Rotator cuff surgery

[mingusb1]

Not to pile on to the "surgery" threads, but I just found out that I need surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff (fret arm). Wondering if anyone here has had it, and how it impacted their mandolin and/or guitar playing. I am first an upright bass player and assume I won't be doing that for at least a couple of months.

Any info you might have would be greatly appreciated as I have never had surgery before and am starting to sweat it.

Thanks,
Z

[George R. Lane]

Mingusb 1

I had the surgery just over a year ago. The rehab is tough, I had a knee replacement 5 years ago and the rehab was a snap compared to this. I feel I am about at 85% recovery, don't know how much more I will regain. Even though I have only been playing for a couple of years I can pretty do everything I could before. Be prepared to have your arm in a sling that immoblizes it to your body for six weeks (24 hrs a day). This is important so that the sutures and muscles don't tear. Be patient

George Lane

[bshpmark]

I had my right shoulder done about 5 years ago. Glad I did. Not only was the cuff torn but there was a tear down into the tendon and a bone spur as well. I am about 95% now.

You will probably be able to play without much problem after a month or two depending on the severity. Just work into it gradually. Don't push it.

Fortuntely I did not have to wear the immobilization sling, just a regular sling and after two or three weeks only wore it when I went out of the house. But rehab was tough!

When you get the surgery, tell the surgeon you want a pain block shot afterwards. I got two and it made the post surgery pain quite bearable for almost two days after the surgery.

Mark

[Hal Loflin]

Hey Z...

I did not have a torn rotator but had three bone spurs in my right shoulder. I am a golf professional (club pro) by trade and had suffered with the pain for several years. Finally had to get the surgery.

I was in the sling for three weeks and after six weeks able to play again...mandolin that is. Back to full blown golf in twelve.

The key, in my opinion, is making sure that you go to and do physical therapy. I did and it made all the difference. After eight weeks I was pretty much back to full motion and pain free. The doc would not let me swing a golf club due to the chance of injury.

I did out patient surgery and was home that day...no hospital stay.

Good luck man!

[mingusb1]

Hey guys, thanks for the insight. A refrain I keep hearing is that the rehab and recovery is tough. I've done quite a bit of PT in the past, so I plan to be diligent about that.

My surgeon is the shoulder specialist for the Carolina Hurricanes. I spotted him behind the bench at last night's game. And he said he's worked on a bass player before...

Thanks guys,
Z