Anybody have Labrum surgery?

[agpando]

I had surgery on a posterior tear of my labrum a week before Christmas, and about 3 weeks ago I was told that by my physical therapist that I was allowed to start physical therapy, but the problem is that when I try to do the workouts that I was told my should becomes very sore and stiff and takes a good while for it to heal back up. Does anybody have experience with this, as this is my first surgery and rehab that I have ever had to do so I'm not sure as to what I'm doing wrong or what I need to be doing to get back to being able to lift normally again. I appreciate any insight anybody can give me.

 

[agpando]

Nothing? really?

 

[Get Some]

Are you doing the physical therapy on your own or do you have a trainer helping you? I have torn both my Ulnar Collateral Lligament (elbow) and Labrum (Shoulder). When I rehabbed the elbow after surgery I went to a physical therapy facility and worked with a trainer. The small weight and range of motion exercises that I performed progressed well over time. However, before each of these sessions, my elbow, bicep, shoulder, and forearm were "rubbed-down" by the therapist. Usually to the point where minor to medium discomfort was experienced (also known as "milking" the muscle). This part sucked, but I know that it helped prepare me better for the exercises I was about to perform. I was also on a set "icing" schedule (not every day, but periodically throughout the week).

So, basically what I'm saying is, if you're doing you're therapy with a therapist, tell them how you feel. And if you're not going to a therapist at least 2 times a week, I would highly recommend it for at least a month (at least so you can get the proper technique down).

Hope this helps

 

[agpando]

Are you doing the physical therapy on your own or do you have a trainer helping you? I have torn both my Ulnar Collateral Lligament (elbow) and Labrum (Shoulder). When I rehabbed the elbow after surgery I went to a physical therapy facility and worked with a trainer. The small weight and range of motion exercises that I performed progressed well over time. However, before each of these sessions, my elbow, bicep, shoulder, and forearm were "rubbed-down" by the therapist. Usually to the point where minor to medium discomfort was experienced (also known as "milking" the muscle). This part sucked, but I know that it helped prepare me better for the exercises I was about to perform. I was also on a set "icing" schedule (not every day, but periodically throughout the week).

So, basically what I'm saying is, if you're doing you're therapy with a therapist, tell them how you feel. And if you're not going to a therapist at least 2 times a week, I would highly recommend it for at least a month (at least so you can get the proper technique down).

Hope this helps

Thank you I appreciate your reply. I unfortunately wasn't given a therapist to work with, I was given a sheet of paper with certain stretches and lifts that I were to perform. The weight I was starting out with was only like a half pound and I got up to 2 pound weights. Recently last week ,which would be roughly 13 weeks post op, I started to up my weights. Since I don't have a therapist I can go to on the regular, and I know my body pretty well, I have been adjusting my weight accordingly to where its mild weight with no discomfort. Last week I had no shoulder pain after my first exercise, so this week I increased the weight. I ice for about 20 minutes after each work out and I stretch before each workout also. I have been sticking to the rehab program I was given, but I added in extra arm workouts to help me start making progress. I have yet to try doing any push ups or any chest exercises. I am hoping that by May I will be able to start doing a very light bench press again. What was your recovery time for your labrum surgery?

 

[Get Some]

Thank you I appreciate your reply. I unfortunately wasn't given a therapist to work with, I was given a sheet of paper with certain stretches and lifts that I were to perform. The weight I was starting out with was only like a half pound and I got up to 2 pound weights. Recently last week ,which would be roughly 13 weeks post op, I started to up my weights. Since I don't have a therapist I can go to on the regular, and I know my body pretty well, I have been adjusting my weight accordingly to where its mild weight with no discomfort. Last week I had no shoulder pain after my first exercise, so this week I increased the weight. I ice for about 20 minutes after each work out and I stretch before each workout also. I have been sticking to the rehab program I was given, but I added in extra arm workouts to help me start making progress. I have yet to try doing any push ups or any chest exercises. I am hoping that by May I will be able to start doing a very light bench press again. What was your recovery time for your labrum surgery?

Honestly, I waited 6 months BEFORE I started any normal lifting. I would recommend that you start with assisted push ups (on your knees) for at least a week when you decide to do them. I have found that push-ups/benching can be very aggravating on the Labrum. So, don't do any dumbbell flyes or pec deck for a long time.

You should be fine as long as you work into it slow. 2 things are VERY important here:

1. WORK THE INJURED MUSCLE THE MOST
I spent too much time worrying about bringing back my whole physique rather than rehabbing the labrum. If you focus on improving the strength of the repaired labrum, the rest will come back much quicker.

2. PACE YOURSELF AND DON"T COMPENSATE
When I was receovering from a UCL (elbow) replacement I felt amazing after 4 months of therapy. I literally felt like superman. The protocol says wait until at least 6 months before throwing/lifting again. So, I waited a little longer. The problem was, when I experienced discomfort in the elbow area, I used other muscles to compensate. This may have lead to my Labrum injury.

 

[johnsmith402]

I have an unrepaired labrum tear myself, and have coached several lifters that have had this injury and had it surgically repaired and come back to full abilities, and I have one female lifter who is right now awaiting surgery, so i have some experience with this. Every situation is SO different, its hard to say what a good timeline is or what is going on.

One thing you might do would be to go to the Injuries forum on Pendlay.com, Dr. Diran Lancaster usually answeres most questions on there, and he is the guy I trust the most when advising me about rehab and recovery when one of my lifters is injured. He works with LOT of high level athletes and really knows his stuff.

JS

 

[agpando]

Well I'm about 3 and a half months post op right now and I've recently come back to lifting weights. I only go once or twice a week as not to aggravate my shoulder too much since I usually wake up a bit stiff the next day, nothing some ibuprofen cant fix. But I'm doing my rehab work outs and I've added in a couple extra bicep and tricep workouts also. I definitely make sure to work on my shoulder that was injured, but I do the same rehab exercises for both sides of my body. I've moved my weight up though to the point where I'm not having any pain because in the end I know my body better than my doctors do, they just know whats wrong and how to fix me better than i do. So the weight that i am lifting is definitely not recommended weight. Is it ok for me to do more weight but not too much to re-injure it? And when do you think it would be ok for me to start doing the assisted push-ups and pull-ups possibly?

 

[johnsmith402]

As i said before, Dr. Lancaster would be a great resource for these questions, and I am sure happy to help you.

JS