SportHog
senior
Way to go Jamie! Looks like we are at the same point in our shoulder recovery.
Thanks for being my shoulder buddy! What’s next? Cheers, Ross
Thanks for being my shoulder buddy! What’s next? Cheers, Ross
Standard Shoulder Replacement Finally after 5 years - a new shoulder
- Thread starter Jamie
- Start date
Hi Jamie, I just found your recovery thread and enjoyed reading it. Sounds like you are doing very well! One of my clients has had both of her shoulders replaced and in fact, two years ago she had a revision. She is doing very well now.. Like you, she said the shoulders were easier than her knee replacements. The muscle that still gives her trouble is the pectoralis major where it inserts at the humerus, which then affects her abduction and then her tricep muscles remain very tender and weak and she says she absolutely does her exercises.. Also loved hearing about the skinny table.. that sounded awesome!
OP
OP
Ross, I certainly hope you meant what "activity to pursue" is next and not "what joint to be replaced"!!
I could be really happy just staying with two knees and a shoulder. I'm so happy that you've had the same good experience with your shoulder, though. I was telling my surgeon about you and the others who went through this about the same time and how we all had a relatively easy time of it. It still seems amazing to me.
@Jamie Excellent report! I'm sure you will find as time goes on, that the strength and ROM of your new shoulder will increase gradually. At least that has been my experience 
My right shoulder now is 6 years old and functions very well - pretty close to "normal" (what ever that is). Left one is only 2 years old and does very well though does not yet have the stretch and ROM of the right one - and I do keep working on it. Pain free and functional -- life is good, isn't it!?
My right shoulder now is 6 years old and functions very well - pretty close to "normal" (what ever that is). Left one is only 2 years old and does very well though does not yet have the stretch and ROM of the right one - and I do keep working on it. Pain free and functional -- life is good, isn't it!?
OP
OP
That's interesting to know that you gain strength and ROM for that long a period of time. I'll keep that in mind on those days when I'm impatient.
Allrosey
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Hi Jamie just wondering what level you are at with raising your arm. Do you have full range? I can only raise my arm to 120 (after extensive stretching) the therapist can push me back to 165. I am really frustrated with my recovery. I was feeling that I was winning a few battles but was losing the war-now I feel like the war has been lost and I am the only one still on the battlefield.......I excersize everyday-several times a day. I have my own pulleys and still do PT once a week.....its not from lack of trying.
OP
OP
@Allrosey My range of motion upwards was good fairly early on, if I was lying down and using a bar so my other arm would help get my surgery arm up there. So I knew my problem was mostly muscle strength. Like you, I've been working on that since the summer when I stopped going to therapy. I don't do a lot of formal exercises, but instead try to use that arm for things like putting dishes in the cabinet, reaching for high items and just generally moving it when I think about it throughout the day.
Things are better. Lots better. I can now raise my arm up like in school when I knew the answer to the math problem. It's weak still, but it's up there. I still have some difficulty shaving under that arm because there is a slight outward motion to the shoulder that must be done so you can reach your armpit. But that's a strength issue too that I work on when I shower. So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with the progress. I think it may have gone faster if I had stayed in a structured therapy program, but my life is just too busy to allow that much time. They were lucky to get me 3 times a week for three months!
If your therapist can move your arm more than you can do it alone, then it's just going to take time. You're about a month behind me with surgery, so don't worry. You'll get there! My surgeon told me it was at least a year to fully recover and get motion and strength back. He was soooo right. Hang in there!
Things are better. Lots better. I can now raise my arm up like in school when I knew the answer to the math problem. It's weak still, but it's up there. I still have some difficulty shaving under that arm because there is a slight outward motion to the shoulder that must be done so you can reach your armpit. But that's a strength issue too that I work on when I shower. So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with the progress. I think it may have gone faster if I had stayed in a structured therapy program, but my life is just too busy to allow that much time. They were lucky to get me 3 times a week for three months!
If your therapist can move your arm more than you can do it alone, then it's just going to take time. You're about a month behind me with surgery, so don't worry. You'll get there! My surgeon told me it was at least a year to fully recover and get motion and strength back. He was soooo right. Hang in there!
OP
OP
Update on my shoulder and it's not so good. A couple of months ago, I had an annual mammogram and the technician unfortunately gave my left arm a slight shove to get it in place on the machine before I could say anything about the fact that I was still recovering from a shoulder replacement.
I got a really sharp pain directly in the joint, but it went away immediately, so I didn't even mention it to her. However, later....my shoulder hurt quite a bit.....a deep ache in the joint. I was concerned something might have gotten torn or stretched, so I decided to take things easy, take Tylenol when needed (which did take care of any pain), and wait for my annual appointment with my surgeon in late February.
After 6 weeks, the pain was better but not gone. It no longer had that deep ache in the joint, but some pain remained in the biceps muscle, which is where I've always had my pain with this shoulder. But the pain moves around and isn't constant, so I just wasn't sure what was going on.
My surgeon was pleased with my range of motion and the implant xrays. He felt I had just pulled a tendon or ligament or maybe had a small muscle tear. He wanted me to try therapy, as that is the treatment for both those conditions. He said if the therapy didn't work, an ultrasound could be done. I thought about it and told him I would be much more comfortable doing therapy if I knew for sure whether I had muscle or ligament tears. So he ordered the ultrasound.
