Rotator Cuff Surgery Recovery

Rotator cuff surgery is mostly an outpatient procedure and generally do not require a hospital stay. However, depending upon the severity of injury, you may have to undergo months of rehabilitation. The rotator cuff surgery recovery takes place in five different stages. It starts with pain management techniques and ends till you are able to use your arm normally and comfortably. The procedure of rotator cuff surgery involves cutting of skin, release of scar tissue, surgical joining of tendons and bone. Learn by reading more on what is rotator cuff tear in shoulder and rotator cuff injury.

Stage 1: Stage 1 of rotator cuff surgery recovery focuses on bringing the recovery pain under control. The pain management in this case is done by strong medications such as morphine or Demerol. They are administered either intravenously or intramuscularly. After the completion of two weeks, analgesics such as hydrocodone or Tylenol with codone are taken orally. Good pain management is very necessary for easy rotator cuff surgery recovery. However, analgesics may cause drowsiness, bradycardia, constipation, nausea and allergic reactions. It is seen that analgesics do not produce effective results on those who have recently been taking substantial narcotic drugs. If this is the case with you, you must inform your doctor before undergoing rotator cuff surgery.

You can manage your shoulder pain quite well, if you follow a simple technique. The technique is that you should take small doses of pain killers at the very early signs of pain instead of taking larger doses on experiencing severe pain. Many doctors prefer alternating narcotic drugs with an anti-inflammatory medication. This also helps in controlling the rotator cuff surgery pain to a great extent. Many patients get relief from pain by icing the shoulder. Try this out as well.

Stage 2: Stage 2 involves passive motion of the shoulder. You are supposed to move your shoulder without exerting much strain on it. The time taken by stage 2 depends on the size of the rotator cuff and the strength of the repair. Usually, the stage 2 lasts for 6 weeks. It is very necessary that you move your shoulder without moving the rotator cuff. A physiotherapy specialist can teach you the appropriate ways.

Stage 3: When sufficient healing is felt in the tendons and the movement of the arm is possible without exerting extra force, then rotator cuff surgery recovery begins with the stage 3. This stage involves active motion, i.e you are supposed to move your arm, but not against resistance. It lasts for almost 12 weeks.

Stage 4: The stage 4 is meant to strengthen the rotator cuff muscle. It aims to resume your normal activity level. This stage starts only when the rotator cuff muscle has completely healed. Some workouts with the help of light resistance bands and weights is recommended. To keep the ball and socket joints intact and healthy read more on rotator cuff exercises.

Stage 5: The complete rotator cuff surgery recovery takes 5 to six months. However, in some cases, it may take even longer. The time period of stage 5 or full activity stage depends upon various factors. These are size of the rotator cuff tear, body's natural ability to repair the tendons, and your determination for rehabilitation. Actually, knowing when to move from one stage of recovery to another is an instinct. As this instinct differs from person to person, the rotator cuff surgery recovery time is also different for different individuals. Perform some shoulder exercises for fast recovery after rotator cuff surgery.

On an average, the rotator cuff surgery recovery cost lies between $ 12,000 and $ 13,000. This cost includes the money spent on operation room, total per day stay at hospital but excludes the amount spent on frequent visits to the doctor. It is very necessary that you prevent yourself from any sort of rotator cuff surgery recovery complications to ease and speed up the process of recovery. The best way is to follow the doctor's instructions properly to prevent any microbial infection in the surgery area and complete the rehabilitation in full.