Starting to get nervous - is there surfing after shoulder replacement?

Jan 26, 2017
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Hey all,
I did a quick search but couldn't find a thread on this. I had shoulder surgery in december to repair a slap tear of the biceps tendon. Due to this injury I have been out of the water for nearly a year. The surgery went well and rehab is going OK. BUT...

...when the surgeon was poking around in my shoulder he saw that there was massive wear and tear of the cartiledge (is that the stuff on the joint surface? sorry, not an english speaker), with a few large areas missing it completely! There was also major inflamation of the whole shoulder going on. His verdict was that surgery might solve the pain in my shoulder but it could also well be that the shoulder is too effed up. He mentioned that in the (maybe not too distant) future shoulder replacement, where they replace the joint surface, might well be needed (fook).

I haven't been able to find much info on how this might effect surfing (or other activities for that matter). Anyone here with (first hand) experience?

PS obviously my shoulder is achy due to the rehab. But still I find myself over analyzing the status of the shoulder (does it hurt now? No? maybe now? How about if I do this? etc) and I am currently not convinced that December's procedure will be sufficient.
 

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
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Sorry to hear that. I can't help much. I know a few people who have had shoulder surgeries (not replacements though). Two were very successful and they are surfing as well as ever. One was tragic. They opened him up but could not repair the tear. Closed him back up. Told him he needed another, much more involved surgery that required taking ligament from another part of his body to patch the tear in his shoulder. He couldn't surf, couldn't work, went into depression and had a sad ending.

I hope your are in the former category and will be able to go back to surfing. Even if you can't surf I hope you are still able to work and enjoy life without surfing if it comes to that.

How old are you and how long have you surfed?
 
Jan 26, 2017
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thanks!

I'm on the verge of 48.
Did a ton of windsurfing until I was 20, then started other sports (climbing/ bouldering and freeride skiing). Picked up surfing (without a sail this time) when I was 38 or so... Sadly a lot of sports I love doing are not possibly anymore due to physical ailments/ bad luck/ me not wanting to hurt myself. Surfing was something I still could do and it caught me heart and soul... again. It felt/ feels sooooo good to be in the water, to share the experience with friends, to be picked up by the hand of Neptune and pushed forwards, to feel the board come alive beneath your feet to paddle your heart out and finally make it behind those sand banks. I suck awfully but love it to bits nonetheless, even despite our surf being weak, sloppy and cold (dutch North sea). I hope I am just being melodramatic and everything pans out OK.

As of late, I've been painting waves which is fun... but I don't see myself doing this until the end of time.
 
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Clayster

Miki Dora status
Oct 26, 2005
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I had rotator cuff surgery two months ago. I had a cycling accident and hit hard enough to tear two tendons off the bone so that they needed reattachment.

I'm improving, but it is slow going, and I question whether I will ever be able to paddle again.
 

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
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I had rotator cuff surgery two months ago. I had a cycling accident and hit hard enough to tear two tendons off the bone so that they needed reattachment.

I'm improving, but it is slow going, and I question whether I will ever be able to paddle again.
Don't give up before you really started the rehab process. I have a friend who had shoulder surgery for a tear and bone spurs (not totally detached) and soon after had a hip replacement. Didn't know whether he could surf again.

About a year later I see him out and he (40+ years old) boosts an air and another friend exclaimed-

"That 200 pounds of air!"

Anything is possible.
 

SurfDoc

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Dec 19, 2002
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I just consulted with an old surfer who had a shoulder repair. It is slow going often on the rehab and the return can be challenging. Or as the surgeon says, "Don't tear what I fixed!" Depends on so many factors. COMPLETE HEALING and a directed rehab program are crucial to future activity participation.
 
Jan 26, 2017
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I'm not asking about repair... I am OK with slow going etc; been out of surf for over a year now.

What worries me is the amount of damage, wear & tear the doc noticed during surgery. He indicated that I might have to start thinking about a shoulder replacement if I don't make the progress that is needed. Any advice on that is much appreciated.

PS at the moment my rehab is going well and I have good hopes to get back into the water. That said, his words hang over me like the sword of Damocles...
 

PRCD

Tom Curren status
Feb 25, 2020
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He gets paid to do surgery. Check the resources on chronic pain I posted in the LBP thread.
 

xmesa

Nep status
Jul 25, 2014
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sigh... i had a bunch of work done on both of my shoulders about 10 years ago when i was 25. Doctor said the same thing ... joint is really fucked up and what he was fixing is not 100% repair

After a decent run of PT, i've been surfing more or less normally for the last 10 years. I could NOT really surf without constantly being worried about dislocation before the surgeries, it really did allow me to surf again.

I was paddling for a wave today and heard/felt something horrific come from my shoulder... it's not dislocated, but it's really fucked now and i don't even want to know what's wrong or how to fix it...

short story: in my experience you'll get 10 good years? be very careful, warm up a LOT, even when you're suring head high shitty beach break on lunch break... hopefully i'm jumping to conclusions about myself and whatever is wrong is not-tpo-bad... but this is kind of devastating
 

xmesa

Nep status
Jul 25, 2014
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I think you have to find an ortho you trust. If the recommendation is replacement, then you have a decision to make. And it may have significant activity restrictions and a challenging rehab program.
Thank you for the input.

for posterity - I've had both of my shoulders repaired. Dr Tibone in South Bay is the surgeon who performed the previous SLAP repairs, capsulorraphys and bone fragment removals 10 years ago. I was finally able to get an appt with him.

He says that sutures, cartiledge or bone fragment might be causing the new problem and it should be a super minimal repair.

Trying to get testing for COVID now so they can schedule me for the procedure.

I was prepared for a ream and run - the way my right arm is basically not usable... i'm really, really stoked
 
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xmesa

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Jul 25, 2014
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I'm not asking about repair... I am OK with slow going etc; been out of surf for over a year now.

What worries me is the amount of damage, wear & tear the doc noticed during surgery. He indicated that I might have to start thinking about a shoulder replacement if I don't make the progress that is needed. Any advice on that is much appreciated.

PS at the moment my rehab is going well and I have good hopes to get back into the water. That said, his words hang over me like the sword of Damocles...

i"ve done a lot more research on this topic while thinking that i was in need of a replacement - since my dr. had told me the same thing about re-injury and not having any options left if i screwed it up again.

It looks like the alternative to a full rreplacement is a partial replacement procedure called the "Ream and Run" - the rehab / physical therapy schedule is gnarly, but it appears to be the route of choice if you expect to beat on your shoulder in the future.

I have an ex-coworker who had it done and was lifting his arm over his head in a few days. it didn't seem like a fun thing to go through - but made me feel better that there's an alternative to replacement if mine continue to go south.
 
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Super66

Legend (inyourownmind)
Dec 24, 2019
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shshsh had a SLAP repair done and became a high level competitive paddle boarder afterwards.....as well as surfing Waimea. If I remember correctly his father was one of the pioneers of the repair technique...but I could be mistaken.
 
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