I had it done yesterday. Of course I couldn't tell diddly squat from the images on the screen. But the radiologist was fine with telling me everything he was seeing. He indicated he thought I had some tendonitis in my shoulder itself where the biceps muscle attaches. Plus he thought the biceps tendon was either torn or very, very thin. He couldn't see the sub-scapularis muscles at all. That's the muscle that was so severely atrophied and the surgeon was worried about whether or not it would stay attached. He's going to recommend to the surgeon that a CT scan be done to try and see more details, even though that imaging can be a problem sometimes after a joint replacement.
I'm not in a lot of pain these days. And the radiologist indicated if his thoughts are correct, I'd have two options. I could have surgery again to try and repair the damage. Or I could just live with it as the two questionable muscles are not absolutely needed to function. That is pretty evident from the fact that I have little pain when doing anything with my shoulder and great range of motion. Maybe a little weakness when lifting anything above shoulder height, but that may get better with more exercise.
So, I'm in a "wait and see" mode until I hear back from my surgeon. I have no idea what I would do if the radiologist is right.
Here are the areas where there potentially may be problems. Please note this is a posterior view:
I got a really sharp pain directly in the joint, but it went away immediately, so I didn't even mention it to her. However, later....my shoulder hurt quite a bit.....a deep ache in the joint. I was concerned something might have gotten torn or stretched, so I decided to take things easy, take Tylenol when needed (which did take care of any pain), and wait for my annual appointment with my surgeon in late February.
After 6 weeks, the pain was better but not gone. It no longer had that deep ache in the joint, but some pain remained in the biceps muscle, which is where I've always had my pain with this shoulder. But the pain moves around and isn't constant, so I just wasn't sure what was going on.
My surgeon was pleased with my range of motion and the implant xrays. He felt I had just pulled a tendon or ligament or maybe had a small muscle tear. He wanted me to try therapy, as that is the treatment for both those conditions. He said if the therapy didn't work, an ultrasound could be done. I thought about it and told him I would be much more comfortable doing therapy if I knew for sure whether I had muscle or ligament tears. So he ordered the ultrasound.
I had it done yesterday. Of course I couldn't tell diddly squat from the images on the screen. But the radiologist was fine with telling me everything he was seeing. He indicated he thought I had some tendonitis in my shoulder itself where the biceps muscle attaches. Plus he thought the biceps tendon was either torn or very, very thin. He couldn't see the sub-scapularis muscles at all. That's the muscle that was so severely atrophied and the surgeon was worried about whether or not it would stay attached. He's going to recommend to the surgeon that a CT scan be done to try and see more details, even though that imaging can be a problem sometimes after a joint replacement.
I'm not in a lot of pain these days. And the radiologist indicated if his thoughts are correct, I'd have two options. I could have surgery again to try and repair the damage. Or I could just live with it as the two questionable muscles are not absolutely needed to function. That is pretty evident from the fact that I have little pain when doing anything with my shoulder and great range of motion. Maybe a little weakness when lifting anything above shoulder height, but that may get better with more exercise.
So, I'm in a "wait and see" mode until I hear back from my surgeon. I have no idea what I would do if the radiologist is right.
Here are the areas where there potentially may be problems. Please note this is a posterior view:
Last edited:
OP
OP
It could certainly be a lot worse. I don't really have pain and I can do pretty much anything I want. It just took a lot longer than I expected for what new pain I had after my "experience" to go away. But it has. So both the radiologist and I think whatever conditions he may have seen have been there a while. I'm not making any fast decisions for more surgery. Summer is coming on and I see no need to be in recovery for another summer season.
So do you think the mammogram tech caused the problem?
Or, was there an issue already going on that her moving your arm made it worse?
I’m sorry she had her own agenda and didn’t consider you at all.
Or, was there an issue already going on that her moving your arm made it worse?
I’m sorry she had her own agenda and didn’t consider you at all.
OP
OP
I think the mammogram "manipulation" caused the soreness I felt a couple of days after she did it. And I think it just took a long time to relieve that soreness. But since I'm basically back to where I was before that happened, I'm thinking that, if I do actually have these problems that the radiologist thinks he saw, they could have been there for quite a while.
None of this is a firm diagnosis right now.
None of this is a firm diagnosis right now.
PegGar16
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Hi @Jamie. Sorry to read about the mammo mishap. I had mine not that long ago and the tech tried to move mine forward also. I stopped her and asked her to tell me what she needed instead of the hands on. I seem to do that more these days, especially with x-ray techs. My shoulder is doing ok but still have issues with nerve pain which I have learned to work around. I find myself doing a lot more with the left hand..lol. All is well 
It's good you posted your experience, Jamie. This will allow many of us to be prepared and immediately inform medical staff that we have had surgery or have a very sore body part.
I'm sorry it happened to you though! I agree that you've earned the chance to enjoy a surgery free summer...
I'm sorry it happened to you though! I agree that you've earned the chance to enjoy a surgery free summer...
((( @Jamie ))) Hugs and commiseration! I sure hope your surgeon and you can find out definitively what the problem is in your shoulder and what, if anything, can be done to remedy the problem. Hopefully no more surgery!!!
And bah humbug to mammogram xray techs who are so blind they do not see the lovely post op scar on shoulders!! That, surely, should be a first clue that extra care needs to be taken in positioning the arm(s). Geez one would think they'd have had some training on that!
And bah humbug to mammogram xray techs who are so blind they do not see the lovely post op scar on shoulders!! That, surely, should be a first clue that extra care needs to be taken in positioning the arm(s). Geez one would think they'd have had some training on that!
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