C-Forum

Has anyone done the therapy and recovery for a rotator cuff injury yet? How long is the down time with or without surgery?

It appears when I injured my shoulder racing a week and a half ago I did more than pull a muscle. I finally decided to have it looked at and today my PCP said its a possible torn rotator cuff and now I have to go see a orthopaedic surgeon.

Anyone have any good information regarding this type of injury?

Any chance I might be back in good boating shape by March?

Thanks in advance,

Bumming in Pgh ,

Natalie

Sorry to hear you hurt your shoulder Natalie. I thought I had just pulled a muscle a few years ago but soon couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder without intense pain. Being the invincible male, I never went to an orthopod or even a Doc about it but I did a lot of easy lifting, specifically straight out from the side with a 5 lb weight in my hand (palm down). That eventually gained me some extension of range of motion without pain and it slowly healed over the course of two racing seasons. I continued paddling and had to adapt my strokes to what I could do as opposed to what I should do. My shoulders still not completely right and its been 12 years since I injured it. My advice is to see your orthopod and listen. I have a flatwater paddling friend who had rotator cuff surgury and took a year off from paddling but came back strong the next year but he injured it just as the flatwater racing season was beginning. Talk to your orthopod about what motions in paddling to avoid after he diagnoses your shoulder. I strongly believe in keeping your body going with what it can do. I know easy long flatwater paddles helped me rehabilitate from my heart attack this spring and once the doc (this time I finally had to see one) saw my progress and knew I wasn't going the weekend warrior route again he came on board about continuing my paddling. And I was racing again this fall, albeit a bit slower. Renee even beat my c1 time in her kayak, I'm sad to admit. I hope your prognisis is less severe than you fear. See you on the river. You will overcome it.
Pat

If you need the surgery, you will have an immobilzed shoulder for 4 to 6 weeks, with a further recovery time of 4 to 5 months. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but don't plan on paddling in March.

I tore my rotator cuff a few years ago - not a major tear fortunately, but still a "pain". No surgery, but I underwent about 6-8 weeks of PT and another 3 months of special exercises and stretching. If you are less "mature" than I am (53 when I injured myself), your rehab should go faster. I also made the mistake of not getting to a doctor immediately...

Yikes Natalie
Sorry to hear your pain! You looked good when I picked up the Viper.
On the shoulder I too had (have) a shoulder "issue" along with an ankle one.
I even had a "laying on of the hands" by KNeal. Fellow C1er and PT from Virgina.
He recommended I go see a good doc (I went to see Dr. Stone - UPMC Shadyside (sports Med)) then get and follow a good PT (I did one over here in the South Hills). Folks Natalie lives north pittsburgh and I live south.
The doc said rehab. and the PT from hades worked me hard, harder and cruelly. I also followed (and keep following) the PT plan and I'm 98% plus and hope to be 100% by spring in the shoulder and the ankle is 80% but servicable (next step the knife - but only if things go south).
See if you can get in to see Dr. Stone. He is good but you have to hammer at getting in to see him and follow up since he is really busy with pro and college folks. Also be proactive with him on the shoulder. he is keen on positive attitudes toward getting back into the fray!
Keep us (me) posted on how things are going. I hope things go well for you! Call me if you have any questions.
pac

hey natalie, sorry to hear about your shoulder. i assume that was from racing Farmington, no? What did you do exactly? were you racing C-1 or kayak at the time?

Good luck with the recovery. I just had surgery (knee) last year. Take the time to do it right. godspeed
Alden

I was racing C1 at the time. I felt pain in gate 12 (upstream on left about halfway down the course). I drove in pretty hard and spun on a offside stroke (I'm a righty) and when I went to pull forward offside it hurt big time. Made it out of the gate and almost flipped between 12 and 13. Made it through all the gates pretty sloppy at the bottom but anything on my offside was really ugly. Kinda drifted across the finish line. I thought I just pulled a muscle really hard because it was cold and snowing and hard to keep warmed up. Pretty sucky for my New England racing debut in C1.

I can move the arm some but can't lift anything heavier than a glass of milk. Hoping that I won't need surgery as I had plans for doing more races in New England next year. Gotta wait and see what the orthopaedic says next week.

