Above my shoulder or behind my back without pain. Background: Good functional results have been reported for arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears, but the rate of tendon-to-bone healing is still unknown. Shoulder arthroscopy and rotator cuff repair (supraspinatus repair) is the best treatment option with a 90 to 95 % success rate. After a formal assessment, they will be able to prescribe a course of rehabilitative exercises or recommend surgery. My doctor has told me I need to have arthroscopic revision rotator cuff repair. I'm only 38 and am not willing to give up everything I love doing and from what I read there are many more options available. Surgical repair can often be . I'm not really sure how the whole army doctor situation works while you are on deployment, but I think if you have ongoing symptoms then it is worth making sure the appropriate people know. This type of test uses sound waves to produce images of structures within your body, particularly soft tissues such as muscles and tendons. Im a bodybuilder for years but I'm getting old. The pain is manageable if you stay on top of it with pain medication. It's been very frustrating dealing with the chronic pain and reduction of normal activities in an attempt to adapt to my "new normal". You don't need to lean over as far as demonstrated in this video. Should this shoulder have an MRI? Call Us: (239) 308-4701 Email Us Give us a Call! I sleep fine as it does not hurt to lay on my back. Articular side: tears on the bottom of the tendon. Front view (left) and overhead view (right) of the tendons that form the rotator cuff. It is important the the surgical repair of the tendon is protected initially to ensure that a re-injury does not occur. I had an MRI done on my left shoulder last week and it turns out, to my surprise, that I have a full-thickness supraspinatus tear. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Equally as important is a discussion about the likelihood of certain outcomes without further surgery. It is also worth mentioning that when surgeons send patients for PT and don't hear from them for a while, they may well have just assumed everything went well and there is no more problem (or they have so many patients that they haven't given it much thought). 19 The thickness of the tendon at its insertion was . Full thickness tears are the complete disruption of the fibers of the supraspinatus muscle, and generally require a more aggressive treatment plan and surgery. Either way, don't be afraid to ask your surgeon lots of questions (likelihood of success in your case, what will happen after surgery, recovery time-frames etc.). From time to time tendons do rupture from a variety of causes, in your case it sounds like the surgeons description of rope fraying is a good one. while that helped in the short term and improved my left arm motion range, after i stopped the therapy the pain came back and reduced the range. Good luck! This level of degradation is not particularly common for someone so young, but does happen from time to time and may well lead to a complete rupture. So in other words, tendinosis is the condition and one of the rotator cuff tendons is probably the structure that was affected. Advice welcomed. ), a shoulder x-ray may not reveal anything conclusive. SLAP type tear of the superior labrum. I then took the second opinion of an orthopaedic surgeon who found a superantanaus partial tendon thickness tear and rotator cuff dysfunction through mri scan. Being referrfed to a shoulder specialist Tuesday. On the other hand, it is possible that soft tissue structures (ligaments, tendons etc.) Rotator cuff tendon augmentation grafts are a promising area of research. Like Helpful Hug REPLY It allows a provider to assess the structures of your shoulder during movement. Examination otherwise demonstrates the osseous structures of the shoulder to be otherwise unremarkable in signal and morphology. But not result in a normal shoulder. From my perspective, I have seen many patients with supraspinatus tendinosis who have benefited a great deal from physical therapy (but nothing is certain, and some patients may not receive great benefit and require a different intervention). Went down a water slide on a mat head first arms supporting my body. I am now off again to another specialist as the 2nd opinion specialist said there was not much he could do to improve the situation! It seems to be a long recovery period with a great deal of physical therapy following. Click here to learn about partial thickness tears. However, some people will never experience the same level of recovery without the surgery. I have experienced some soreness and very limited ROM of my affected L shoulder/arm. I am angry, confused and cannot get any pain relief. The postoperative recovery period following a surgical rotator cuff repair will take months and involve a specific program of range of motion and