Bilateral Supraspinatus Tendons-Complete Rupture x 2!!!

[mcirish]

Hello Fellow Shoulder Surgery Candidates and Survivors. I was active in the forum several years ago for a left partial knee implant and now I'm back again with complicated shoulder issues. The majority of the damage to both shoulders were done in 2012 in separate softball games. I chose not to have an MRI and rehabbed. Things were mostly fine for the last decade, but did have a few times where I reinjured both shoulders, but always somewhat minor until the last couple of years when it seemed at home therapy became insufficient. I relented and opted for the MRI this past Monday and the results were a little worse than I expected, but not completely surprising.

Given the amount of time that has passed, I'm a bit apprehensive that I'm not going to like the surgical options that the orthopedist is going to lay out for me. What to expect? Would appreciate any info and opinions on my potential prognosis. Thank you in advance for responses.

Tom

 

[djklaugh]

@mcirish Welcome back to BoneSmart and to the shoulder section. I am sorry to hear you have been having such problems with your shoulders. Given that, from what you have written here, PT has not been helpful the surgeon may suggest surgery. Alas they (to the best of my knowledge) only do one shoulder at a time and recovery from such surgery depends a lot on how severe the damage is and what needs to be done to repair it. It can take up to 6-12 months to fully heal/recuperate from such surgery. As I understand it repairing these tendons is very similar to rotator cuff repair. So you would need to heal first before doing any PT to regain range of motion and strength. Or if the damage is truly severe surgeon might suggest a total shoulder replacement .... either regular or reverse. Do feel free to read threads here to see how others have managed with shoulder replacement. I've had 2 myself but those were due to degenerative arthritis, bone spurs, and large calcium deposits.

But all of that depends on what the surgeon sees from the MRI, your symptoms and problems, your history, etc. Do let us know what your surgeon says.