1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Shoulder Problems

Aching arm after shoulder surgery 4 months on

Posted , 59 users are following.

cbc123
cbc123

I had rotator cuff and torn tendon repair 4 months ago. I still get an aching arm most days and have become very clicky, more so than before the opp.  I appreciate there is pain for many months after this operation, but I don't see any sign of easing, if anything, some days are getting worse. Obviously, there would be pain if something has gone wrong, so how am I supposed be be sure it is all fine? Has anyone else had these sort of experiences at this stage?

3 likes, 129 replies

129 Replies

Prev Next
  • tanya71990
    tanya71990 cbc123

    Posted

    I to have an achy arm at times I would think that it would ease up can't sleep on it at night also had a torn bicep at the shoulder repaired hope yours is doing better now

  • jeffrey11740
    jeffrey11740 cbc123

    Posted

    i wanted to reply in case you might want to speak to my surgeon from the Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic.  i mention that because I had this surgery done 9 weeks ago on my right shoulder ( i am right-handed), and had complete tears in the supra and the infraspinatus and got 6 anchors to reattach the tendons.  After one week I was back to sleeping in my bed on my stomach ( I had trouble sleeping on my back in my lazyboy), and at seven weeks I had almost complete ROM in all directions and started active motion PT and strength training.  My therapist ( who used to work at the same clinic where I got my surgery, and so is very experienced)  expects to end my regular PT in another 2 weeks because he says my sessions have become more like workouts than therapy, and he says I can continue to do the same exercises myself at my fitness club ( he has given me a chart with pictures of all of the exercises to do over the next couple of months).  I am a serious golfer , and I have already started going to the driving range and am able to hit all of the clubs in my bag.  i am also a tennis player, but will not start playing tennis , especially serving, until at least  6 months after surgery since this is what likely caused my rotator cuff tears to begin with, nor will I attempt to throw a baseball or football again until at least the summer.   I realize I have been fortunate to be healing at a rapid pace, but i credit this to my surgeon's skill.  

    • scrapbooker56
      scrapbooker56 jeffrey11740

      Posted

      Seriously, I would slow down. You just had major surgery and you are pushing limits. Your body needs to heal and I fear if you keep doing what you are doing you will retear or harm your shoulder.Please don't take offence, but recovery is between 6 months to a year.

  • Logantp
    Logantp cbc123

    Posted

    Hello, I had SLAP, bicep and labrum repair about 6 weeks ago. recovery has been real slow. Does anyone else feel a pop in their shoulder whenever you lift it to head level? Or even just to your side laying in bed? It's painful and I don't know if it's normal hopefully this thread is still active. Quite a few horror stories here

    • scrapbooker56
      scrapbooker56 Logantp

      Posted

      I am 8 months post surgery and mine still pops. Doctor said it's kind of normal, couldd go away could stay. Something about the bones rubbing together after surgery.

    • MattInMN
      MattInMN Logantp

      Posted

      Hi Logan> Your surgery sounds very similar to mine: supraspinatus tear (80% thickness, high grade), bicep repair, labrum repair, acromioplasty and removal of distal end of collarbone.  Yuck.  My surgery was on 02-Nov-17, so I am at 13 weeks tomorrow.  Like you, I get a slight popping sensation (or clicking) when I raise my arm up above shoulder level so I asked my PT about it.  She said it is most likely due to the weakness of the surround musculature, so I am going to go with that explanation for now.

      Up until last week (12 weeks) I felt I was doing really well, with my range of motion increasing each week.  So, feeling confident I tried to get outside and do some snowshoeing (with poles) for a couple hours each time.  I didn't put any weight on the poles, rather just used them for the stabilization.  Anyway, this week the soreness in my shoulder increased markedly and I worried that I may have done something to damage the repairs.  I had a follow-up with the doctor yesterday and asked him about it, and he said that unless I fell on the arm or tried to lift a heavy weight, etc. it would be very unlikely that damaged anything.  When damage does occur, most people are keenly aware that something has happened - either a dramatic increase in pain, swelling or loss of range of motion.  None of that describes my situation, so hopefully I am just being paranoid.  Regardless, he did me a cortisone shot to try and calm things down a bit before we move on to strengthening in PT next week. 

      As an aside, I have to say that after having two previous knee surgeries (both meniscus repairs), this shoulder surgery recovery has been very, very difficult in comparison.  I researched the RC surgery well ahead of time and thought I had a good feel for what to expect, but the reality has been a whole different story.  Two weeks after the surgery I developed severe depression and anxiety and had to restart anti-depressants that I hadn't taken for a long time.  Like most of you, I had terrible insomnia for the first six weeks and simply could not lay in a bed.  Oddly, my savior in the sleep department was an 11-foot camping hammock that I have set up in the basement of my home.  I found that that the hammock's design provided a perfect "cupping" support for my arm and shoulder that I could not get when trying to support it with a pillow in the bed.  I slept in the hammock for almost 45 days before finally moving back to the bed.

