SLAP repair, extreme tightness in my neck and shoulder blade after 2 years post op
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hoping someone can help with perhaps a similar storyline. I tore my right shoulder labrum about 5-6 years ago playing disc golf. I didn't know what had happened b/c there wasn't much pain associated with the event but rather tightness and stiffness in my back right shoulder blade. I thought I had initial pulled a muscle and just rested a month and then kept playing...
Over the next couple of weeks, I started to experience extreme tightness in right scalene neck muscle. I also started having loose bowels when I laid on my neck incorrectly and was more sensitive to stress. I also felt generally depressed and lethargic. I also noticed that I was having ocular migraines about every month.
This continued for years. I tried different diets, PT, Chiropractic, and even did 8 months of crossfit on a torn labrum. Finally my Chiropractor mentioned that I should get an MRI on my problematic shoulder and neck. This led to the discovery of the tear and I scheduled a surgery soon after.
Post op, I felt great for about 1-2 weeks besides the soreness of the incision. My Doctor wanted me to move my arm right away and said that the NEW professional opinion was that it was better to give the join subtle motion instead of complete isolation. This seemed somewhat logical at the time but different than what I other SLAP repair patients had told me. I started doing subtle PT exercises about 6-7 days after surgery.
In about 10-14 days after surgery I was in lots of pain from the stiffness of my neck and back. It felt even worse than before surgery. I was dizzy and irritable but pushed through with the PT. Finally after about 2 months I could no longer do the PT that was prescribed to me. I was able to use my arm but almost immediately after using it I would feel a burning sensation in my bicep where it connects with the labrum. Also my neck would stiffen up again and all the same symptoms came back. My Physician told me to rest and keep trying to slowly lift things when I feel better.
This has gone on for 2 year now. Some weeks are better where I can work at my computer and not experience much pain or stiffness but I notice that it's always there. Other weeks (especially if I try to lift something overhead or use my bicep) I will feel a lot of soreness in my neck (right scalene) and back right shoulder blade.
Last time I went in to the Physician he said that this is reaction due to the right bicep muscle being overly tightened from the surgery. He thinks a tenotomy or tenodesis is necessary. He even did an MRI but didn't inject fluid into the region like the first MRI I had done which found the tear.
I have two questions:
- Has anyone had a similar issue after a SLAP repair and what was your experience with a tenotomy or tenodesis?
- Is it possible that I've torn my labrum again and the tenotomy or tenodesis procedures wouldn't help?
0 likes, 2 replies
mike1997 bvoran
Posted
Hi,
Sorry you are having so much issues.
I've had 2 surgeries one on my left the other on my right shoulder. Both surgeries involved torn rotator cuff and labrum repairs. The right also included tenodesis to repair a bicep that was hanging on by a few threads.
I do know that when something is torn it usually places a stress on other tendons and muscles in the shoulder. This was the case with my right shoulder which on the first MRI just showed a torn rotator cuff. But since the surgery was delayed for several months, when the surgeon went in he found issues with the labrum and biceps as well. I can only assume that during those intervening months, I had further injured surrounding muscles and tissues.
If I were you, I'd just go ahead with the surgery provided you trust your surgeon and his ability to handle whatever issues he encounters including the torn bicep, further labrum damage, or even rotator cuff damage.
As patients, we're pretty much left to the mercies of the surgeons and physical therapists.
After my tenodesis, the bicep is pretty strong, looks normal, no pain, excellent strength, and the surgeon said I should not fear any further issues with it.
Get an ice machine, a tens unit, and a good gentle physical therapist who will allow you to heal at YOUR OWN rate without too much pain and stress.
Good Luck!
droopyshoulder bvoran
Posted
Chronic rotator cuff tendonitis here (over a decade now) and have had the same cyclic symptoms you have had for years. It seems subacromial problems share a lot of the same symptoms regardless of whether it's a labrum tear, rotator cuff tear, bursitis, rotator cuff tendonitis, subacromial spurs, frozen shoulder, arthritis (acute or rheumatoid). My advice is learn to live with it and let your body adapt. Study your body and learn what irritates your condition and what doesn't. Try to maintain range of motion. I have a permanently stiff neck, one of my traps is overdeveloped while my scapular muscles on that side have atrophied (talk about imbalance). But I also have a deficient AC joint that was separated and also worked on by doctors. So if you have an intact AC joint, bursa, rotator cuff, and other intact surrounding tissue besides your labrum, you stand a much better chance than I did of reaching full recovery. I had a labrum tear along with a separated AC joint, the labrum healed just fine on it's own. It's the subacromial decompression that a doctor performed on me that I hate right now and probably always will. The deficient AC joint probably makes it worse.
Orthopedists have a long way to go in working on joints with tight clearances. At least they are doing most procedures arthroscopically to minimize invasive damage. I also think rest, elevation, and unweighted ROM exercises are highly underrated. So what if your muscles weaken? I'd rather have weakened muscles and a full recovery than prolonging the condition risking turning it chronic. Too late now for me.