Torn rotator cuff

[Ice Queen]

I had a GREAT skate yesterday and didn't realize I injured myself until late last night. I was in agony with shoulder pain and knew it was the darn rotator cuff. It's given me trouble on & off for years. Guess I used my arms too much skating yesterday and I have a partial tear. The dr. gave me muscle relaxers and I'm going in for physical therapy next Tues. This will be my first experience with the therapy and I'm hopeful it will give me some relief from the pain.

Anyone have this type of injury before? How long a recovery time can I expect?

The first thing I thought about when I felt the pain was that I'll have to quit skating for awhile. That hurt more then the pain in the shoulder.:(

[garyc254]

I haven't torn the rotator cuff, but I've had it strained for years. The "cuff" is actually several muscles working together.

Almost 10 years ago, I felt a pop and pain in my shoulder after throwing a ball. I've dealt with the on and off pain for all of these years.

I started skating a year ago and the constant use of my raised arms irritated the tender muscles to the point I couldn't raise my arms.

A few months back, I finally got an okay to go see an orthpaedic doctor. He shot my shoulder with cortisone and I was in grand shape after a couple of days. Unfortunately, I tried to be "young" again and reinjured my shoulder without giving it time to heal and then condition it to handle the stress.

I now skate with my arms down. :(

Okay. So here is my suggestion. Get away from your doctor if all he's giving you is muscle relaxers. You need anti-inflammatory drugs. Go see an ortho. Physical therapy is good. It will help you regain the muscle strength to handle future stresses.

I'm very surprised that you have a muscle tear and the doctor is sending you to PT so quickly. It makes me suspect.

GET TO A GOOD ORTHO. Ask around about a good one. If you can't find a decent ortho on your own, call the local Workman's Comp office and ask them to make a suggestion. They know the doctors that try to help you without milking it for their own benefit.

You can PM me if you have any questions.

Don't wait. Do it tomorrow.

[garyc254]

Also, lots of ice packs on your shoulder. 4 to 5 times a day for 20 minutes each. Don't use heat, yet.

[LoopLoop]

Ouch ouch ouch!! I haven't had a torn rotator cuff, but I did have tendinitis in mine this spring. I went to a sports-medicine orthopedist... he gave me anti-inflammatories (Vioxx actually, that stuff is great!) and exercises to do at home. It got better in two weeks; he had told me that if it *didn't* get better quickly he would start me in physical therapy.

[peachstatesk8er]

Yup, tore it when I was on a synchro team skating next to a person that had no business being on the team to begin with. I had to compensate for their lack of skating skills and as a result of having to drag along said person I got a lovely tear in my right shoulder. It felt better in about two weeks but every now and again it flares up for seemingly no good reason at all. PT will help; definitely do what the docs tell you. My dad had to have surgery on his and seeing what he went through, I'm very careful with mine now b/c I don't want to have to have surgery.

[Mrs Redboots]

How very nasty. I know at least one adult skater who has had this injury, and although she skated as much as she could, she found there were plenty of things she was unable to do. However, she focussed on what she could do when on the ice, and, I believe, her edges and so on are better than ever!

I do wish you a very fast recovery, though.

[wannask8]

I have not had this exact problem either, but did have a sprain a few years ago. I iced the area in the days immediately following the injury, which I think really helped. My ortho prescribed a NSAID (naproxin? naprosin?) that kicked out the inflammation and I was pain-free after a couple of weeks and never had to go to PT, just took it easy for a bit. My biggest problem was trying to avoid sleeping on the blasted thing, as I’m a side sleeper and tend to switch around during the night – yeouch!

We have a family member who is a serious mountain climber, even with chronic r. cuff problems. Being in decent shape before your injury is a huge advantage. Hopefully, you’ll soon be on the road to recovery.

-- wannask8

[nutty-ducky]

awwwwwww, shame :(
i hope your shoulder gets better very soon!

[Ice Queen]

Thanks so much for all your advice/thoughts. The ice is helping along with resting my shoulder. The muscle relaxers are helping me sleep which is good. I can't take anti-inflammatory drugs any longer. Have a history of ulcers from taking too many. I did see an ortho when I had a rotator cuff sprain in my other shoulder yrs. ago. I wanted physical theraphy and he wouldn't prescribe it. He gave me vioxx and said it wouldn't bother my stomach, but it did big time!! I also can't have cortisone because I'm allergic to it. Had a shot once in my knee and I couldn't walk for days. So I won't try it again.

I'm going to be very careful to heal my injury completely before skating again. And I think the physical therapy will help. They are going to use some treatments to ease the pain. Then give me exercises when my shoulder is ready for them. Luckily I'm in good shape otherwise and just have to be patient.

Thanks again everyone!

[Francis71]

Ice Queen - I am glad that you are pleased with your current prescribed physiotherapy and have confidence in the potential outcome. However, as recommended by GaryC254 - I would strongly recommend that you consult with an orthopaedic specialist that specializes in upper arm/shoulder injuries.

Rotator cuff injuries are fussy and a tear increases the potential of complications. There are two issues usually - one decreasing the pain and two regaining the function. I have had many client's who have been successful in eliminating the pain but never regain function. The one's with the best outcomes have been treated by an area orthopaedic surgeon who usually first prescribes an arthroscopy to determine the extent of the tear/strain. The problem with this type of injury is that you want to get the best treatment right off the bat - because loss of shoulder function can be difficult if not impossible to regain.

Best of luck in your recovery.

Francis

[ClevelandDancer]

Originally posted by peachstatesk8er
Yup, tore it when I was on a synchro team skating next to a person that had no business being on the team to begin with. I had to compensate for their lack of skating skills and as a result of having to drag along said person I got a lovely tear in my right shoulder. It felt better in about two weeks but every now and again it flares up for seemingly no good reason at all. PT will help; definitely do what the docs tell you. My dad had to have surgery on his and seeing what he went through, I'm very careful with mine now b/c I don't want to have to have surgery.

I ended up with that same injury from the same thing (synchro). Admittedly it was my first (and probably last) season of synchro so I didn't know quite what I was doing sometimes either, but I was one of the smaller persons on the team. The person next to me in practice one day (not the person I usually skated next to) yanked his shoulder exactly the opposite direction it should have gone and had a death grip on my shoulder, YOW! He was about 8" taller and quite a bit heavier than I was, it was bad! I never did do much to help it heal (including stop skating), it took about 6 months to go away completely.

Side note: sometimes it's funny skating between two people that are taller than you. I lost my footing on a particular manuever once and nobody let go. I recovered quickly, but whatever they were doing to me was preventing my feet from touching the ice! I was hanging there LMAO as the program just kept going ... they did put me down a few strokes later :D