Complete tear of the Supraspinatus tendon

[6tee7]

Hi Ah-Oh,

Yeah, had all of that and things did progress well postop. Physio seems to think there is a problem and has left multiple messages for surgeon, but he hasn't returned her calls. So I started calling as well. Finally gave up leaving messages and asking to talk to him and have made an appointment tosee him on Tuesday at 6pm.

I hope I am wrong in my assesment, but I think that my bicep muscle has come away from the tendon!

Keep you posted on that. Apart from that , my ROM is coming back quickly.

The next post will be interesting!

[Flyona]

Worried, I had a full thickness tear of supra - you don't have to have the sports star surgeon - there are some generalist Oorthopods out there who will do just as good a job and probably have more time to spend with you and listen to you. I tore tendon and ignored body pain signals for about a month being of the 'it will get better school' My Ortho basically said well if you were over 70 I'd send you to a physio but u are young (30???) and active so these are your choices. I ignored it for 8 weeks - was repaired in 12 have had 3 months rehab now and am still frustrated but apparently miles ahead of others who have had the same problem. Don't go looking for the stars - there are lots of other genuinely good surgeons out there. Check there records but never discount the local guy - hope it goes well for you

[rosecoloured64]

hi 6tee7,
wondering how things are going with you, are you ok? Havent had time to get back to this, had one son turn 18 and get his licence and another son turn 16, my little one has been sick for a few weeks and so have i... doh! Anyway... how's things? I have decided to put off my surgery until my nearly 5 mth old can walk, maybe not a good idea but how do I lift her, how does she understand I can't? not to mention I'm petrified of the surgery again with arm in a sling for 6 weeks! GRRRR "cancel my subscription...I dont want MY issues!!

Rose

[ah-oh]

I'm also interested to know how everything went 6tee7. By the way, when did you actually have the surgery? How many weeks post op are you?

Let us know how you are.

[6tee7]

Hi rosecoloured and ah-oh,

Sorry i have been tardy in replying, you know christmas rush and all that. The shoulder.....
where do i start. Probably with my cavalier surgeon and the lack of info he gave me postop. His interpretation of what i could and couldn't do was don't pick up anything heavier than a cup of coffee.
Didn't explain that the pronation in your forearm is generated by your bicep.
Didn't say DON'T shake hands with anyone.

Short version is i have torn the long head repair(tendonesis) from the bone. (Thats the outer section of your bicep).
His version is you don't have to worry about protecting it anymore do anything you want. Physios version is you have now compromised what you do with your arm for the rest of your life because if you damage the remaining tendons there is not much that can be done to repair them. To undergo a repair of the bicep is not practical, as i understand, as its 6 weeks in a sling and they have to shorten the tendon to re-attach it so that puts even more pressure on it each time you straighten your arm.

So I am left with an arm that works but am not allowed to do anything to sporty, like waterskiing. My rom is pretty good can nearly straighten my arm overhead and am slowly building up the muscle groups around the shoulder.

Let me say this very clearly....it is ENTIRELY MY FAULT what happened with me destroying the repair. However, the cavalier attitude and lack of information most definitely contributed. If anyone is contemplating having the operation ASK questions about what you can and can't do. I asked what i thought were the appropriate questions but given my occupation he should have made me more aware of my limitations and what to look out for.

Anyway thats my lot for a while. Rehabbing the muscle groups and looking forward to getting back to the gym.

Ah-oh, the op was 1 Nov so that puts me at 8 weeks post op.

Rosecloured, sorry to hear you have not been well, only the flu i hope!
Only you can make the call for your operation, but you should consider if there is any possibilty that delaying it will not cause any more damage. Just a thought.

Happy new year!!!!!!!!!!! Its got to be better than the last.