strengthening exercises that your surgeon will prescribe, often in conjunction with a physical therapist who will teach you exercises and monitor your progression. If they repair the tendon surgically, this will probably involve wearing a sling and not using that shoulder actively for at least 4-6 weeks and then quite slow gradual progression for the weeks / months after that. They decided to do a re examination of my MRI to see if there was something they were missing. I also have an intermediate grade partial thickness tear of superior tendon bundle of Subscapularis without retraction or muscular atrophy. If your primary physician has already made the diagnosis, an orthopaedic surgeon can review both surgical and nonsurgical options and start treatment. Players involved in sports requiring fast throwing actions (baseball) or overhead hitting (volleyball, tennis) may also sustain a traumatic injury to their rotator cuff and the supraspinatus tendon in particular. Sought 2 nd opinion 3weeks later due to the server pain. In terms of some general information that may be of interest to you, there are a couple of things I can share from my perspective. It has been associated with older age and osteoarthritis, but often seems to occur when there is extra fluid in the gleno-humeral (ball and socket) joint. But shoulder exercises from now until I die. I'm sorry I can't give you specific advice about whether you will need surgery or not over the internet. RESULTS: Arthroscopy revealed 21 full-thickness tears, five bursal surface partial-thickness tears, 10 articular surface partial-thickness tears, and 14 patients without tear of the supraspinatus tendon. I am sorry I am unable to provide any specific advice over the internet without conducting a physical examination etc. Partial thickness tears. However, in some cases it is clear that surgery is likely to be the best option. This article describes general phases of rehabilitation following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story. Good luck! The supraspinatus tendon was assessed at its insertion by moving the transducer anteriorly, where the bony landmarks were the greater tuberosity laterally and the junction of the tendon footprint and articular cartilage of the humerus medially, 2 mm posterior to the long head of biceps. The use of steroid injection for treatment of a full-thickness rotator cuff tear is still controversial. If you are seeing the orthopedic surgeon it is a good idea to tell them about therapies you have received and about your persistent pain. Methods: Between 1995 and 1999, 139 full arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs were performed; 37 were repairs of full-thickness supraspinatus tears. I had subacromial decompression February 2010 a year after a motor vehicle injury (I am currently a 34 year old female). Hi there. Good luck! In layman terms, I would say this means your supraspinatus tendon has probably been irritated for quite a while, and has a small tear near where it attaches to the bone (but tendon is currently still attached). The majority of rotator cuff tears can be treated nonsurgically using one or more of these treatments: The goals of treatment are to relieve pain and restore strength to the involved shoulder. I was very optimistic about the P.T. Had mild discomfort in shoulder for a few weeks in August. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of this treatment method. Otherwise you will have signficantly reduced function (plus ongiong pain) in that shoulder. I am sorry I can't provide you specific advice over the internet. After the injury, you had a partial width full thickness tear of your supraspinatus tendon. I think it would be wise to listed to the advice from your doctor on this one! The difficulty with overhead racket sports (like badminton, squash or tennis) is that high level functioning of the rotator cuff muscles are required to stabilise the shoulder joint in what is naturally unstable positions (overhead, and with high speed movement). Supraspinatus tendon tear symptoms commonly go on for months (or even years) until the underlying problem is resolved (usually through improving the functioning of the rotator cuff, surgery, or both). I'm not sure whether the doctor you mentioned is a family physician / general practitioner or an orthopedic consultant / surgeon. I just found out this week that I have Bursitis, and a tear in my Supraspinatus. Large. It would be much wiser to follow your surgeons instructions (which usually involve keeping arm in sling for 6+ weeks depending on surgery / surgeon etc. Unless the shoulder is actually dislocated at the time of the x-ray, or there is a noticeable bone abnormality (chipped or broken bone, bone spur that is visible on x-ray etc. Information on this topic is also available as an OrthoInfo Basics PDF Handout. A few months passed, and I was called into the orthopedic surgen, who was a shoulder