Has anyone had a torn rotator cuff? I was diagnosed recently and am going to physical therapy. If you had therapy did it help at all? It seems to be agrivating mine. Thanks

-- Colleen (bean@northwoods.net), November 07, 2001

Answers

Colleen, I have never heard of anyone having therapy for a torn rotator cuff. If it is torn it needs to be repaired. I might be wrong, but I don't think that they "repair" themselves and I would imagine that therapy is really agrevating it. My husband had one and has had a lot of therapy AFTER the repair. I would suggest that you get another opinion, preferably and orthopedic specialist. (Like perhaps at a sports medicine clinic)

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 07, 2001.

Tore mine about a year ago, and ended up going to phys therapy for the better part of the summer. It's doing much better now, and I have a lot more mobility and flexibility of my shoulder. If the therapy is causing you more pain than relief, however, you need to go back to your doctor. The therapy is suppose to help not hurt. Sometimes just after therapy I would not be feeling so hot, but by the next day there was a marked improvement. If this isn't happening for you, go back to your doctor and get him to try something else. Don't take the chance that the therapy is doing more harm than good. Best of luck.

-- Julie (rjbk@together.net), November 07, 2001.

I think what the therapy is doing is training other muscles to do the work of the ones that were torn from the cuff. The doctor told my husband that is what they would do if the repair didn't work.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 07, 2001.

I tore mine a year ago today--it was pure agony! The worst was when I would move quickly and it would go into spasms. My doctor gave me a steroid shot and muscle relaxers--got a real nice nap out of the one I took,but it didn't help. He then prescribed physical therapy at a sports clinic, and said if that didn't work, it would require surgery. I tried the physical therapy 3 times, and each time was worse than the one before...the last time I went, she had me hold on to a piece of doweling and forced it over my head and "bounced" it....I didn't scream as loud having a baby as I did then! It then went into a spasm that lasted over 30 minutes. I never went back, but I did do a very modified version of the exercises she had shown me on the previous visits. It took months, but the spasms finally subsided....I didn't really notice it had gotten all better until the other day when the wind blew a door I was holding, pulling my arm almost all the way back, and it didn't hurt. Use your own judgement, of course, but I would never go back to a physical therapist for that particular injury. Kathie p.s. The year before I'd done something similar to my ankle, and physical therapy stopped the pain and spasms within 10 minutes, when drugs and cortisone shots had failed for over 3 months--same clinic, different therapist.

-- Kathie in Western Washington (twinrosefarm@centurytel.net), November 07, 2001.

My mom tore hers after a bad fall. She went to phys. therapy for months and it kept getting worse and worse. She actually tore it again during some of the exercises that they were having her do. She ended up having surgery and has not had a bit of trouble since then. I don't know if she would have had the surgery before the therapy or not. I don't mean to scare you, but I would certainly get a second opinion.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 08, 2001.

Thanks everyone. I started therapy 2 weeks ago and the first week was absolutely miserable. A lot of pain and muscle cramping in the inured shoulder. This week is somewhat better. Not so much cramping. The therapist is very gentle and never pushes me to do more than I can. Everyone that I know who has had this (including my father in law) were told to have surgery so I was skeptical that therapy would work. The therapist told me that he would know within three weeks if the therapy would help or if it would be a waste of time so I guess I'll stick it out for another week. I really don't want to have surgery right now. Thanks again! Colleen

-- Colleen (Bean@northwoods.net), November 08, 2001.

Glad that you are doing better! Surgery is no fun no matter what it is! I hope that you can get away without it! The surgery may have been on much more severe tears that would not heal. I surely hope that you continue to improve! Keep us posted!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 08, 2001.

I had a real nasty one in 1982. Suffered with it for 3 months, and then decided to go with the surgery. The doc said I lasted longer that he thought I would. I was border line on them transplanting a tendon from my thigh, but he decided to try it without that. The doc had just come back from studing with Dr. Jobe in L.A., who has pioneered new techniques in shoulder and elbow surgery. Rehad took about a year, and its almost been 20 years, and the shoulder is fine.

Good luck, I hope your improvement continues.

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), November 08, 2001.

I have lived with a torn rotator cuff for five years. Have been putting off the surgery due to the fact it is my good arm and I cannot use my disabled arm to handle everyday hand motions during the immobilized recovery time. Therapy helps , however surgery is the way to correct it. Orthoscopic technique is advancing far enough now that immobilization is now down to just a few weeks. I am seriously considering checking into a full care facility so that I can regain full range of motion and eliminate the locking of my shoulder.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), November 08, 2001.

My dad suffered a torn rotator cuff a few years ago. The therapy, as I understand it, seemed pretty useless at first. He considered not going, as he said it just made it worse, and it seemed to be taking a long time to get nowhere.

My sister-in-law is a nurse-practitioner, and she told him that with this particular injury, that's the way it worked, and he'd better keep up with it if he wanted the full use of his arm.

Well, he persisted, grumbling about it constantly, and eventually it did help.

-- Tracy (trimmer31@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

I tore my rotator cuff a few years ago. I was sent to physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the rotator cuff. It helped a little,.... but it really just took time. It was the second time I'd torn the same rotator cuff; the first time, I did nothing, time healed it. They do repair themselves. Athletes tend to go the surgery route simply because it is a quicker healing process.

-- steve drew (sdrew11@msn.com), November 08, 2001.

I'm a Physician Assistant and treat a lot of sports injuries. (My patient base is 1200 of America's finest criminals at the federal prison in Ashland, Ky.) Rarely do we send anyone out for a rotator repair unless the supraspinatus muscle or tendon is completely torn. Rehab therapy is usually 10-14 months with or without surgery. It sounds like the PT was too aggressive at first--should only have been arm dangling/swinging with gravity and "finger-climbing-up-the wall" exercises for the 1st couple of weeks. If it was a partial: rehab. Complete tear: surgery.

-- Jim Deweese (jedeweese@earthlink.net), November 08, 2001.

Thanks again everyone. I went to therapy again today. It finally seems to be working. My muscles are really tired, but a lot of the pain I have had has gone. It seems like the last three days I have had a large decrease in pain. Such a relief!! Therapist says no strenuous activity yet or I will retear it. That is frustrating because I have so many fall chores to do. But I will listen to him! Thanks again for all the advice.

-- Colleen (bean@northwoods.net), November 09, 2001.

Torn mine about 2-3 years ago, lifting a large piece of plastiic into a truck. Nothing heavy. Just happened. Extreme pain for the rest of the day, then gradually better. MRI and some pain pills. It will NOT grow back. But I did nothing and everything is fine now. No pain, full movement.

-- j (jimwest@shelbynet.net), November 11, 2001.