[rosecoloured64]

HI 6tee7,
I too have been slack/busy. Happy new year to all of you too. Damn shame about your arm, hopefully you will get to where you feel comfortable with it. I have been putting off going to the surgeon, I am petrified that he will tell me I have to have it earlier than I want to. I will bite the bullet soon though. I have had 3 children turn 18,16 & 20 as well as xmas and others birthdays, bubs was sick on and off for 6 weeks as well, grrrr, what a busy time! Running out of excuses now....LOL I will do it...soon.. take care, I'll get back to you on the progress. Rose

[ah-oh]

Hi 6tee7,

thanks for the update. Now that the Chrissy, new year, summer hols draw to an end, sorry to hear about your re-tear. You seem to be pretty philosophical about it - I guess that's how things go sometimes so good luck with the continued re-hab.

Just curious, what on earth did you do to re-tear it? My ortho gave quite similar advice ie don't lift weight greater than xyz but also I got the impression that the biceps repair was more resilient than the supraspinatus repair in the re-hab.

Having gone great guns initially, I've decided my repair is actually taking a VERY long time to re-hab. Now 6mths post op and still have referred pain down my forearm (similar to tennis elbow) on certain movements and next to no strength in lots of movements (compared to what it used to be). Also being non-dominant arm probably means it's not being used as much in day-to-day activities either.

Have started body-surfing and a bit of paddling but being pretty cautious and it still hurts which is pretty annoying.

[6tee7]

Hi ah-oh,
The info I was given was, I think,incomplete given my employment. I am self employed which means I probably do more than your averager wage earner and I am also a refrigeration mechanic/mechanical services plumber. So there is a lot of heavy lifting and manual work. At no time was I told DON'T shake hands, DON'T turn door knobs to open doors, DON'T twist the top off bottles or jars. More importantly don't use a screw driver or spanners! Neither of which are heavier THAN A CUP OF COFFEE!

As I now know, the strenght of your grip comes from your bicep. It also provides the pronation of your wrist, and by using a screwdriver I tore the tendon repair from the bone.

Maybe someone should tell these scalpel wielding surgeons that the work they undertake may be fantastic, but if you can't communicate effectively with their patients they are wasteing everyones time.

Philosphical? Maybe, but what choice do I have. I am not going to sit around and mope or feel sorry for myself. I did the damage, now I have to work around the situation. It does mean that i am no longer able to do some of the sports with my family that I love most.

Waterskiing/wakeboarding is something that is forbidden, as it would be to easy to tear the remaning 2 tendons leaving me with a completely useless arm. As I said, I have to adjust, I don't like it, but I have to do it.

I am glad to hear that your repair has been successful. I also hear that the rehab can take the full 12 months before you get back to pre op muscle size and strength. PLEASE be careful and take it slowly.

[rosecoloured64]

Hi 6tee7 and Ah-oh,
Your attitude is fantastic 6tee7, mind you it is the only way to be! Seriously, if you let this stuff that happens to us in life you would pack it in! Took me a while to find my footing and I too have to accept that what is done is done...deal with it and get on with it any which way you can. What is the other options...make life miserable for everyone else around you, feel sorry for ones self? I'm sure we did that for a while and will always wonder why me I too cannot ever play the sports I use to enjoy. So I have found a few different interests, maybe not as fulfilling, but never the less at least there is something out there for everyone. It may take me days or weeks longer to accomplish my tasks, but I do get there! How's all with you 6tee7? What about you ah-oh? My shoulder is getting worse but I am plugging along watching what I do, good and bad days. Oh and I am getting married 8.08.08 in Cairns. So if that is not something to look forward to I don't know what is! After that I will have the 3rd lot of surgery Take care.

[ah-oh]

Great news rosecoloured.

Yes things 'progress' slowly. Ortho thinks something going on in my neck. Physio thinks something going on in my neck/first rib. I think there's something going on somewhere.

Repairs seem good but nerve things from neck causing problems. Hoping more months of strengthening & working on posture will help stabilise spine and scapula. Mind you physio reckons she hadn't seen such a huge amount of muscle atrophy pre-op to sling coming off post-op, 'pathetic' was her description (hilarious) - so looks like it's a long road for this white duck back to recovery. Darn - but will keep plugging away towards that elusive finish line.