Total Shoulder replacement...

[ewnanney]

Had my Right arm fully replaced about 2.5 years ago. They gave me a nerve block during surgery, that was sufficient to handle pain, never took any pain pills except prescription anti-inflammatory. Recovery is long and PT will be full time job for several months, but I have total rotation and use for normal activities now. As suggested get the Ice machine and shoulder pad to ware at night during recovery. It was probably a year before they would let me go to Gym. There are a lot of horror stories out there about shoulder surgery, key is to do all the PT as directed and stay with it so you don't develop any scare tissue around the joint.

 

[Swinehunt74]

I am 12 weeks out from my left shoulder replacement. I'm right handed. Mine was anatomical, ball replaced by ball, cup replaced with synthetic cup. I was driving 5 days later. My replacement looks like they inserted a club in my arm. I have had "zero" pain. Never took anything but ibuprofen. PT & doc are amazed, no rotator or bicep or any other damage, just that big bird beak spur and a joint that had been in an arthritic environment for a long time. Doc told me the drill bit started smoking when they started to drill my arm out. Said the bones were incredibly hard. I'm 68 and I feel real good. I will be fully released next week. They have just cautioned me about what I lift above 90 degrees and over my head. Close to the body and below 90 I have no restrictions, though I'll be cautious. My range and reach are incredible, had 120 degree movement after the first week of surgery. I am quite ecstatic to say the least. Secret for me is God works in mysterious ways and His prompting in my spirit to do the therapy they sent home with me each week. I did therapy 3 times a day, 30 to 45 minutes each therapy session, for 8 straight weeks, then only missed 3 times a day a couple of times through the next 3 weeks. He is he Great Physician and the Great Healer!

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

I had both knees (2017, and 2018) now this, the R shoulder scheduled next year.

Pre surgery, I could not raise the arm past 45 degrees and hold it with its own weight. Turning the steering wheel coming out of a parking space was really painful. Hoping this surgery would be Godsend.

Headed to clinic for rt shoulder rotator repair scheduled for 9 this morning. Second time on this shoulder, same surgeon also. Retired, so not in such a big hurry to get back to work. Followed PT's plan and back at work 3 weeks later. Have switched to 6mm in most range activities and afield.

 

[georgiaboy34]

I wish you all the best. I am 48 and years of lifting/brazillian jiu jitsu etc have caught up. My right shoulder has essentially no cartillage left combined with spurs and arthritis. My surgeon advised there is a new joint out with no lifting restriction (he advises 50lb for the current). He's only done 4 and trained under another surgeon in CO whos done 150-ish. Hopefully this will benefit some of you. I am going to try to wait until 50. The pain is annoying and my mobility is less but I am getting by. First cortisone only lasted 3 weeks but I may give it another shot. Now it's Icy Hot with lidocaine and avoiding ibuprofen. Any advice is appreciated, also I have no significant tears or soft tissue damage.

 

[AvonShooter]

I wish you all the best. I am 48 and years of lifting/brazillian jiu jitsu etc have caught up. My right shoulder has essentially no cartillage left combined with spurs and arthritis. My surgeon advised there is a new joint out with no lifting restriction (he advises 50lb for the current). He's only done 4 and trained under another surgeon in CO whos done 150-ish. Hopefully this will benefit some of you. I am going to try to wait until 50. The pain is annoying and my mobility is less but I am getting by. First cortisone only lasted 3 weeks but I may give it another shot. Now it's Icy Hot with lidocaine and avoiding ibuprofen. Any advice is appreciated, also I have no significant tears or soft tissue damage.

Healing at 48 is that much quicker than healing at 50. Get it done now and by 50 you won't regret it. I has total reverse shoulder replacement at age 70. While I haven't given into full contact on that shoulder, it does feel strong. I was cautioned that a direct hit on the joint could separate it. (ouch!) The main problem is your muscles will be what's holding your shoulder together. So that area needs addition strengthening after surgery. Your surgeon and therapist will be focused on movement. I was able to do a full circular rotation of my shoulder after 6 months. The surgeon was to say impressed. Personally I was not. IF they replace parts with new ball and or cup, you will experience some, not a lot, but some limited movement of that arm. Much like front end auto repair. Close but never exact. If your shoulder is destroyed and needs this surgery, get'er done.

 

[Rcritch]

I've had both shoulders replaced as well as my right knee. Left knee is totally out of cartilage, which is a pain, but I'm not planning on a replacement there because my long history of chronic back pain, multiple spinal injuries and scoliotic deformity put me at a higher than normal paralysis risk of having another spinal nerve block. Right shoulder was first (about a decade ago) and had to be a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) due to irreparable damage to the rotator cuff. Left shoulder was the anatomically correct version (TSA), so I still have full range of motion with that arm .... unfortunately, however, I am right handed.

