Shoulder surgery

Sorry, I can't add a lot to your knowledge but a friend had a tear repair a few years ago and she healed pretty quickly and with minimal discomfort but I imagine everyone has different tolerances.  I'd be careful of getting back to working out too quickly.  If you start too soon you could make things worse and hold yourself up for longer.

Can you get an assessment from a sports medicine Dr?  That should give you a better idea of what to expect. 

Cricket eh.  We don't hear much about it even here in "British" Columbia.

Good luck on your surgery.

  I had my shoulder rebuilt on Aug 29 and am still one week away from having a 12 oz. weight limit lifted from that arm. I had rotator cuff, biceps tears so maybe yours will go a little faster. I did have acromion shaved down, but no labrum tear. The acromion impingement (I think that is the correct term) was causing me a lot of pain before the operation and really limited my activity since my crash. Age plays a lot in recovery and at 49 it seems to be taking forever. He told me 6 months for full recovery in my case. Hopefully you'll be up and running in less than that.

  I thought I was invincible and set out walking 3-6 miles a day 2 weeks after the op, only to get slapped down by pain! Even in a sling my shoulder joint was getting jostled just a tiny bit while walking. Multiply that a couple thousand times during a six mile walk and it really hurt the next morning. I tried strapping my arm down and kicking lengths with my Zoomers in the pool. Same result. I gave up and settled for walking my dog 1.5 miles, twice a day. Yesterday I felt really good and started a woodworking project. FAIL. Today my shoulder is screaming at me for more Vicodin.

  A friend's 17 yr. old son had a smiliar op as mine done during his summer break and is already playing football (American football) again this year . I mentioned his case so you can see how much age plays in recovery. Hopefully you will heal quickly, but please keep us posted on your progress.

I had a total shoulder rebuild - everything was taken apart, cleaned and put back together - due to a Morph II calcium buildup that sliced my rotator cuff up very badly over the years.

I attended physical therapy for two months and although I was told to take it easy, I pushed myself until I could feel it. The doc said don't overdue it and I stayed on the limits. I was doing cable rows and pull downs within the first three weeks. Dips were a little later in coming.

A few reasons as to why I understand you don't want to "push" to early. First, and the most apparent, you don't want to screw up what was just fixed. Second, If you overwork the shoulder and put too much stress on it, you will build scar tissue, which will interfere with your range of motion and make it that much longer for complete recovery.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to STRETCH!! Towel behind your back, grasp it with your "new shoulder's hand", flip the other end of the towel over the opposite shoulder and "Jack it up" with the good hand. The higher you get it, the better it stretches. Hold it for about two minutes. I used to rest my "bad" hand on a counter, squat down - raising the arm higher on the back - and after adjusting the towel, stand back up with a SUPER stretch.

I was swimming within 2 weeks to augment the therapy. Biking, no issue. Running, give it a month or so. Any exercise you do, do it until it bothers you, then STOP!!

THE BEST ADVICE: DO WHAT IS COMFORTABLE. IF IT HURTS, DON'T DO IT.

I had both (labrum repair and sub-ac decompression) done on my left shoulder two years ago.  As noted above, you need to let the labrum heal - otherwise you risk pulling the sutures out and a re-do on the surgery.  Trust me - you won't want to do this twice.....   ;-)  

I was walking on the treadmill (it was winter and didn't want to risk slipping....) about 3 weeks post-op and doing some easy spinning a week later - all while still in my sling.  Can't remember exactly, but I was cleared to start swimming again somewhere around week 8.

My advice to you:  LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR DOC AND PT TELL YOU!!  Don't try to "push it" in hopes that you will be able to recover faster.  As my doc told me:  you are NOT a paid athlete - there is no rush for you to get back into the game.  Good luck!

Thanks everyone for responding. I have made an appointment with a sports PT for next week to go through a plan post-surgery. I like the idea of knowing in advance what my program will be like.

I hadnt been in too much pain for the past month and was re-considering surgery but then i went for a long run yesterday and knew all about it! I have my last triathlon this weekend before taking it easy into the last few weeks before surgery (tortuous though given the Tri season here has only just started!).

Will let you all know how it goes!