Even though many rotator cuff injuries can be treated with non-surgical approaches, your doctor might advise you to have rotator cuff surgery to fix the tears that are in the shoulder. The kind of surgery that will be performed on you will depend on many things, however no matter what kind of surgery you go through, the recovery for any rotator cuff surgery will be somewhat the same.
Day of the Operation
In most cases, you need not stay overnight in the hospital since this is an outpatient procedure. However, you will have to stay in the hospital until such time that shoulder pain is managed through home medications. Your arm will also be encased in a specialized protective sling. This way, your shoulder and arm muscles will be in a relaxed position, hence, facilitating the healing process.
Here are some tips to follow that will speed up your rotator cuff surgery recovery right after the operation, which are imperative in the later stages, include:
-Ease your pain by taking your pain medications as soon as you feel pain in your shoulder.
-Try some different mixes of pain and anti-inflammatory medications with the advice of your physician.
-Apply an ice bag over your shoulder to lessen pain and help healing.
* When sleeping, sleep in a semi-seated position with your elbows pointing down.
Stages of Recovery
It must be emphasized that the phases of rotator cuff surgery recovery will vary from one person to the next in terms of the time taken to progress from one phase to another. As such, it is best to comply with your personalized rehabilitation protocol.
During the first phase of recovery, which can last for up to 6 weeks, you will be directed to perform passive motions only. Basically, this means the avoidance of any kind of work and/or stress on the rotator cuff tendons and muscles. In this case, your physical therapist will perform two things. First, he will move your repaired shoulder for you and, second, he will provide instructions on how to move your shoulders with the least possible muscle contractions.
The second stage of your recovery involves you moving your arm on your own however; you should not be moving it against any resistance at all. This is what is known as the active motion stage that can go on up to 12 weeks from the time of your operation.
For the third phase, also called the strengthening period, you will focus on doing isolation exercises to provide strength to muscles that have been rendered weak due to inactivity. This is the most important phase in rotator cuff surgery recovery since full muscle function can be returned once this step is successfully done.
Throughout stage four, you can go back to using your shoulders as you always would. Certainly many things affect this stage that can go on up to 6 months after the operation and you will still have to follow the advice of your physician about going back to your old physical activities.
In the end, the effort you put into your recovery, the size and location of the rotator cuff tear and your overall health will decide how well and swiftly you will go through rotator cuff surgery recovery.
Day of the Operation
In most cases, you need not stay overnight in the hospital since this is an outpatient procedure. However, you will have to stay in the hospital until such time that shoulder pain is managed through home medications. Your arm will also be encased in a specialized protective sling. This way, your shoulder and arm muscles will be in a relaxed position, hence, facilitating the healing process.
Here are some tips to follow that will speed up your rotator cuff surgery recovery right after the operation, which are imperative in the later stages, include:
-Ease your pain by taking your pain medications as soon as you feel pain in your shoulder.
-Try some different mixes of pain and anti-inflammatory medications with the advice of your physician.
-Apply an ice bag over your shoulder to lessen pain and help healing.
* When sleeping, sleep in a semi-seated position with your elbows pointing down.
Stages of Recovery
It must be emphasized that the phases of rotator cuff surgery recovery will vary from one person to the next in terms of the time taken to progress from one phase to another. As such, it is best to comply with your personalized rehabilitation protocol.
During the first phase of recovery, which can last for up to 6 weeks, you will be directed to perform passive motions only. Basically, this means the avoidance of any kind of work and/or stress on the rotator cuff tendons and muscles. In this case, your physical therapist will perform two things. First, he will move your repaired shoulder for you and, second, he will provide instructions on how to move your shoulders with the least possible muscle contractions.
The second stage of your recovery involves you moving your arm on your own however; you should not be moving it against any resistance at all. This is what is known as the active motion stage that can go on up to 12 weeks from the time of your operation.
For the third phase, also called the strengthening period, you will focus on doing isolation exercises to provide strength to muscles that have been rendered weak due to inactivity. This is the most important phase in rotator cuff surgery recovery since full muscle function can be returned once this step is successfully done.
Throughout stage four, you can go back to using your shoulders as you always would. Certainly many things affect this stage that can go on up to 6 months after the operation and you will still have to follow the advice of your physician about going back to your old physical activities.
In the end, the effort you put into your recovery, the size and location of the rotator cuff tear and your overall health will decide how well and swiftly you will go through rotator cuff surgery recovery.
About the Author:
Tom Nicholson spends his time caring for carpal tunnel sufferers. Please click here to find out more regardingrotator cuff surgery recovery.
