Surgery = No Riding...

[SweaterDude]

So i found out wednesday that my shoulder is going to need surgery. I have a superior labrum tear in my left shoulder. I was told that it should be a fairly simple surgery and that it could be done with a scope. However the recovery time is speculated to be 4 months. This causes a bit of an issue for me. I plan on playing soccer for my college next fall, but i will need to have the surgery in order to be medically cleared to play. but if i get the surgery at the beginning of the summer i wont be able to work. and most importantly i wont be able to ride

Has anybody here had something like this. its not as dramatic as a ligament like an ACL, or something muscular like a Rotator Cuff, but still. I will be able to ride up until the surgery, but i wont be able to ride the dirt bikes for probably a year.

Im editing this post as well because people always read the first post. I NEVER HAD ANY INTENTION OF NOT GOING THROUGH WITH SURGERY. I WILL BE GETTING SURGERY WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. and then ill be sitting on my @ss not doing schitt for the next few weeks

 

[PosterFZ6]

So i found out wednesday that my shoulder is going to need surgery. I have a superior labrum tear in my left shoulder. I was told that it should be a fairly simple surgery and that it could be done with a scope. However the recovery time is speculated to be 4 months. This causes a bit of an issue for me. I plan on playing soccer for my college next fall, but i will need to have the surgery in order to be medically cleared to play. but if i get the surgery at the beginning of the summer i wont be able to work. and most importantly i wont be able to ride

Has anybody here had something like this. its not as dramatic as a ligament like an ACL, or something muscular like a Rotator Cuff, but still. I will be able to ride up until the surgery, but i wont be able to ride the dirt bikes for probably a year.

Ask your doc how serious it is an in what time frame you should do the procedure.

I love soccer and riding bikes.

I think I would go with soccer.

 

[Erci]

Oh man.. I know nothing about it, but just wanna wish you luck. Sucks having to give up your *normal* life style due to injuries (I've been there quite a few times).

 

[SweaterDude]

Ask your doc how serious it is an in what time frame you should do the procedure.

I love soccer and riding bikes.

I think I would go with soccer.

i have to get the surgery done as soon as possible because if it gets too bad my shoulder will completely dislocate and tear my rotator cuff (thats what the doc said).

this will be my last year to play soccer for school, so i really would like to do that, but i only get to ride during the summer since i go to school 600mi. from home. Given the choice i would ride over playing soccer any day though. the big thing is that im afraid to ride in the dirt for fear of really F***ing up my shoulder. I really hope that ill be ok and able to get cleared by the time soccer comes back around.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it will be at least May before i have the surgery. I'm getting it done at home and i have to finish my semester first so its a little ways off. im just a little flustered about it.

 

[rsw81]

Reserving for response in the morning.
Dr Rob

Okay, so labral tears are no joke. Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, providing the widest range of motion on all planes of motion. The issue is that with this incredible range of motion comes ridiculous amounts of instability. Your labrum functions to deepen the cup of the glenoid, providing essentially a suction cup fit to the top of your humerus (arm bone). Without a properly functioning labrum providing this suction effect, you are at an increased risk of dislocating your shoulder and straining your rotator cuff, leading to a tear of the rotator cuff and worsening the damage to the labrum. Catching this early and getting it repaired is the only way to prevent major issues down the road for your shoulder. Get it fixed sooner than later and take it easy on the shoulder between now and then.

Some people mentioned below Prolotherapy. While there is some anecdotal cases of miraculous recovery using prolotherapy on stretched or torn ligaments, there is no evidence based medicine to support this. Here's the idea: healing occurs as a result of part of the inflammatory response. Prolotherapy injects a mild irritant into an area in need of healing, provoking an inflammatory response, thus hypothetically improving the healing of that damaged area. The question is how does the body know which tissues in that area to affect? It doesn't! Additionally, this has been shown to be helpful in stretching/sprained ligaments, but has been proven completely ineffective in complete tears of ligaments and would certainly have no affect on a torn labrum. I'm sorry Ssky0078 but prolotherapy is a bad idea in this case. There are some cases where I'd be willing to give it a try before more aggressive treatments, but this just isn't one of them.

In the end, my recommendation is to get it fixed sooner than later. Missing one season of riding is a small price to pay for a pain free, healthy shoulder for the rest of your life and being able to ride well in future years as a result of it. If it's any consolation to you, I torn all the ligaments holding my shoulder to my collar bone (AC Separation) in a motorcycle accident several years ago. I took a year and a half off riding while it healed up and eventually needed surgery. I did try prolotherapy at that time which provided about 20% relief, but ultimately still left me with a useless shoulder functionally (I couldn't life more than 3-4lbs without pain). I'm glad I took the time to get my shoulder fixed and now can ride without issue, lift weights, hold my kid, etc. It wasn't fun, but surgery was the right choice.

