Rotator cuff injury experiences

[saltland]

Going on 6 weeks off the bike and not even close to getting back on it.Under Orthopedic/PT care so I'm not looking for med advice but am wondering for those who have had RC injuries either overuse or traumatic how long did it take you to return to riding.My situation is severe tendonitis/injury of the infraspinatus tendon/muscle area.
I'm definitely following the program but its very frustrating.I had 3 knee surgeries in the last 4 years and they were much easier to recover from.
Thanks,
Scott

[djg21]

Going on 6 weeks off the bike and not even close to getting back on it.Under Orthopedic/PT care so I'm not looking for med advice but am wondering for those who have had RC injuries either overuse or traumatic how long did it take you to return to riding.My situation is severe tendonitis/injury of the infraspinatus tendon/muscle area.
I'm definitely following the program but its very frustrating.I had 3 knee surgeries in the last 4 years and they were much easier to recover from.
Thanks,
Scott

Rehab after shoulder surgery for RC/Labrum was much more painful than knee rehab. To prevent frozen shoulder, PT would manipulate joint and force stretch to point that pain was almost unbearable. The weights and exercises were far more pleasant. Good luck.

[Hilltopperny]

I had a similar injury 14 years ago, but wasn't cycling at the time. It took me a good six months before I could lift my left arm above my shoulder. PT and a good program should get you there quicker.

Good luck and just don't rush back to it too quickly. I over used mine and have lasting deterioration because of it.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[GregL]

Welcome to the long haul. Due to a combination of my shoulder's basic structure and multiple injuries, I had my right shoulder "remodeled" in 2016. The surgery included removal of bone spurs and re-attachment of the supraspinatus. I'm planning on getting the same surgery on my left shoulder in 2019.

You're 100% correct in your comparison of knee surgery to shoulder surgery. My experience was the same. The full recovery for the shoulder took 6 months. For the first two weeks, no movement of the shoulder at all. I was in a sling/brace 100% of the time except for the shower. Starting at week 2, I was in PT 2-3 times per week and was allowed to take my brace off when seated to stretch. The brace came off at 6 weeks with the condition that I lift nothing heavier than an eating utensil. The recovery and PT continued out to the 6 month mark where I had nearly 100% range-of-motion and about 80% of pre-surgery strength. Two years out, I have recovered nearly all the strength and the repaired shoulder is pain-free.

Now for a little better news: you can maintain your cycling fitness through the recovery process. I went out for a moderate walk the same day as the surgery. I was back on a recumbent bike (in a gym) 4 days post surgery. I was back on a regular bike trainer by 2 weeks post surgery. My surgeon is a bike racer, so he understood my mindset and gave me a second sling just for working out. I was able to start training outside (solo) by 10 weeks post surgery. I was able to participate in group rides by 16 weeks and did my first race at 6 months.

Good luck!
Greg

[Irishgirl]

Not sure if sharing my rotator cuff injury/experience will give you hope to get back on the bike sooner...

My injury occurred while I was riding and had what I would consider an epic crash over the top of my handle bars... very grateful for my helmet as well as the person I was riding with to help me. To say it hurt was an understatement. Thankfully my bike had minor issues and some cosmetic scratches. My right shoulder and helmet took the brunt of the impact and after several months finally went to the doc and found there was a 50% tear. Faced with being a borderline surgical case I decided to skip surgery and go with PT.

I would be lying if I said I never feel the pain...from time to time on or off the bike that shoulder reminds me of my injury. I look at the injury with the lenses the shoulder pain is not as severe as other pain and still continue to ride although not as much as I like. The lack of time on the bike is more a function of finding that 8th day of the week.

Hopefully you will find your new “normal” as far as how your shoulder pain impacts your riding...I consider every time I’m on my bike a great moment regardless if my shoulder (or other parts) reminder me a little more after I get off the bike.

[Chris]

Been there. About two years ago I started noticing trouble sleeping on my shoulder and some increased pain when throwing a ball to my dog or reaching in certain ways. Tendonitis/tendonosis in the RC. I had injections a couple of times and did the band stuff. It took forever to get over and it didn't really start doing that until I got in the gym, threw away the bands and started doing my shoulder rehab activities RELIGIOUSLY on the cable pull machine, which in my opinion, gives a better resistance. Go slow, but consistently and build the strength in your shoulders.

An aside. I'm 48 and rode/raced for 30 years before a bad crash took me out for quite awhile a year or so ago. I never focused on strength training and bought all of the bs about staying light. Since the crash and because of the shoulder rehab I have seen how important it is to be strong and how little we endurance athletes actually focus on that.

[pobrien]

I had my rotator cuff tear repaired ten years ago now. I had torn the Supraspinatus tender very badly in a m/c crash years prior to the surgery.

I was very surprised with the level of pain I experienced during the first three weeks post-op. Hellacious might cover it. I did my physiotherapy religiously when allowed to start it.

My recollection was that it was likely six or seven weeks before I was able to put some strain on the shoulder without real pain.

I held off cycling for some time after that point as it was too risky to ride without being fit to respond to everything we might reasonably face on a ride.

You will know when you are ready. I hope this helps.

[saltland]

Fortunately at this point it doesn't look like I need surgery thank god.
Training wise I've been on the spin bike(a model similar to Peloton without all the electronics).I sit back not putting pressure on the shoulder using low resistance at high cadence.Sometimes I'll do what I call CX intervals...10-15 minutes as hard as I can then run up and down my basement steps a few times then repeat...cuts the boredom slightly.I do have days that the weight of my arm causes discomfort so I'll cut it short.Plan on starting hiking again.Although if Im going to be injured now is the time as northeast winter has come sooner.
Thanks for input.
Scott

[makoti]

I rode in pain for about two years before I finally gave in and got it repaired. I was off the bike for the better part of 3 months, then another 3 to feel safe outside.
I should have done it sooner. The constant ache I got while riding took the fun right out of it.

[gngroup]

Rehab after shoulder surgery for RC/Labrum was much more painful than knee rehab. To prevent frozen shoulder, PT would manipulate joint and force stretch to point that pain was almost unbearable. The weights and exercises were far more pleasant. Good luck.

This was my experience as well. Two screws into my shoulder to secure the labrum. I started PT one week after surgery and still ended up with a bit of frozen shoulder. Which just meant the physio would stretch to the point the pain would almost make me pass out. I went out and rode a century 4 months after surgery after having kept up my fitness on the elliptical machine. As others have noted, do your shoulder routine religiously!

[thwart]

I had a pretty bad bout of overuse related (no definite fall or injury) rotator cuff tendinopathy back in 2009. Right shoulder, and yes, I'm right handed.

Saw a sports medicine physician, had a steroid injection (after an MRI to make sure I had no significant rotator cuff tear), went through a course of physical therapy.

Pain disrupted my sleep for three or four months. It took almost a year for the condition to resolve… however, I continue to have intermittent problems with it if I overdo things a bit with my shoulder.

Bike position changes helped me quite a bit with my recovery. Bars moved up a couple of cm (so no more bikes with short headtubes :(), reach to bars shortened a cm or so, and a bit more rearward tilt to my saddle, all measures to unload the shoulder.

Workouts? A skilled PT can give you some guidance here, although it sounds like you're making some good decisions.

[mtechnica]

I messed up my rotator cuff about 6 years ago falling from 4-5 feet and catching myself with my arm because I was drunk. At first I thought I collar boned myself but quickly realized that wasn’t it. I just rode around with one arm for a while since at the time I had to ride to commute and for work. I never did see a doctor but it took years for it to go back to mostly normal and even now it will get sore if I do something stupid. My thought was to just keep using it and moving it, and as long as it got better and not worse, maybe it would heal over time. I’m not saying this is good advice. I would say rest it was much as possible to avoid making the injury worse, but to keep moving as much as you can without making it worse.