Anybody here suffered from a rotator cuff injury?
I’m waiting for a op to repair my rotator cuff after getting knocked off and breaking my humerus nearly 3 months ago, unfortunately the rotator cuff tear wasn’t spotted at first.
Any info on treatment or recovery times would be welcome

Tehy come in all sorts of grades of damage. Mine was minor and was treated conservatily – never regained full movement due to scar tissue. Think in terms of months ad yo may be pleasantly suprised

I’m laid up just now from such an operation, called a ‘Bankart’ repair. Had it done on friday, I’m in a sling until 19th of January, then I’ll start active physio, and fully expect to be off the MTB for over 2 months, As I want to give it the chance to heal properly. I’ve dislocated it too many times now, don’t want to do it again!.

Reckon in a week or 2, I might pop round to the gym and start doing some work on a spin bike, just to get a sweat on.

On the bright side, it’ll save me buying ice tyres 😉

After a posrerior duslication I had to have parts off mine reattatched to the bone by inserting a rawl plug type thing with string (alright it looked like a tampon!) that helped hold it together while it fused together.

It’s ok now, still aches after a long (>4 hr ride) but at least i can do everything again.

NHS official info

Pretty much what I’ve been told on this site

Please excuse the crap typing on my phone in the above post.

I had a bankart repair for a dislocation (fell off the bike) in September,I’m out on the road again now and should get the all clear mid Jan. Mine was a proper mess though, and it also included a broken bone. I then got a frozen shoulder so have had nightmare getting movement back.
Had mine done privatly, about 2 weeks after the initial crash.

Thanks for the info, I’m off for a mri today to find out what damage I have

I tore mine last year. No breaks and pretty minor compared to you guys but even now I still can’t hold a shopping basket for long with that hand. After a short while the shoulder – freezes/drops and I need the other hand to take the basket out of the hand.

I didnt have an op but it took me just under a year to fully recover from my rotator cuff injury. Accupuncture helped loads with the pain then it was gym work and yoga to build up strength.

i had this injury from weight lifting, very painful but was told to rest and give up lifting weights, no OP was offered so i guess it was minor compared to what you’re experiencing. It did clear up in about 6 months of limited/light upper-body lifting.

Good luck

I had the Bankhart procedure in October 2009, 4 weeks in a sling, gradually building up the physio over the next few months. I rode my mtb in January (very very carefully) and finished physio in April 2010. It’s been a total success and I have full movement..but like all these things it depends on how dedicated you are doing the physio.

I did a 1/3rd thickness tear of my Supraspinatus in 2008. Not worth operating on, but bloody annoying.

It took until summer 2010 before I could go climbing or do chinups again, but I was back on the bike fairly soon.

Dave

After similar myself, all i can add is to find yourself a good sports physio, even better if they are a cyclist.

NHS physio is great but the sessions can be limited and getting a good physio can make a world of difference in your recovery and also in stopping it causing you problems in the future.

Had mine done start of October and was in a sling for 6 weeks after. It was 9 weeks before I could drive (manual)which was a big unpleasant surprise. My surgeon reckoned 3 months before easy riding again and 6 months before risking an off road fall. Had keyhole surgery and physio started the day after the operation, don’t leave it any later. I am doing at least an hour a day even now and still do not have full movement. It seems very easy to mess up the repair to start with I think have been very lucky so far with at least 3 incidents that could have screwed it up. I was also using a shoulder brace before the operation to protect from worsening the damage and intend using the brace for a good while when I am back in the saddle.

Good luck

The NHS info on a previous post is pretty good.

Bear in mind that nothing like this is “standard” and the expectations of you may well be very different to the expectations of someone who sits on their bum all day doing nothing.

Don’t rush anything and stick to the physiotherapy to give yourself the best chance of a good outcome. Some people may be fine in a few weeks while others have much longer term struggles. Don’t compare yourself to others and take it easy.

As TJ said, prepare for a long break and hopefully you’d then end up pleasantly surprised. No doubt you’ll come back stronger with more zest for biking 🙂

Best of luck and heal soon!

Ive busted it Twice but NOT breakages though
Came off the bike twice and always seemed to put right arm out and
landed on the right palm and the forces travel though to the rotary cuff.
It still hurts when try to raise my arm, and this is two years back

Just to let you know, I did my first bit of proper off road yesterday evening, and it was fine. Not sure how a fall would be, so trying to be careful still. My op was early september, I expext to be fully up to speed by the time I get sign off for ‘contact’ sports (23rd Jan)