In my case the rTSA was required simply because the only thing left of my rotator cuff was the deltoid muscle and any need to lift with that arm would simply dislocate the joint. In other cases the rTSA can be required due to bone damage to the scapula's socket. The reason the rTSA works for massive rotator cuff damage is because the ball of the prosthesis, and therefore the point of rotation, is moved inward such that when the deltoid muscle lifts the arm it also pulls the joint together instead of apart, albeit with significantly less range of motion (and strength) than a healthy shoulder or TSA can provide.

The difference between the two types of replacements, where recoil is concerned, is largely a function of the medical experience with each. The TSA has been around for many more years than the rTSA, and the rTSA is only needed in a much smaller percentage of shoulder replacement surgeries. So there is far more data on TSA than rTSA prostheses to assess the durability of each replacement. My orthopedic surgeon advised me to do anything and everything possible to minimize recoil to my right shoulder's rTSA when I went deer and pheasant hunting less than 2 months following that surgery. So I took my heaviest rifle (.416 Remington Magnum) and heaviest shotgun (Ruger 12 gauge Woodside O/U) to reduce the recoil, loading the .416 with "plinker" loads of 350 grain Remington soft points at 1800 fps and put my 3/4 pounds of Briley sub-gauge tubes in the shotgun, shooting 3/4 ounce 28 gauge handloads of #5 shot.

After returning from the month long hunt I had a followup appointment with the surgeon and she asked how my hunt went. I told her it was all good and neither of my guns had much notable recoil. But I also told her that my days of shotgunning may have been ended because, while I could shoot quite accurately on the first shot my shoulder anatomy had been so changed by the rTSA that I would be off target for the 2nd shot. I did OK by dismounting the gun and remounting it between shots but that wasn't going to work well on a true pair of sporting clays targets. She said she might be able to give me a solution to that dilemma. To my surprise she and her husband were both experienced skeet and sporting clays shooters and her solution, which works great, was as follows:

There is a company known as EvoShield that makes all manner of protective gear for athletes who have a need to shield a joint from further damage. The product comes in the form of a gel pack in an air tight bag and once you open the bag the gel pack starts setting up into a hard but slightly flexible shield. For the shooter they came up with a version that fits into a pouch on the shooting shoulder of a Spandex t-shirt. You order the shirt one size smaller than your normal fit so it's good and snug, yet still comfortable. You get your favorite shotgun ready (unloaded, of course), put the shirt on, open the gel pack, slide it into the shirt's shoulder pouch and then spend ten minutes mounting and dismounting the gun snugly onto your shoulder. The end result is a pad that is moulded to the new anatomy of your shoulder on the inner side and the recoil pad of your shotgun on the outer portion. Works beautifully! Illustration attached:

 

[dogz]

Curious question to you shoulder replacement fellas. I'm mainly a side or stomach sleeper, can't hardly sleep on my back.

Point being, my shoulder gets grouchy most nights and all I can think of is that it has to do with the way that it hangs when I'm on my side.

Make any sense?

 

[bamban]

Curious question to you shoulder replacement fellas. I'm mainly a side or stomach sleeper, can't hardly sleep on my back.

Point being, my shoulder gets grouchy most nights and all I can think of is that it has to do with the way that it hangs when I'm on my side.

Make any sense?

Yes, it does. I sleep on my L side mostly. With L replaced I put a long pillow on my L and sleep on the R. But, any time in my sleep when I guess I tried to move to the L, sharp pain shoots up and wakes me up. The again, I am still under a month since the L was replaced.

 

[Knight]

Hmm? There's a lot of facts to consider. The kind of surgery regarding your implant, the doctor who performed the surgery, how long since the operation took place along with your healing ability. I've had both shoulders replaced and once your healing is done you should be able to put pressure on that shoulder by sleeping on your side without any pain. My left shoulder was replaced 11 years ago and my right was done in Dec 23

 

[TexSavage]

Curious question to you shoulder replacement fellas. I'm mainly a side or stomach sleeper, can't hardly sleep on my back.

Point being, my shoulder gets grouchy most nights and all I can think of is that it has to do with the way that it hangs when I'm on my side.

Make any sense?

Dogz, I too am a stomach sleeper, sometimes right side. I can't sleep on my back very well. That was an issue for the first 6 weeks after surgery/replacement of the left shoulder. What I am finding out is that I'm slowly beginning to be able to sleep on the left side somewhat, although when i awake in the mornings I'm on my stomach with my left arm tucked under the pillow beneath my head. The left shoulder does not wake me up hardly anymore unless I really get contorted during a turn in the night. I also sleep with a CPAP machine and use a full face mask. I think that has also influenced my sleeping. I've always been a stomach sleeper and I think it will take some more time as I completely heal to see whee I adjust to. My PT told me to do my physical therapy for another 6 months, but just 3 times a week and only once a day. He said after 6 months I should not have to worry about much. I will be limited to lifting nothing over 100 pounds above the 90 degree/overhead, but otherwise the ortho told me to be smart. Fully released after 14 weeks!

 

[dogz]

Yeah it's doing great (right shoulder full replacement Feb of 22), the only time I have issues is when sleeping. Then it aches a bit, rather annoying