Rotater Cuff
 

I tore my rotator cuff again last week after slipping on the ice. What I want to know, if anyone out there is riding with a torn cuff? I am planning some long trips this year and want to know how much discomfort ya’ll have with an injured cuff. I really don’t want to have surgery, but if it means I don’t ride, then I will get it done ASAP.

I had AC separations and torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders several times...17 years later no surgeries and still riding. Back then they didnt do the surgery orthoscopically, it was a large incision and months and months to heal, so I opted for no surgery. Best advise I can give you is once you feel better, start doing excersizes that will strengthen your shoulder and tighten it up so the muscles hold everything in place but start light

If you are lucky it will be a small tear and it will heal on its own. I rode for a year with mine before I had surgery, but there was a lot more damage once they got in to look. Surgery was 10 months ago, just released from the doctor but still have some minor pain. Was riding about 3 months after surgery. Hope yours is minor. Good luck.

I'm still having shoulder problems, not a tear but I had cartilage growing into that region that was surgically repaired. That was a few years ago. It still hurts, doctor thinks some scar tissue grew in there now. I just live with it. Doesn't hurt bad enough to affect my riding, only when lifting heavy object over my head.

no rotator cuff problem but I did go for a ride a couple weeks after my hemorrhoid operation. I wasn't long turning around:icon_verzsilly:

Last summer I talked with my Doctor about my torn rotater cuff and had a choice of surgery or physical therapy. Since this was at the height of riding season, I opted for physical therapy. I could go with surgery later. PT helped enough so that I still feel that I don't want surgery. I rode the bike to the PT sessions.

I went the same route as Tripper except that physical Therapy only aggravated my situation... I had surgery in early October and everything is fine now...You will know when surgery is necessary..
If the pain becomes intolarable...and you think twice before doing something with that arm,then it's time..

I tore my right side while sheeting a roof in the snow. It was so bad that I couldn't sleep on my right side for several months. I went to the doc and had the ultrasound done on it and he told me that "it wasn't terrible", and that unless I was a professional baseball player he reccomended letting it go for awhile and see what happens with it. Two years later the only time it hurts me is when playing softball. Riding doesn't hurt it at all.

I've had one for years I got in the Army. Never had surgery, but got a nice 25% disability for it. After a few years it quit bothering me unless I lift really heavy when I work out. Doesn't affect my riding at all.

I'll second that. I went thru therapy, coratzone shots and finally begged the Doc to do the surgery. 6 months later I was better than new. Turns out I had a lot more that just a torn rotator cuff.

I had tore my right rotator cuf about 15 years ago and never had a surgery done, but I had to quit lifting weights (which is the reason for the injury in the first place), so I ended up getting into Karate instead. up until 4 years ago I had no signs whatsoever that the injury ever took place, but I decided to get back into working out with the "circuit training equipment" which is what they call it at the YMCA where I go, it's just a bunch of machines designed to lift weight without the dangers involved with free weights (or at least some of the dangers because you can still strain muscles) but anyhow my main point is that for the first year I started out llight and still had quite a bit of pain while riding with my arms extended out and sometimes I just needed to get of the bike to rest my arm, but once my shoulder seemed to repair itself, because of the workouts and I stayed dedicated to the workouts even thought there was pain at times, I can now honestly say I have completely overcome the torn rotator cuf injury. It took a long time in my opinion but for me and my personal decision that surgery is not an option, but ones DETERMINATION to overcome an injury is the most important issue. Now on the other hand there are guys at the gym who have had the surgery and within 9 months are back in the gym.

My right one has been bad for over 20yrs,has no effect on my riding so I'll live with it !!!

Cool, thanks ya'll. I've had enough surgeries in the past and not looking forward to another one. I think I'll just stock up on my Jem Beam!

had surgery twice for it..... had it done in jan and was riding in may.... 2nd surgery 7 years later had it done in feb and was riding in apr.

good luck i would say get it done asap before you screw it up so bad and have to get filleted open and be out for an entire riding season

I can relate to that. Mine was really bad some of which were bone spurs, torn muscle etc. from my shoulder dislocating. I reset it myself and it wasn't any macho duck thing just pure fning pain and not something I recommend. Went to Emerg they put me in a sling and recommended ice and therapy. Okay. I had to ride my bike home and took me two hours on a normal 45 min ride. So yeah it did not work well the first day. Went to the doctor lined me up with ortho and therapy. After a couple of weeks of ice went to therapy. I received a really nasty reminder of the first day. Back to ice and rest for a couple more weeks till the swelling went back down. Rode for the rest of the season. Saw Ortho had the surgery and it was in pretty bad shape. 6 months of therapy. Can't do repetative motion or too much overhead for any length of time but riding is good. Good luck with it. (25% disability man I want your plan)

I rode with a partial tear for 15 years with very little trouble, but the shoulder maybe felt in the 70% range. After a complete tear a year ago the shoulder was almost useless so I opted for the surgery, Now I feel the best I have felt in 15 years. With the therapy it depends on how much you want to get better and how hard you want to work on getting the shoulder better. Good luck.

hi
 

just wanted to stop by and say hi

what a great website this is..

ride safe,

john

Cortazone is my best friend right now. When the Doc says he can no longer give me an injection because I have had to many, I go find another Doc and start all over. Would surgery help me? maybe...but maybe screw my shoulder up worse. I opt to go for what works for me. And am against the "If it ain't broke, fix it till it is" idealology

I've hurt both shoulders, started doing shoulder exercises and now they are good. 1 is 100% and the other is about 90%. Highly recommend it, still doing them 3 times a week. Good luck.

Tore mine last summer. Hoped it would heal up on it's own, but no luck on that. MRI last week confirmed tear. See Ortho Doc on Monday. Hadn't even considered it would effect my ability to ride.

Larry... what exercises did you do to get 100%.

Iron butt, I got the exercises from a chiropractor. You need a rubber band, from a sporting goods, not the newspaper LOL. Mine is about 1/2" in diameter and 5' long, less than $10. Grasp it with your arms in front of you, (not by the handles but shorten it to get some resistance) then stretch the band horizontally. I do 10 reps each. Then do them diagonally, left arm down and right arm up, and then left arm up and right arm down. It also showed attaching one end to something fixed and doing a curl, horizontally, I'm to lazy to do this one very often.
I don't think I hace explained this very well. The band should come with directions for these and a lot of other excerizes.
Hope this helps.