My last piece of advice is that as important as the surgery is, the physical therapy is 10x more important. Without a strong muscular capsule around the shoulder, the shoulder will never function right. Your physical therapist will guide you through the recovery, improving strength and stability gradually, until you are back to your pre-injury or better strength. What is important is to continue these exercises essentially forever to keep your shoulder in good shape. This will help you prevent future injury.

Hope this was helpful.

Dr. Rob

 

[PhotoAl]

Hate to hear that, I say go for it first thing Monday and get it out of the way. You will be able to ride in time to catch the end of summer and the fall riding season. Know the pain of surgery and not being able to ride. Had open heart surgery (valve) almost 6 weeks ago and hope to get the OK to ride next week. My wife has been giving me a hard time because every time I walk past my new CBR600RR all I can do is sigh. I bought the bike 5 days after the first test that indicated major heart problems - have to thank my wife for getting permission. The time has gone past quicker than I thought it would.

For everyone out there remember AGAT, if you do go down you want the best protection so you can avoid hospital time (and the associated "discomfort") because you decided to skip the pants and just wear jeans.

 

[Motogiro]

Dr. Rob will have some good info for you.

They cut me last year and they said I couldn't drive a car for three weeks. I didn't ask them about the bike cuz I know they would say no. I rode my bike in 3 weeks! I took it easy so as to be semi responsible and I wasn't in any pain.

It does suck but you have to do what's good for your life in the long run.
Good luck and know a lot of folk will be pulling for you!

 

[zi3jermyn]

Man, I'm sorry to hear that. Speaking from experience, it is better to get these thing taken care of sooner rather than later. It will seem like a long time but you will be riding again in no time.

If it makes you feel any better, I am dealing with this right now, typing with one hand:

Good luck on the surgery!

 

[Ssky0078]

I would check into something called prolotherapy.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304410504575560214236534310.html

I've used it with a number of patients and alleviated their pain with improved function to the point that they don't need surgery. Saved a couple of people from knee replacements as well.

I've personally had it done for a labrum tear in my shoulder and meniscus tears in both knees. The shoulder was good for about a year or 2 after the injections but I did re-injure it. The knees are both mostly pain free (one of them I tweaked again).

Recovery time is about 2 weeks and if you are young and healthy you could expect to get significant improvement in 6 weeks.

Shoulder surgery is a beeootch. I've avoided it for myself and will do anything possible to avoid getting it cut/worked on. Arthroscopic repair for a labrum tear should not be a big deal but every time you go in for surgery it's considered a success if you only get a 50% of improvement in your pain (so a daily 9 out of 10 that drops to a 4 out of 10 is a success) and no further loss of function (doesn't mean it's fixed).

The only shoulder surgery I would subject myself to is if it were a SLAP tear lesion. Even those you can try a couple of round so of prolotherapy before getting cut.

 

[Kazza]

I feel your pain!

I'm having surgery soon - bone in wrist too long and touching other bones. They are going to cut a 5mm section of my forearm out and put a titanium plate in there. This will bring the lower half of my forearm back and stop the bones rubbing

Been told 2 weeks plaster cast, 4 weeks plastic cast then 6 months recovery. I don't know how long I'll be unable to ride for - will find out end of April

Good luck with your surgery and keep us posted

 

[Nelly]

i have to get the surgery done as soon as possible because if it gets too bad my shoulder will completely dislocate and tear my rotator cuff (thats what the doc said).

this will be my last year to play soccer for school, so i really would like to do that, but i only get to ride during the summer since i go to school 600mi. from home. Given the choice i would ride over playing soccer any day though. the big thing is that im afraid to ride in the dirt for fear of really F***ing up my shoulder. I really hope that ill be ok and able to get cleared by the time soccer comes back around.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it will be at least May before i have the surgery. I'm getting it done at home and i have to finish my semester first so its a little ways off. im just a little flustered about it.

It's a no brainer really mate,
This procedure compared to possible rotator cuff complications. Rotator cuff injuries are notoriously slow to heal and often have a residual loss of strength and function. The rehab for this will see you out of sports and dirt bikes for a protracted time.

Good luck

Neil

 

[Nelly]

I would check into something called prolotherapy.

Health News: Does Prolotherapy Work? Sugar Injections Evaluated - WSJ.com

I've used it with a number of patients and alleviated their pain with improved function to the point that they don't need surgery. Saved a couple of people from knee replacements as well.

I've personally had it done for a labrum tear in my shoulder and meniscus tears in both knees. The shoulder was good for about a year or 2 after the injections but I did re-injure it. The knees are both mostly pain free (one of them I tweaked again).

Recovery time is about 2 weeks and if you are young and healthy you could expect to get significant improvement in 6 weeks.

Shoulder surgery is a beeootch. I've avoided it for myself and will do anything possible to avoid getting it cut/worked on. Arthroscopic repair for a labrum tear should not be a big deal but every time you go in for surgery it's considered a success if you only get a 50% of improvement in your pain (so a daily 9 out of 10 that drops to a 4 out of 10 is a success) and no further loss of function (doesn't mean it's fixed).

The only shoulder surgery I would subject myself to is if it were a SLAP tear lesion. Even those you can try a couple of round so of prolotherapy before getting cut.

I read the article with interest thanks, for me more research needs to be carried out and replicated.
I would personally like to know how many patients a doctor has treated and how effective the treatments have been before I considered this option.

Neil

 

[Ssky0078]

I read the article with interest thanks, for me more research needs to be carried out and replicated.
I would personally like to know how many patients a doctor has treated and how effective the treatments have been before I considered this option.

Neil

Prolotherapy Research - About Prolotherapy

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/pain/Pain Resources/prolotherapy_Goswami.pdf

Prolotherapy: a clinical review of its role in treating... [PM R. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Here's the big catch. If you have a therapy that can reduce pain and prevent surgery you have 3 large players who will not be happy. Pain managment docs and pharm companies, anesthesiologist and surgeons. You will never get a 100% endorsement if it will cost all of those players billions of dollars. I've worked in both pain management and addiction medicine and have seen how profitable it all can be.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

As posted above, take care of your body first and foremost...

Too bad this didn't happen during the winter, such is life...

I'd only add, so you don't have issues later with the bike, fill her up to the top of the tank, add some Seafoam(or other fuel stabilizer), maybe an automatic battery charger too.

Before you know it, you'll be on two wheels and healthy again.. :thumbup:



Short story, many, many years ago, I broke my lower leg adjacent to the ankle, while at work. I got a regular cast from the tip of my toes, to approx 1' up my leg. I owned a stick shift SUV so I couldn't even drive that with a cast on my right foot.

I could however, kick start my Kawasaki KLR 250 with my left foot, supporting my right side with my single crutch. Once started, I bungied my wooden crutch to the rear rack and once again, mobile I was. I just had to use the heel of my cast for the rear brake (I use/used the front mostly anyway).

 

[rivettm]

I tore my labrum in my right shoulder. I think I did it wake skating and then finished it off snowboarding. Eventually it started to hurt constantly. Tried physical therapy first with no success and then a couple MRI's later they found it.

Surgery wasn't a big deal. Had something called a nerve block done. It was probably the scariest part. They sedate you and then stick a needle in your neck and then inject something in the nerve that made my arm disappear. The reason for this is really the recovery since they knock you out for the surgery anyway. Woke up awhile later from the surgery all bandaged up in a hospital bed. Groggy but no pain.

They gave me all kinds of pain killers. After dental surgery and then this I've come to realize I cannot use any of the real strong pain killers. They don't make me high but they do something else to me that I won't bother sharing. It was worse than the actual surgery...

I stayed in physical therapy as long as I was improving and the insurance company would cover. I knew as soon as I stopped going I was unlikely to continue the training at home. I was in PT for around 4 months and during that time my range of motion came back and most of my strength.

Since then my shoulder has been great. The pain is gone and I have the same (better since there is no pain) motion and strength back. I would say it was a success and have no regrets. I did miss out on a season of snowboarding but I'll have many more to enjoy.

So i found out wednesday that my shoulder is going to need surgery. I have a superior labrum tear in my left shoulder. I was told that it should be a fairly simple surgery and that it could be done with a scope. However the recovery time is speculated to be 4 months. This causes a bit of an issue for me. I plan on playing soccer for my college next fall, but i will need to have the surgery in order to be medically cleared to play. but if i get the surgery at the beginning of the summer i wont be able to work. and most importantly i wont be able to ride

Has anybody here had something like this. its not as dramatic as a ligament like an ACL, or something muscular like a Rotator Cuff, but still. Id will be able to ride up until the surgery, but i wont be able to ride the dirt bikes for probably a year.

 

[Nelly]

Prolotherapy Research - About Prolotherapy

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/pain/Pain Resources/prolotherapy_Goswami.pdf

Prolotherapy: a clinical review of its role in treating... [PM R. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Here's the big catch. If you have a therapy that can reduce pain and prevent surgery you have 3 large players who will not be happy. Pain managment docs and pharm companies, anesthesiologist and surgeons. You will never get a 100% endorsement if it will cost all of those players billions of dollars. I've worked in both pain management and addiction medicine and have seen how profitable it all can be.

This seems to be a common theme for this type of therapy
Quote [Additional larger, randomized controlled trials are needed to make specific recommendations regarding ideal protocols and indications. There is emerging evidence for the use of prolotherapy as a treatment option for osteoarthritis; however, further studies are needed to conclusively demonstrate its efficacy. Overall, prolotherapy remains a promising option for the treatment of painful musculoskeletal conditions, particularly when other standard treatments have proved ineffective.]

It may certainly have it's benefits where as stated standard treatments have failed.

Neil

 

[rsw81]

This seems to be a common theme for this type of therapy
Quote [Additional larger, randomized controlled trials are needed to make specific recommendations regarding ideal protocols and indications. There is emerging evidence for the use of prolotherapy as a treatment option for osteoarthritis; however, further studies are needed to conclusively demonstrate its efficacy. Overall, prolotherapy remains a promising option for the treatment of painful musculoskeletal conditions, particularly when other standard treatments have proved ineffective.]

It may certainly have it's benefits where as stated standard treatments have failed.

Neil

Updated post #5

As stated in post #5 and you have illustrated here, there is not enough evidence to support Prolotherapy as the standard of care. Further investigation would be needed to make that decision.

Here's the big catch. If you have a therapy that can reduce pain and prevent surgery you have 3 large players who will not be happy. Pain managment docs and pharm companies, anesthesiologist and surgeons. You will never get a 100% endorsement if it will cost all of those players billions of dollars. I've worked in both pain management and addiction medicine and have seen how profitable it all can be.

I'm sorry brother, but this is conspiracy talk. Most doctors don't want their patients on a ton of pain meds; I know I certainly don't. And we don't operate unless more conservative methods of treatment have been explored and failed or aren't indicated. My surgeon who did my shoulder wouldn't work on mine until I did a full course of PT, I opted to try prolotherapy in effort to avoid the OR, but ultimately NEEDED the surgery. Saying that a surgeon would perform a surgery just to make "billions of dollars" is not only false, but you are insulting your fellow clinicians.

 

[Ssky0078]

I'm sorry brother, but this is conspiracy talk. Most doctors don't want their patients on a ton of pain meds; I know I certainly don't. And we don't operate unless more conservative methods of treatment have been explored and failed or aren't indicated. My surgeon who did my shoulder wouldn't work on mine until I did a full course of PT, I opted to try prolotherapy in effort to avoid the OR, but ultimately NEEDED the surgery. Saying that a surgeon would perform a surgery just to make "billions of dollars" is not only false, but you are insulting your fellow clinicians.

It wasn't meant as an insult and I know it sounds like conspiracy talk but I've literally had pain management docs and surgeons state they do things because its a business. Most practitioners are ethical but maybe because I'm a naturopath and get patients after they have been through the to ringer Of conventional care I know that an easier less invasive fix earlier in there care would have prevented many unnecessary expensive procedures.

I know prolo doesn't work for everybody but if you have an injection that only cost $200 and the other option is a surgery that will eat up all of a $5000 deductible for the year I personally have went with the injection and it worked for me. In your situation it didn't work and you needed surgery which I've seen that happen as well and think that is perfectly fine.

The whole reason I made mention of prolotherapy in the first place was to encourage the OP to do some research and possibly get a second opinion to avoid the knife so he doesn't need to miss his soccer or riding season.

 

[SweaterDude]

Thanks for the responses and wishes, especially Dr. Rob with the insight. I already plan on having surgery, and i know that the doc wasn't lying to me because he knew that i would be having surgery at a practice with no relations to his own, as well as the fact that he is the school's sportsmedicine specialist. As mentioned i go to school far from home so i will still have to wait a little over a month. Im still going to play soccer and water polo as i always have, but just a little less physically (i think that the water polo with the swimming should hep with shoulder strength without too much stress.

Im not really afraid of the surgery, more the fact that i wont be able to work at all for quite a bit of the summer, and since i work as a roofer over my breaks ill be useless even after i get out of the sling/cast. ill probably have to run deliveries. Maybe i can get a job with the local Yamaha place, since i know more than they (the sales guys anyway) do about every bike they have anyway.

 

[PosterFZ6]

i have to get the surgery done as soon as possible because if it gets too bad my shoulder will completely dislocate and tear my rotator cuff (thats what the doc said).

this will be my last year to play soccer for school, so i really would like to do that, but i only get to ride during the summer since i go to school 600mi. from home. Given the choice i would ride over playing soccer any day though. the big thing is that im afraid to ride in the dirt for fear of really F***ing up my shoulder. I really hope that ill be ok and able to get cleared by the time soccer comes back around.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it will be at least May before i have the surgery. I'm getting it done at home and i have to finish my semester first so its a little ways off. im just a little flustered about it.

If the doctor said that it needs to be done ASAP, then don't take any advice from professional internet forum users etc.

Use your brain and be rational about it.

Get the surgery.

Start thinking in long term as opposed to short term.