Shoulder Surgery

[smokin joe]

I am going to have shoulder surgery on Tuesday to clean out bone spurs in my shoulder joint. I have some pretty advanced arthritis in my shoulder that has caused impingement by the bone spurs.

I have put this off for a while, but now I have lost a lot of the normal range of motion and the pain is constant.

My shoulder arthritis is not because of my trad archery habit -- I do tend to get arthritis in my joints.

I'll add some information as I recover so that others with shoulder issues can get detailed information that might help them.

With a little luck I'll be shooting again in a month or two.

[achigan]

G'luck with it Joe, do the rehab!    

Good luck with your recovery, and do the PT religiously!

Bisch

[ESP]

I just had shoulder surgery two weeks ago.  The dr cleaned up my torn labrum but did not repair it.  To far gone.  He did detach the bicep and drill a hole in my humorous and pulled the bicep tendon through it and screwed it in place.  I hurt less now than before.  I will be starting PT next week,  I guess it will hurt then.  I hope I get a PT that is at least an archer so he/she understands my end goals.

[joe skipp]

2 yrs ago I had rotator cuff and spur surgery on my right shoulder. Out of work 3 months...I took it easy the first month, then started PT.

LISTEN TO YOUR THERAPIST and follow the exercises religiously. He worked on stretching out the shoulder, then lite weights. Sitting bench presses and lat pulls. He then put me on inclined pushups and a machine that simulated drawing back a bow.

A weight with a pully..that was great. I then bought a heavy duty set of bands with thick handles from Modells to work out at home, all simulating drawing a bow back.

After 3 months I was back shooting my 57/58# bows with no pain and increased strength. I still work out every day for 15 minutes doing the inclined pushups and bands. Good luck with your surgery and recovery. Don't rush and listen to both your doctor and therapist.

[tippit]

I'm having the same surgery on bone spurs in my left shoulder on the 18th.  I can't even shoot a 30# bow without a lightning bolt going off in my shoulder.  I was turkey hunting in mid April without any problems...tippit

Don't overdo the exercising-- I did and am now having issues with bicep pain. Work up to your bow weight slowly!

[DennyK]

After the surgery DEFINITLY ask for a nerve block. That will relieve the pail until the pain pump kicks in. I did not do this with my surgery and afterward was 4 hours of the worst toothache you could imagine in my right shoulder. Prayers sent for a smooth and quick 100% recovery.      Denny

[Steve Jr]

Definitely listen to the PT. I keep putting it off but after this deer season is over I'm going to get it taken care of. I will have plenty of time to heal  in the winter. Prayers for a speedy recovery Joe.  

[smokin joe]

Thanks to all of you for the advice and support. Unfortunately, I cannot get the nerve block because I am deathly allergic to local anesthetics. The doctors know that so the post-op plan is for me to take a very powerful pain killer called Dilaudid. I understand that it is far more powerful than the various "oxy" meds like Percocet.

I will keep this thread updated so that those who might be facing something similar can use my experiences as reference material.

To that end, here is the first update.
To make sure that I don't have too much bleeding during or after the surgery, the medical staff has told me to stop taking the anti-inflammatory medicine I have been taking for arthritis for the last 15+ years.

Within 48 hours of stopping the medicine, everything in my shoulder got much worse. The anti-inflammatory medicine (Arthotec) has been keeping the internal inflammation and swelling in check, and it was covering up the worst of the shoulder symptoms. Without the Arthrotec, the shoulder pain has gone from bad enough to want surgery to bad enough to need 24-hour-per-day pain killers, so I am on Percocet every six hours around the clock. And the control of the internal swelling in my shoulder is gone, so this swelling has gone wild. The internal swelling has made it almost impossible to move my shoulder joint much at all. I understand that the bone spurs are such that there is no longer room in my shoulder's AC arch and the swelling and inflammation are being squeezed, thus the impressive pain level.

Now I simply wait for the surgery on Tuesday.

My hunting bows are all 50-52 pounds draw weight, and I wonder how long it will take to get back to comfortably pulling a bow.

I will update this thread again next week after the surgery.

[DennyK]

Joe, My best to you. I'll be keeping you in my daily prayers.      Denny

[achigan]

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Best wishes Joe on your surgery and recovery.  when you are feeling chipper again, I know where there is a long bow for you          

Hopefully you will be up and at em in short order.

Hope it all goes well for you.  I was told by my chiro today, no shooting for two weeks.  That dead branch in my apple tree was heavier that I thought, but I did my arm in trying to keep it from falling on my tomatoes.  I tried Winter Bowmaster and hit 150,470 on my third attempt.  My local teenage computer game playing archery learning friend says that he has never even gotten close to that.  Now I need to find something else to keep from playing with my bows and chainsaw for two weeks.

[BigArcher]

After the surgery, when they say " do your stretching" ,  Do it.  Makes a great difference.

[Phrogdrvr]

DennyK X2, except ask for the nerve block prior to surgery.  You'll wake up pain free, will last about 24 hrs or so.  You'll be glad to get the feeling back in your arm by that point.

Tom

[Tique]

What Phrogdrvr says, ask for nerve block prior to surgery. Had "open" shoulder surgery Wednesday, nerve block worked great, didn't feel anything until yesterday afternoon and not nauseous. Good luck to you Joe, let us know how you make out.

[smokin joe]

I would ask for the nerve block if I could, but I am deathly allergic to the anesthetic used in nerve blocks. So, the only alternative is the use of Morphine at the hospital and then Dilaudid after I get home.

I will keep this thread posted about the surgery, recovery, physical therapy and so forth. With a little luck the information I enter plus the experience and advice of other Trad Gang members can serve as some guidance for those who face shoulder surgery in the future.

The surgery is Tuesday. Wish me luck.

[sticksnstones]

Best of luck Joe, heal up quick!
Thom

[amicus]

I had surgery on both shoulders. It sucks. But as most have said make sure you do your PT. Also continue to work out. I have a very good pdf file that goes over all the muscles and shows different exercises that work the shoulder muscles. I would be glad to send it to you if you like. just send me your email.

My surgeries were about 7 and 8 years ago. I would say that I have 80 to 90 % of shoulder function. I can't throw anything very hard like a football or baseball but I can pull my 60lb bow with out any problems. I didn't take care of my self after my surgeries and I feel that's why I still have limitations. Good luck and I hope your back to shooting soon.

Gilbert