Thanks to all for the responses and good wishes,

Natalie

Yowch, Natalie ! Sorry to hear about your shoulder, and I guess that I get to be the first to say, "welcome to the club" . The shoulder is susceptible to overuse injuries and strains. Without seeing you paddle and assessing the area of the injury, nobody here can honestly say what you have done to your shoulder. The good news is that there are a lot of us c-boaters that can relate to what you are going through (several of us can relate many times over ).

Slalom exposes the shoulder to high levels of stress and forces (from all the twisting and turning and pulling on the paddle real hard). I will take a quess based on your accounting of the incident that you strained/tore the muscle from over-reaching instead of subluxing the joint (causing the head of the humerus to slip out of the socket some), but that is just a guess and I am trying to minimize your worries about what the injury really may be.

The good news is, proper diagnosis and plan-of-action will give you back a healthy and highly functional shoulder, ready to receive more abuse of a highly, and delightful, active lifestyle ("...simply messing about in boats!"). Muscles in the body get damaged and heal more often than we realize. Follow Paul's suggestion about the doc, if you are able to.

Please keep us posted about your diagnosis, treatment options, and progress. Personally, shoulder injury during my paddling is my number one concern.

KNeal

BTW, I'm a clinical exercise specialist, not a "physical terrorist", though some clients may debate that distinction , and Paul, please be careful how you spell V-i-r-g-i-n-i-a .

Two things KNeal
First, You will always be a "physical terrorist" in my book base on paddling C2 with you.
Second, I thought "Vir-din-a" is how they spell it since in WV since they make the distinction of being from "West-bye-GOD Vor-gin-eye-A!" verse "Vir-gin-A". They also add a couple words to the front of the "Vir-gin-A" but this is a family oriented board! Oh and in PA we just say - down there and roll our eyes! Make plans for stopping up next year when the weather works for you and the wife!

Natalie
Take it easy on the shoulder (no pool / training) and call UPMC Sports (force your PCP into it)! The other Docs on staff there are also about the best in the nation with joint / sport injuries!
Good luck!

Good luck with your shouler. I dislocated my shoulder in March and still has not healed to 100%- still have a hard time getting my arm above my head. Did have a surgical cleanup. My advice is try to stay posiitve and give it the time it needs- Can be long and slow and hard on the brain. I own a canoe school and the main instructor. Was only able to paddle 3 times this summer!!
Do your exercises from your phsysio religously and make sure your arm does not seize up. Avoid pain and keep it moving.

Enjoy your winter.

No surgery for now!

I went to the orthopaedic today, a shoulder specialis. I was armed with some snapshots of canoeing and k1 showing different strokes and shoulders being stretched pretty well. (I have a good one of Jon Lugbill on a offside stroke.) Some doctors look at you with a blank stare when you say whitewater canoeing.

He understood pretty well, took some x-rays and then checked out the shoulder. After moving it around 20 different ways and aggravating it to see where it hurt, he decided that it could be a severe case of tendonitis in the bicep tendon and rotator cuff tendons. (Layman's terms, I can't pronounce the big words or spell them either)

My PCP had given me an oral anti inflammatory to take for the last week and it took out some of the stiffness but not the ache or weakness, so he decided the best course for right now is try more anti inflammatories. (I told him I wasn't particularyly anxious for surgery) He shot some lovely steriod into several areas. I have some very light stretching exercises to do for a week and then physical therapy for 2 weeks and then back to the doc.

If we don't see any progress in 3 weeks then further testing will be necessary to look for a tear.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh by the way, you know when then say it will be just a slight pinch. Don't believe it when the needle is 3 inches long!

Natalie

P.S. The good news is that a good friend of mine gave me his Hooter (OC1) so at least while I have some time on my hands I can redo the outfitting. THANK YOU JIM!

My you be fine in three weeks! We'll be keeping our fingers crossed for you!

great news natalie! the trick is to rest up and watch some good slalom videos to get psyched for the spring. let me know how it continues
Alden

That's really good news for you, Natalie! As long as there is no tear, you should be back as good as new for the spring (this will give you the winter to build back up and ease into your paddling techniques to get your range-of-motion and paddling strength). You know, we just might be having another NB Potomac Armada in the spring . Maybe you can make an appearance so we can all share our stories about epic shoulder injuries.

KNeal

Great news! Take it slow and careful - but follow the instructions of the doc and PT!
Remeber I'm looking forward to some "race schooling" for the lad and I for the next season.
Stay in touch!