specialist, for a "pre surgery consultation". It also allows a quick comparison between the affected shoulder and the healthy shoulder. The supraspinatus is part of the rotator cuff of the shoulder. In 9 of the 24 the tear was smaller. Between 1997 and 1999, there were 24 patients who had a complete arthroscopic . !!! I do not want a metal shoulder. make sure you do it some place where anesthesiawill do an interscalene block for post op pain relief. I am 55 yrs. There are a few interesting things worth noting here. To be as specific as I can, It feels like someone shoved a knife right into the top of my shoulder blade and right down inside my shoulder. Many people with supraspinatus tears receive very good relief following a period of PT, but others do not. However, your doctor should be able to provide you with good advice in this regard after they speak with you, conduct an assessment and look at your scan. A supraspinatus tear is a tear or rupture of the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle, which is located at the back of the shoulder. Good luck! Full thickness tear of the anterior insertional fibers of the supraspinatus tendon with a 1cm retraction and no evidence of supraspinatus muscular atrophy. At 55 years of age you still have a lot of living still to do, so don't be afraid to talk openly with your doctor about the success rates for all of the options available to you, and the likely recovery times involved. I am 67 years old and am an artist and my left arm which is the one in question is my dominate arm. While I can't give you specific advice over the internet, it sounds like you are doing a great job following the recommednations of your doctors. I'm quite apprehensive and nervous about the surgery but more so about the recovery. I guarantee you will not be the last person to read this page wondering about a difference in doctor opinion or trying to figure out whether they have a supraspinatus tendon tear or adhesive capsulitis (or surgery versus no surgery). Your shoulder specialist will be able to provide you with specific advice regarding your chance of recovery without surgery, as well as what to expect if you do decide to go down the surgery path. Hope that helps! They can then make a diagnosis and begin treatment. Also can I try a more Conservative approach and see a phy therapist that specializes in shoulders before any surgery. For all you that are going to have this surgery be prepared for the long haul you will feel the feelings of uselessness, frustration, anger, and people looking at you like your full of it hang in there! Overall, it will often take 6 months or more before the shoulder is completely back to normal. The surgeon(s) who ordered the imaging are usually the best person to speak with regarding the pros and cons in any particular case. . The supraspinatus is the tendon that tends to suffer from partial tears most commonly. Some surgeons will prescribe a slightly different post-operative rehabilitation program depending on the nature of the injury and precise surgery performed. ( x-ray, phys ther,corticosteroid inj. In most patients the supraspinatus tendon is the most vulnerable and 90% of rotator cuff tears involve this tendon. It is possible this tear may communicate with the bursal surface anteriorly. The supraspinatus tendon has a tendency to weaken with age and become prone to tendon tears. Thanks for sharing. Symptomatic full thickness rotator cuff tears can be managed surgically. The rotator cuff helps to lift and rotate the arm and to stabilize the ball of the shoulder within the joint. I was released from the P.T. In the interim, physio, chiro, massage, taping were part of my pain management and ROM for all pain sites relating to MVA. Superior subluxation of the humeral head. That being said, if you are unsure, I would definitely make a review appointment with your referring doctor to clarify your situation so you can find out what the best plan of attack is. Again, because your case is not straightforward, seeking advice from your surgeon(s) in this regard is certainly wise. only taking out for prescribed exercises (e.g. It sounds like it is important to see your doctor who is familiar with your case. When we finally returned home from sea a few weeks later, my shoulder had become so painful and stiff, It was nearly impossible to do just about anything. You should not feel pain in the shoulder during the movement. Most people who I have seen with whiplash (albeit usually from motor vehicle accidents more than falls) tend to notice a great deal of improvement over the first few weeks, but some have symptoms that persist. Examination of my MRI to see your doctor on this topic is also available an. General practitioner or an orthopedic consultant / surgeon think it would be wise listed. It also allows a quick comparison between the affected shoulder and the shoulder! 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