Achilles versus Rotator cuff

[FCSquid]

Jay, I've had both surgeries - a full achilles tendon rupture / repair, and a rotator cuff repair. My experience is - you'll never get back to 100% with the achilles rupture. The rehab was so long with so much muscle atrophy, that my left calf will always be smaller than my right calf (even 12 years later).

The rotator cuff I was able to live with for several months before getting surgery. I pulled the trigger on surgery once I realized that I was going to have limited mobility and the issue wasn't ever going to heal on its own. The PT for the rotator cuff I recall being pretty intense. It starts off with very basic motion with zero resistance, and by the time I was finishing PT, the sessions turned into 45 - 60 minute grinder sessions which were basically full-on, get sweaty workouts.

If you follow the PT advise and do your PT religiously, your shoulder will be good as new. My only limitation is that when doing military presses now, I just have to make sure my hands never go behind my ears. Other than that, you should be able to recover full strength and mobility in your shoulder once again. Good luck!

[Jay521]

koeffling - I will PM you later with some specific questions that I'm sure you can answer. I will also copy in the precise diagnosis.

Justiner & David - Yeah - I have gained great respect for PT's over the years - two knee ops and the Achilles. They brought me back from every op.

Dave L - thanks!

FC - Thanks for your thoughts. I DO hope to get back to near 100% and it's good to hear from someone who has.

Thanks again to all

[AndrewLyonsGeibel]

I haven’t had that specific thing worked on but I did have two ligaments replaced in my shoulder/back (bicycle crash and compound fracture) and my father just had a ruptured Achilles. I think the Achilles probably takes longer to heal, simply because it’s nearly impossible to not use it. It’s definitely possible to come back from the rotator cuff for injury. Were yours fixed or replaced? I got new (to me) ones from a cadaver. I’ll be honest in that I ignored the docs advice and didn’t do PT. They told me not to swim or get back on the bike for a while, but did an Ironman the same year.

[Hungry Jack]

Shoulders are a (female dog). Be patient with your rehab. You might have a good month or two of rehab, then get a bout of inflammation where you will need to back off to let it calm down. Rinse. Repeat. It might take 18 months before you feel fully recovered. Be diligent but patient.

[Jay521]

@Andrew - I couldn't have done an Ironman BEFORE I had this injury And my tendons were re-attached to the bone with synthetic screws.

@ Jack - I've heard the same thing from others. Ugh...

All - I start PT this week and will post notes about my progress (or lack thereof) from time to time. Thanks for all the comments, advice and support!

[AndrewLyonsGeibel]

@Andrew - I couldn't have done an Ironman BEFORE I had this injury And my tendons were re-attached to the bone with synthetic screws.

To be honest, I couldn't have finished one before mine either. At that time my longest swim ever had been 2 miles when I was 16, longest bike had been 100 (but incredibly slow because I still had a mono infection. like 8 and a half hours), and longest run ever had been a 10k. Point being, you can come back from it. Maybe don't take the route that I did because I still deal with the pain every day, but to quote Ironman, "anything is possible." Do your PT, do the cardio work you can without much pain, and you can for sure get back to hiking.

[14erFred]

I'm pulling for you, Jay, hoping and praying you make a quick and full recovery. Just approach your PT the same way you do your 14ers, and you'll do great. Commitment, patience, discipline, optimism, and hard work will get you there, just as on the mountains. Soon enough, you'll be back to climbing and will be savoring it more than ever. Hang in there, and keep us posted.

[WVMountaineer]

Backstory...
A month ago, I suffered what the ortho called a "massive tear of my rotator cuff" where the tendons separated from the bone. I had surgery 3 weeks ago where the tendons were re-attached to the bone with some sort of synthetic screws.

Any idea what part of the rotator cuff you had repaired? I had completely torn my labrum (holds your shoulder bone in it's socket) and they used synthetic screws to reattach as well. Road to recovery was 3 months in a sling and I couldn't move my elbow more than 2-3 inches from my side for the first 6 weeks. I never achieved a full recovery and only regained about %90 movement. I had this surgery at 17 so recovery was probably quicker than you're expecting but I was able to return to pole vaulting and back at strength 6 months after surgery.

Speedy recovery and hoping you can find your way to a summit as soon as you're ready!

[Jay521]

Any idea what part of the rotator cuff you had repaired?

The MRI results read "there is an acute, massive rotator cuff tear with complete disruption and central retraction of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons." I have my first PT appointment today so I should know more soon. I hope..... Thanks for your good wishes.

[Hungry Jack]

Any idea what part of the rotator cuff you had repaired?

The MRI results read "there is an acute, massive rotator cuff tear with complete disruption and central retraction of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons." I have my first PT appointment today so I should know more soon. I hope..... Thanks for your good wishes.

There might be some silver lining in this diagnosis, if I understand it correctly. Tearing the muscle from the bone at the point of attachment is preferable to tearing the muscle itself (as I did with a partial tear). A torn muscle almost never heals properly, with scar tissue and weakness a typical consequence. Having the muscle fibers intact, and reattaching them using screws gives you a better shot at preserving the integrity of the muscle fiber. This is much better. The challenge hear is regaining the flexibility and range of motion.

Many years ago, Chris Carpenter, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, tore his shoulder labrum off the bone. The surgeon stapled it back in, and when one of them came loose, they re-stapled. Carpenter missed two seasons recovering, but he came back to be an outstanding pitcher, winning a Cy Young and leading his team to the playoffs. NFL players Tommie Harris and Reggie White both suffered hamstring tears where the muscle detached. Both returned to action to the following season and were effective.

[Jay521]

That's interesting. I will have to run that by my PT when I see her next. Thanks!

[Jay521]

The good, the bad and the ugly...

The good - I am just at 11 weeks from surgery and a bit ahead of schedule according to my PT (although she might be sandbagging me a little...). Strength training started a few weeks back and it sure is nice to have use of both arms albeit limited a bit.

The bad - I still have a long way to go. The severity of my injury coupled with my age means (I guess...) that this won't be over quickly. One day at a time, and religious attention to the exercise regimen I've been assigned has been my mantra.

The ugly - It's driving me nuts to read all these cool trip reports and see people's near term plans when I have to sit on the sidelines! I will be hitting some DougCo open space trails this week and hopefully, that will help me keep my sanity.

Thanks to all of you that have PM'd me with your kind thoughts and good wishes. As Arnie said - I'll be back!