Shoulder Surgery

LABRUM is the cartilage in your shoulder which is probably what you tore because....LIBRIUM is a medication.  Sorry like fingernails on a blackboard.

Its probably pretty normal but I would proceed very carefully and keep doing your home PT exercises to strengthen your rotator cuff and your scapoluthoarcic musculature.  Be sure to maintain your range of motion too.  Listen to your body and don't jump up your yardage too fast.  For pete's sake no contact sports on the side.  I would not start a swim if you are sore.  You are now at about six months post op so I think your progress is appropriate.  You will probably notice a big improvement at the 9 month mark as well.

I've had a similar experience.  4 years ago, I broke my humerus, near the humeral head.  I had surgery and got a plate, 7 screws, and a donor bone.  Like you, I started PT approx 6 weeks after my surgery.  It was slow go.  After months and months of rehab and strengthening exercises, I started swimming again.  I, too, started to experience a great deal of pain.  My shoulder and upper humerus ached.  I went back to the ortho, in fear that my bone had started to die from loss of blood (which can happen when a large bone is broken).  The X-rays showed everything was fine.  I think my muscles were just unaccustomed to the stress and strain.  Within a week or so, the pain and discomfort subsided and I haven't felt it again.

Good luck to you.  Hang in there, it does get easier!

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Scapulothoracic?

I'm in a similar place as you - broke the shoulder in multiple places on a century ride in early September.  I get two types of aches - the "shoulder hasn't reached full flexibility ache", which is normal because I broke my shoulder, and you might not have that, and the "direct and supportive muscles are just f'in tired ache".  The latter can really be painful.  It is as if there is concentrated lactic acid buildup in the back, in the neck, etc.  However the doctor says its normal and will go away over time, and it is.  It does take an hour or so to get back to normal, and sometimes I feel the aches a day later.

Full recovery from shoulder surgery is said to take a year, but no one can tell you better than your own doctor what is going on specifically with you.

Probably a combination of building and recovery yet.  Most people don't feel 100% for a year.  You are way ahead of my recovery though.  I had RC surgery Nov 30th for the supraspinatus, a decompression, and a cyst on my bicep tendon.  PT is now worried I have a partially frozen shoulder and doc has me on prednizone.  

Good luck and take it easy.  This isn't anything you ill want to have operated on a second time.

Not to scare you, but I had a pretty well torn labrum (10 to 6 according to my sports med doc) in my right shoulder that I had arthroscopically (sp?) repaired about 9 years ago.  I have never been quite the same.  I can do everything just fine, I can swim whatever distance, but I still have the occasional ache in that shoulder.  It doesn't slow me down, it doesn't stop me from doing anything, but it is occasionally there.  When I take some time off from swimming, it is always a bit more sore for the first few weeks back in the pool.

In all fairness, I haven't been back to a doctor to have it re-examined (shame on me), and it's entirely possible that I have torn it again or injured the shoulder in a slightly different manner. Might not have rehab'ed it quite right either.  The pain is certainly more manageable than before the repair, but I doubt I'll ever get to a point where it isn't lingering around a little.

Hopefully the near decade since my operation has offered some improvements for you, in terms of the surgery and rehab.  I thought I did everything right then, but it is always possible that I had some bad form (or whatever) that has caused this lingering ache.  Again, it's never horrible, and a lot of the time I don't notice it, but it does like to pop up and say hi on occasion!

Hang in there...I also had a torn labrum from multiple shoulder dislocations. I had an arthroscopic Bankart repair done in Oct of 2010. I was never a swimmer (still not much of one!) but started swimming about 5 to 6 months post procedure...this helped get me into triathlons in mid-late 2011!

It was VERY sore after just a few laps. (I also did not see my PT through as I should have). Over the course of a few months, the soreness went down and I was able to swim longer. 

For me, it took about a year before I felt only a small difference between the flexibility and strength between my repaired left shoulder and the right side. I made a habit of running cold water on my shoulder the moment I come out of the pool. 

To this day, I still sometimes get a touch of soreness in the left side, but it is so minor I don't even think about it....I do, however, still try to hit a cold shower for a minute or so on both shoulders post-workout. 

Good luck!