Others in shoulder recovery?

[homebru.trout]

Any other fellow Roksliders recently dealt with recovery from shoulder surgery? I'm a lefty and burned out my left shoulder last year a month before the season and did a weeklong backpack hunt anyway...because that's the smart thing to do right? Anyway, I put it off as long as I could and finally did a distal clavicular resection and removal of impingement in the left shoulder last week. Essentially took off the shoulder end of my collarbone and carved out a space under the AC joint for things to work correctly. No rotator cuff or labrum damage noted...but now I'm essentially rolling without an AC joint in the shoulder at all.

Anyone have direct personal experience recovering from similar procedures? Pre-surgery I was the strongest and fittest I've been in my life thanks to a year of absolutely killing it to get in shape. Having to sit for two weeks before I see the Dr and get cleared to rehab it is freaking killing me.

My plan for Aug/Sept in CO is to pull 60 instead of 70 on a milder cam bow (toting the Strother instead of the Bowtech) but rehab as aggressively as my body will let me without screwing it up further. With the standard caveats in effect: everybody is different, listen to my doctor, blah, blah, blah does anyone have any feedback on their personal experience in such cases? Time to pushing weight? Time to pushing serious weight? Pain level after 1, 2, 3 months etc? Would it be worthwhile for me to diary the recovery on here somewhere?

Thanks.

 

[Brendan]

No experience with that specific injury, so take this with a grain of salt, but the worst thing I've ever done was rush back after shoulder surgery years ago. Mine was a rotator cuff rebuild from multiple dislocations , so different, but the repair failed 6 months out after surgery while I was in the gym. Everything felt perfect and getting stronger every day right up until it went. I was feeling strong, no pain, I was convinced I was back. And then - huge setback and back in the ER to get my shoulder put back in... That was over 10 years ago, and i'm dealing with a lot of joint inflammation now, and in the back of my head am wondering if/when I'm due for surgery #3 and potentially a season off from any archery.

Now - Your case could be different because of the type of repair you had done (and it probably will be), but the only thing I can say is don't rush back or rush recovery, even if everything feels good, and even if it means hanging up the bow for a season if it doesn't feel right.

 

[elkguide]

Not familiar with your specific surgery but have had a couple others and if I could go back the one thing that I would do differently......
exactly EVERYTHING that the Physical Therapist told me to do and on their schedule. I also wouldn't push myself. Motorcycle accident years ago, caused an AC separation and I didn't do as instructed and while I got back to work and into the swing of things fairly quickly, boy am I paying the price today.

 

[EmbraceTheSuck]

Homeboy.trout and others please let me know in detail how this past year went with rehab, recovery and strengthening. I have a DIY archery elk hunt on Colorado mid Sep. a week ago I just had shoulder surgery to relocate my bicep tendon from the shoulder to the chest, rotator cuff, labrum, and AC joint arthritis clean out - from a motorcycle accident over 10 years ago.

I am obsessed with doing this elk hunt in September but also realize you can’t rush somethings. I am no stranger to pain but want to make sure it’s the right kind of pain. Thanks and looking forward to hearing about your experience.

 

[homebru.trout]

Hmmm. That's a whole bunch of work. The rotator cuff is sort of the determining factor in that list. The arthritis clean out is essentially what I had done...they may or may not snip the end of your clavicle off which essentially will mean you have no AC joint after surgery...which is weird for me but not all that bad. I have had no arthritic shoulder pain since having the surgery and it has been awesome.

I want to stress that the involvement of your rotator cuff completely changes the recovery process from what I had done so YMMV.

I was worried about this being a hinderance but I think it actually helped in the end...I'm in recovery from addiction so I did the whooooooooole shootin' match without painkillers of any kind. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO DOESN"T HAVE A BONA FIDE REASON FOR DOING IT but I feel like that actually forced me to listen to my body a little more than I normally would have.

Id say Sept is pushing it with all the work your having done but definitely have an honest conversation with your Dr. about what you're thinking. I tended to be aggressive in my recovery and it worked out ok. That's not the case for most people. Sharp pain, burning, or pain that never goes away are all mostly bad and should be avoided post-op. If you're happy with your ortho great, but feel empowered to find someone who focuses on sports med and understands/will align surgical approach and recovery with your goals, etc. My first consult was with a guy who definitely focused on getting grandma walking again so I called around and found the guy who focused on getting football players running into each other again. His philosophy was quite a bit different and he definitely didn't mess around.

Best 3 pieces of advice I got:
1. It's already royally screwed so push hard and come into surgery as strong and fit as possible.
2. Focus on range of motion and flexibility post-op and once you're out of the immobilizer keep that joint moving.
3. Soft, pliable ice packs are your friend

Let me know if you have specific questions about the recovery process and I'll answer if I can.

 

[530Chukar]

I had a similar surgery roughly 10 years ago. If you choose to hunt this year I would not shoot a heavy weight. See if your physical therapist would allow you to pull back a bow at a low poundage after a few months and work up from there. I'd say it was close to a year before I was at 100 percent. I'd say 9 months from now you should be at 80 percent or more without restrictions. Residual pain may be there for a while longer.

 

[Bigolmuley]

About 15 years ago I had a complete anterior labrum tear. Held off on surgery until duck season was over. Late January. I opted for not do it orthoscopic. The surgeon told me it was less likely to happen again.
Anyway, I started shooting my bow end of July. Dropped to 50 lbs and it went fine.
2 years ago I had a 2” steel pole go through my skull and into my brain. (Yep, that sucked). Shouldn’t be alive, but I lived and decided to keep living. Left me paralyzed on my right side. My right quad came back which allows me to walk kind of. But no arm movement.
So I started shooting with a mouth tab. I thought it would be really tough. I mean holding the string with your teeth?
But it really isn’t that big a deal.
Check out John Dudley. He had an issue for a while and shot with one for a while.
I am shooting nearly 60 lbs again. That’s all I shot before. You do lose about 2” give or take on draw length. But that’s an option.
I killed my first whitetail using a mouth tab. And just about got an elk (I have trouble moving through sagebrush )
Good luck! Not worth pushing it. There is always next year.


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[EmbraceTheSuck]

Thanks for everyone’s comments. And Bigolmuley, wow, inspiring. Puts things into perspective. So far I have not been a good patient and have been pushing it. Didn’t think I’d do that. I’ll see what the doctor says this week.

 

[tiglesias33]

Pitcher in college and did some major damage to my shoulder. With what you had done you can definitely push it to a degree, I would just caution to listen to your body more than anything. You are likely to develop scar tissue in the shoulder and that is a dull uncomfortable pain but the kind you need to work through. Anything sharp or immediate discomfort, shut it down immediately and go down a tier on that exercise. For example if you start trying military press and get a sharp pain, go back to band work or straight raises.


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