Is this normal for rotator cuff surgery

you feel many changes and different types of pain and discomfort throughout the recovery after SHOULDER surgery.what i think from my experience is, they only remain for few weeks or few days or even a month. but dont push the pain when you do exercises ( esp the sharp pain) . keep icing your shoulder. and just see a doctor if you are really concerned. normally, PTs dont have all the answers. good luck with your recovery 😃

Hi there. I had rotator cuff surgery 2nd July. The surgery went well but the thing that bothered me the most was my hand and fingers. I couldn't make a fist and my fingers looked like swollen fat sausages and tingles a lot. Also my wrist hurt and had restricted movement. I realised pretty early however that it was circulation as when my arm was out of the immobilzer and hanging down in the shower I could feel the blood rushing right down to the tips of my fingers ! For me everything hand/wrist related began to improve after 6 weeks and no longer in the immobilizer - it did take a long time though and persistence with exercises - right from post-op I continually squeezed stress balls as I was actually really worried about my hand and wrist. Everything is fine now! Are you in an immobilizer?

I had same surgery June 13th. My hand/wrist problems started after removed from immobilizer and therapy . I am still fighting it and developed RSD. Cant make a complete fist and wrist hurts badly. Have to get hand therapy now as well.

Just give it time to heal. Lots of time. And be patient and good to yourself and not overdo, even if you start feeling better. Recovery from shoulder surgeries can vary greatly from person to person. Don't buy the whole " 6 month recovery" gambit all doctors like to mention as well as articles on line. Almost ALL surgeries are stated to have a basic healing time of 6 months to 1 year, and some people take more time than that and some less... The fact that you are off pain pills at only 7 weeks is great! Also, what many people do not realize is that just because we have surgery on the shoulder, does not mean other areas are highly affected by referred pain and limited functionality. The shoulder has so many nerves and neural pathways leading to other areas. Often the arms, neck, back, and hands are affected. I had severe pain in all those areas for a very long time. It has been 3 years since I had 2 repeat surgeries on the same shoulder 6 months apart. The first one was a determined to be a fail by a second surgeon as it was ruined 4 months into recovery just by sorting out paperwork in my home office. It was the repetition that did it, but still my repair should not have been impacted by it. And, I had 2 torn rotator cuffs that were not repaired at all the first time ( first surgery was a labral repair- SLAP repair-why the surgeon did not bother with the tears is beyond me! ) This all led to a second surgery. It is 3 years later and only in the last couple of months has my operative shoulder started feeling decent and it still does not function like a normal shoulder, so I can't type much nor lift more than 5 lbs max on the affected side. It hurts all the time, but I live with it since it is finally a bit better than before I had the surgeries. Even though I was told I still have another rotator cuff tear to be repaired, I refuse to go back for a 3rd surgery due to all the complications I had with the first two. I was on serious pain meds for months and am in chronic pain management now, years later. My other shoulder is now a problem as I recently dislocated it ( very painful!), and having the same issues as I did with the other shoulder initially so I am sure those fibers are torn there also . However, I am not going for surgery unless I can't lift my arm, literally. Watch out for overuse of the opposite shoulder you have surgery on! I checked out some medical report stats and there seems to be an overwhelming majority of people needing repeat surgeries and/or on the shoulder opposite the one surgically repaired to begin with. This is probably due to all the stress the other shoulder takes when healing. I only mention all this, due to the fact that complications can arise and healing can be as easily slow as fast, since multiple factors are involved. There is the reality and then there is the best case scenarios. You already seem to have the latter, thankfully, or you would still need pain meds. I also have an autoimmune disease, and neurological issues, so my healing process is much slower that with "normal" persons, so other factors in a person's health can affect the healing process. Most people are completely healed in 1 year. That is what my surgeon told me from the beginning to allow. Any surgeon will tell you to allow that amount of time for healing, give or take, depending on how well your body regenerates tissue and nerves. Many agree that shoulder surgery is one of the most painful & difficult recoveries, even more than knee surgery. I've known people that have had both, hence the comparison . Again, be cautious and be patient with the healing process. Best of luck and good healing! 😃