I have now blogged twice about the rotator cuff surgery I had on October 1, 2024.

As I have tried to emphasize previously, this is a long process, with very few obvious gains or changes in status for long periods of time.

I am, according to my surgeon at my six week post-operative appointment, “ahead of schedule.”  What exactly does this mean in real terms?  Read more to find out what I can, and cannot do—and how your activity may be limited after this type of surgery..

Surgical Repair is Done So I’m Healed, Right?

As the surgeon told me at the six-week follow up, “I worry about failure (of the surgical repair) up to six months (post-op) and maybe even up to a year.”

A year.  And this still might not be a fix.  It might not work.  It might need to be redone.  I might not regain full strength and range of motion.

Now, I’m fit, healthy, and “ahead of schedule,” so failure is unlikely, but possible.  Were I to lift a bag of garbage and throw it into the can, I could very well screw up my surgical repair.  Lift the 52 pound dog into the car, and I could tear it again.

The key in any grafting/repair surgery like a rotator cuff, a labrum repair, or an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament in the knee) repair, is that the repair of the tendon must fuse into the bone.  The rotator cuff is composed of four major tendon/muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapular—commonly known by the SITS acronym from front to back of the shoulder).  When my supraspinatus was repaired (sewn back together with a cadaver tissue graft), it was not completely fixed just then.  Time is required to make sure that it eventually fuses into the bone (tendons start in bone and end in muscle).

 If I’m smart, patient, follow all directions of my therapist, and don’t have something horrible happen (a fall, a twist, a yank), eventually, within six months or so, I’ll be all “healed.”

 Where does that leave me now?

ADLs—Activities of Daily Living

 In physical therapy, I’m still performing very little active movement.  It’s primarily still passive range of motion (the therapist moves my arm) or assisted (the healthy arm pulls/pushes/moves the other arm in a certain direction).

Now, following my six-week check up, the doctor wants me to amp up (slowly) the use of my arm in daily life. 

So I can start lifting weights, unloading the dishwasher with both arms, and lifting the dog into the car, right?

No chance!

No, we are talking about a five pound lifting limit.  Yes, five.  I’m allowed to be as strong as a six year old.  Today in physical therapy, I was able to perform biceps curls on the right (repaired) arm. Using a three pound weight.  The good news is it felt great.  The bad news is that I’m weaker than most six year olds right now.

But it’s a start.  I have been able to lift a wine glass, and a coffee cup too,  using the surgically repaired arm.  I can ride the stationary bike indoors, but my physical therapist does not want me to “really crank and load the arm.”  Well, it’s awfully hard to ride a bike at a high level without putting pressure on both arms.

For now, my efforts are limited to moving things that are very light (like a teacup) at or below shoulder level; so I lifted a full teacup into the microwave, which is at shoulder level in our house.

Small victories, whenever we can find them, are appreciated.

Protocols

My surgeon has been a team doctor for a variety of Chicago sports teams.  He has protocols on his website for just about everything, including a throwing program for baseball pitchers recovering from shoulder or elbow surgery.  Yes, it’s that specific.

So, from the six week point to about eight weeks, I’ll be ramping up slowly.  From eight weeks to about twelve weeks, things will accelerate again into some increased weight bearing using the arm.

As my doctor said, “I’d rather have your arm weak for longer, than risk failure of the graft.”  In short, that means it’ll be a long time before I am lifting weights of any significance.  Hopefully, there are not too many six year old kids waiting to attack me.  But I think I can take some of them.

Takeaways

  • Shoulder surgery rehab is (still) tedious, boring, and slow, but hopefully worth it!.
  • Every movement must be choreographed and the patient must stick to the prescribed protocols.  You can’t hurry love (or shoulder rehab)!
  • Small steps are the order of the day, week, and month.

Contact Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Stephen Hoffman

No matter what causes them, rotator cuff injuries are serious business. If your shoulder injury was caused by an accident, an attorney can get you the help you need to heal.  If you have been in a car accident or you have been hit by a vehicle, immediately get medical treatment, report the crash to police and your own insurance company, and contact a lawyer with expertise in your type of case, such as bicycle accidents or pedestrians hit by cars.

If you’ve been in an accident and have questions, contact Chicago personal injury attorney Stephen L. Hoffman for a free consultation at (773) 944-9737. Stephen has over 30 years of legal experience and has collected millions of dollars for his clients. He is listed as a SuperLawyer, has a 10.0 rating on Avvo, and is BBB A+ accredited. He is also an Executive Level Member of the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen handles personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay anything up front, and he only gets paid if you do. Don’t wait another day; contact Stephen now.