      Time to end the rambling - good luck to all of you in your recovery.  Just remember:  time, patience and PT will get you to the finish line!  

    • scrapbooker56
      scrapbooker56 Grandmajan

      Posted

      I still have some, I think I always will, close to 9 months now. When I do repetive movement it gets sore and can only sleep on it a few hours. Doctor said it will get better or it won't. No more pain meds, just advil and tylenol.

    • christine_61665
      christine_61665 scrapbooker56

      Posted

      Hi scrapbooker and all. I have been following you on other blogs on this site. I am now 9 months post op. Still achy but not enough for any meds. Mostly in bicep and neck. The shoulder is good. I've been advised to be careful for one year. That's the hard part. Still doing the exercises with weights. As I've said before the worst is in favoring my shoulder I keep twisting my back. Sigh. Anyway patience is the best here because it does take a long time. I do worry about tearing it again because I'm not sure how it happened in the first place. I guess I'll find out!!

    • deborah43925
      deborah43925 scrapbooker56

      Posted

      Hi, your pain will diminish eventually - have faith. I had my right shoulder repaired 7 yrs ago and suffer no pain what-so-ever!  Just don’t  expect too much of it a year in or so.  I was doing Yoga  up until end of November. Fantastic for building the upper body - shoulder  and arms strength and core too.  Good luck! I’m waiting to have my left one repaired now...had a 1cm tear from the same period 7yrs ago, and just didn’t get it repaired - now I’m suffering! If only...hindsight is a great thing. 😉😊

    • Lisa6460
      Lisa6460 MattInMN

      Posted

      Hi, I’m six weeks in.  Returned to work as an Admin. Assist.  Thought I was ok, but boy the pain is horrible! Trying to stay positive is tough and I’m depressed about my recovery. 

      All these posts are giving me hope.  I just want to sleep in a bed!

      I too feel like I may have damaged my shoulder by moving around too much but reading the replies, I am learning to rest...

      Thanks all for helping me get through this! 

    • scrapbooker56
      scrapbooker56 Lisa6460

      Posted

      Lisa, my surgeon told me if I had harmed my shoulder after surgery I would feel intense pain immediately.Most likely you haven't, hang in there!

  • missy48853
    missy48853 cbc123

    Posted

    Hi - you are not alone. My arm aches every morning and off and on all day. 6 weeks ago I had surgery to repair a partial tear in my subscapularis tendon and to clean out bursitis due to inflammation from tear.  I heard the tendon pop when it tore as I was exercising on a total body gym and pulling down from above my head. Terrible shocking pain for about 30 seconds and after that a constant burn, ache, throbbing pain everyday until I had to go to an orthopedic surgeon because I could not live with the pain any longer. SO...my question is does anyone have what feels like a flicking or pop in the front of the shoulder when doing PT or just bending over to pick up a note that fell to the floor? Also, I still cannot sleep in bed. I’ll lay down and fall asleep but about an hour later I’ll wake up to terrible pain in my shoulder. I have to go back to recliner, take Advil and ice my shoulder until I fall asleep again. I do not have this pain as long as I am in recliner.  I know my range of motion is better and I don’t have that burning, aching and throbbing as before surgery. I just have the flicking pain and pain from physical therapy and soreness.  So I feel like my surgery had to be successful but does anyone else have a similar situation? I’d love to be able to sleep in my bed again and I’m sure my husband is tired of my complaining about the flicking pain in my shoulder, etc.  Is there anyone that has similar surgery and symptoms after surgery like mine? When can I sleep in bed again without my shoulder waking me with terrible pain?? Thanks for sharing. 
    • ke4nu7
      ke4nu7 missy48853

      Posted

      Its been 3 months now and I see improvement. Still weak and pain at times in the shoulder and bicep. So, you just have be patient and don't over do PT like I did. I was impatient wanted to hurry the healing. Well, I found you can't hurry it. Good luck, Alan

    • deborah43925
      deborah43925 missy48853

      Posted

      Be patient that’s all I can say.  The common thread on this site is people are over anxious and really need to give this type of injury and repair time to heal. It gets so much wear and tear,  we take it for granted. 

      Good luck! 😊

    • deborah43925
      deborah43925

      Posted

      My repair was 7yrs ago and totally pain pain free! Just getting my left shoulder repaired anytime...and can not wait for it to be done! You will all return to normal...’patience’ is the key! 😉😊

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.