point historically created issues?

Having endured the last 6 weeks I don't want to be an idiot and end up undoing the repair completed but also not interested in sitting on the sidelines if it isn't necessary and would like some perspectives from the athletes side.

Thanks

 

 

Cyclingmaniac

Hey Mike,  I'm not a doc or therapist.  I have a shoulder that the doc basically molly bolted into place along with a lot of other work (3 plus hour surgery).  In comparing my situation with yours, it sounds like you are on track.  Regarding when I got back on the bike,  it was about 12 weeks  (+/- 1 week).  Running was shortly thereafter.   You may be on the bike sooner and running sooner, but listen to your body AND your PT.   

Best of Luck! 

  

Coach Rich

Mike,

Surgery on Jan 19th to repair displaced and partially torn biceps tendon. Do put the tendon back where it was supposed to go, cleaned a bunch of other stuff (frayed labrum from years of swimming) and tacked the tendon down with a wood screw from Home Depot...so I was told

Like you, 6wks in a sling. On my 6wk appointment I put him in a headlock until he told me I could run and bike. Actually, he works with a lot of athletes and knows what I do so I guess he framed his answer within that context. It did hurt a bit to run...but I iced it often in the first couple weeks. No problems riding a bike and I promised him I wouldn't crash. I didn't ask him about dirt biking . In generally, I've just been careful to not use it too much until I'm 100% cleared, as in I'm very much aware of firing my bicep to lift stuff, lifting anything over my head, things like that.

Short answer is I think you guy is being overly cautious, based on my experience with a similar injury and surgery.

michaelpd101

Thanks guys. I'll start with some short slow stuff and see how it goes over the next week or two.

J.T. Thompson

Mike - I had shoulder surgery 6 weeks ago - nerve decompression surgery that went 6.5 hrs in NYC. While my issues are probably different than yours, I've been running the last 2 weeks and have also been on the trainer since week 2. Have also done a few hour long rides outside and hit the pool today for the first time....so I think you are probably ok to give it a go...see how it feels as you are the best judge... Good Luck...

jhbinsc

Seems pretty conservative from my experience but make sure you come back gradually and LISTEN to your body's signals!

Jess Withrow

Hey Mike,

I'm prolly the only one who'll chime in on the side of your doc... I *was* an occupational therapist in my previous/pre-kiddo life and I worked for a group of outstanding hand and shoulder docs. Your surgery sounds a lot more involved than a typical RC repair given that they did a decompression (ASD) AND Distal Clavicle Resection in addition to the RC repair... no wonder you had biceps tendonitis! Sheesh!

What have you been doing in terms of rehab? Were you removing the sling and doing passive range of motion exercises at all during the past 6 weeks? Pendulum swings, etc? I know you're anxious to get back to training, but before you put the strain of repetitive arm swing during running on it, it's super important to get that shoulder stable and the surrounding musculature strong (esp lats and rhomboids - cuz I don't know... I'm just guessing you're probably a swimmer, too... ;-)

That last part comes from a place of personal experience and misery, btw. You'd think I'd know better!

Good luck!!!

michaelpd101

Thanks everyone, fortunately I have had good distractions (daughter qualified for Junior National Volleyball Championships) so I have spent a lot of time watching her practice/play. Have gotten back to running the last two weeks very gently with 30 minute sessions a couple of times per week and it doesn't seem to irritate the shoulder at all. Also got permission to hit the rowing machine as long as I stay under control (under 10k?). I think that the last couple of conversations with the therapist have explained a lot of their reluctance to turn me loose, somehow the medical profession has gotten the impression that triathletes are out of control overachievers that aren't to be trusted to follow directions! Getting better so it looks like I will at least salvage a couple of half marathons out of the year. I appreciate all of the input.