Reverse Shoulder Replacement Right Reverse Replacement Surgery- Golfer Questions

weatherpro

new member
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
4
Age
81
Country
United States United States
I am actually going to have the surgery on October 30th, 2019. My rotator cuff is basically working and I have fairly good range of motion and have been playing golf until recently when the pain became intolerable at night because of the bone on bone in my shoulder. I have had two cleanout surgeries already on the shoulder. I am wondering if anyone has had this surgery and how long it took to get back to being able to play golf and how the surgery impacted their golf game eventually assuming some time to gain the strength back. I read an article that said, on average, it takes a few strokes off your game and reduces the lenght of your drives
 
@weatherpro So sorry your thread got buried on the forum. By now you have had your surgery and I do hope your recovery is going well.

I am afraid none of us could answer your question as every recovery is different and we do not have any details on your particular medical situation. Have you discussed your questions with your surgeon? If so, I'd be interested in hearing their input.
 
Yes I completed my surgery Oct 10th, 2019 and everything has gone well. I have read online that some surgeons recommend not beginning Physical Therapy for more than 12 weeks but I started PT two weeks post op at the advice of my surgeron and I must say the therapy is quite painful at times but generally is helpful. I have not warn my brace since two weeks post op, despite being told to use it for 6 weeks. My range of motion is improving so I can now put on my clothes, write on a pad, use and type on my laptop in bed, and drive the car shifting with my right hand (the impacted shoulder). I have done some easy lifting using both arms but I can only raise my arm up to about 20 degrees above the waist. I can now putt fairly easy as I have been walking on the golf course with my golf buddy. I see my surgeon on the 10th for my 6 week follow up.
 
Sounds like you are doing really well! Please let us know how your follow up appointment goes!
 
It does take a while to get full range of motion back and your strength. My surgery was in February and I'm still working on the strength part. Be sure in any therapy that you're just working the shoulder to the point of mild discomfort. Strong pain is counter productive and should be avoided.
 
Had my 6 week follow up and x-ray confirmed that the surgery was successful. Have gone from range of motion to strengthening exercises with my physical therapist. My physician and my physical therapist are definitely pro painful movement therapy where I work through the pain and not avoid it. Her stretching reaches quite high on my pain threshold. I am now walking the golf course and able to putt and chip the ball at 7 weeks, write my therapy notes, tie my shoes, reach behind to pull my belt through the loops, carry light objects, but still have difficulty eating with my right hand and washing my hair with my right hand though I can reach above my head. What is really painful is when my Physical Therapist twists my arm and then try to pivot my arm away from my body. It seems like I am gaining about 1-2 degrees improvement in range of motion every several days. My physical therapist believes I may be able to gradually start to hit short irons and gradually work up towards the driver over the next 6 weeks. My doctor says I should let my Physical Therapist guide me in that direction.
 
Whew....you're braver than I am, @weatherpro. I don't (and neither did my surgeon or therapist) believe in pain when recovering from a shoulder replacement....or any joint replacement, for that matter. Some people can get away with it and recover in spite of all the agony, but if it was me, I'd scale all those "owies" back. Recovery from a reverse shoulder replacement is supposedly a bit shorter and less painful than from a regular replacement because of the way the procedure is performed. But recovery is still a rather long process. It's your choice, but there would be nothing wrong with trying a bit of a gentler approach to some of those movements so you're not aggravating soft tissue that's trying it's best to heal and re-stretch to work properly. That is a slow process that you just cannot hurry up by pushing.

Do continue to let us know how you're getting along. I think the progress you report is wonderful. I'll tell you that it was at least 6 months before I could really seriously wash my hair with my surgery arm. The arm was up there on my head, but movement was limited. I needed muscle strength that has been steady, but slow in coming.
 
Jamie,

Just had my 11 week follow up with my doctor and he told me all is well. I can stretch my arms out verticle and horizontal about 180 degrees. Today I was hitting my short irons on the golf course today with about 75% to 85% range of motion before I encounter stiffness and some pain, but the more I do it, the more range I was getting. Plan on playing a 3 par golf course in the next week and feel that I should probably be hitting all of my clubs sometime next month. My PT says I should expect some pain when I play for quite a long time but that I should assume that the pain is normal and I will eventually return to normal. The remainder of my life is about 100 % normal. I can lift bags of groceries, brush and wash my hair, walk the dogs with the effected arm, put dishes on shelves above my head, and drive the car normally. Very happy with my progress.
 
That's just great. I'm so glad this is working out well for you.
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Forum statistics

Threads
65,071
Messages
1,595,304
BoneSmarties
39,299
Latest member
mexicaliaguilas
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom