3 months post shoulder surgery
Posted , 5 users are following.
hello all! i am 3 months post shoulder surgery. Detached labrum(post), AC Joint clean up of osteoarthritis, and bursa clean up. I find that my pain levels are pretty high considering I am 3 months out. Yes I know this recovery is slow and difficult, but some days I am so worried that it will never ease up! I've developed Tendinitis in my elbow which is also quit annoying. My range of motion is great, but like I said, the pain is very much there, especially in my clavicle area. The mornings are the worst, and I find im very achey at night, especially in my elbow and fingers. I guess what im asking is, is this all normal? I've had cortisone shot about a month ago for something else but it did not help my shoulder pain. At what month can i expect the pain to lessen and does all of this sound normal?
0 likes, 5 replies
jaycee1956 Simplymie
Posted
Hi Simplymie I do think we tend to underestimate the level of pain associated with shoulder surgery i remember being told pre surgery to expect moderate to severe pain but it felt much worse than that on a scale of 1 - 10 I would have said it was nearer 20! It's hard to put a timescale on recovery but as its gradual but for me personally I think I would say to be back to 100% was around the one year mark. Weirdly my clavicle was bothersome along with my elbow. The really positive thing for you is you say your mobility is good. everything else will eventually fall into place.
Simplymie jaycee1956
Posted
Honestly, I wouldn’t say my pain was ever severe. The beginning was actually very easy, but now I feel new things, pain wise..but the things that bothered me the most, which is my ac joint area, still hurts! Everything else that was done to my shoulder didn’t show up on the MRI, and was much worse than expected when they went in.
The symptoms before was ALOT of clicking, other than that my number 1 pain symptom was always my clavicle. And yes, the inner side of my elbow definitely hurts, and I feel that the most when being stretched.
But yes my ROM is great as they say. Just need to eliminate the aches and pains!
Anywho, thank you for replying, and I hope you have recovered well! I am 25 and a dealer in the casino business so I’m due to back to work soon. I’m hoping I recover significantly well by then!
xyxy Simplymie
Posted
I had shoulder surgery 3 years ago (4 part fracture of shoulder)and my pain level was often unbearable day and night. I agree 0-10 did not describe it.
It was a combination of electric nerve pain, muscular pain, post op healing, throbbing aching pain which was worse at night. It made good sleep a distant memory. I thought it would never end.
Good news is that it did. By the end of the 4th month the pain did not occupy my every waking moment. It was a time factor mainly with bone and muscle healing in its own time.
I did resent the fact that I was not told up front how truly long and PAINFUL the recovery would be. I became depressed as I could do nothing and most people did not understand.
Hang in there. Go easy on yourself. Don't fall. We are all a little different in time journeys but as long as your bones are in alignment you are healing.
Simplymie xyxy
Posted
This is very good to read. I think this month has been the worst, specifically this week.
Thank you for responding, and im hoping to see better days!
JuJu54 Simplymie
Posted
I had a bad fall early August, I had a complete tear of my rotator cuff and shredded my bicep. i wasn't able to have surgery until end of August. I am 3 months post surgery and all the comments about the pain during recovery is so similar to my experience. I'm now having this burning, throbbing pain in my upper arm, applying heat helps a bit. i am so looking forward to not waking to pain every night. I have been in physical therapy 11 weeks and i still don't have full range of motion.