OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

[vferguson3006]

Blew the rt. shoulder rotator cuff and had surgery this last Mon.
Rt. handed, rt. dominant eye, etc. They are telling me 4 to 6 mos. rehab. For you shooters, [my main recreational outlet] any suggestions to get back to heavy rifles and recoil? If this has happened to you how did you deal with it?
Thanks, JOE

 

[M700]

Re: OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

Joe - 2007 my right rotator cuff got torn right off the bone. Had surgery, a few complications, but got everything put back together with some pins and such holding. Maybe duct tape and bailing wire too.

I was really pretty leery of shooting again for a while. Did my physical therapy exactly as ordered and the shoulder came back, slowly, but it came back.

After some time, I started with my .22 rifle. Then the .223. When I found that didn't hurt, I pushed it to the .25-06, and didn't go any more powerful that year. Took a 4x4 mule deer buck that year with that rifle.

That's been several years - I'm in my mid/late 50's and likely won't heal up as well as a young guy but I've gotten back to the point where I can benchpress, do pullups, all that sort of stuff. Most of the range of motion came back too - which was probably more important than the strength. And the pain is gone. Simply gone. That's real nice.

Oh yeah, and I worked up to shooting my .375 H&H again too - took a bear with it in 2010.

Hang in there! Guy

 

[vferguson3006]

Re: OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

M700, thank-you for taking the time to share your experience with me.
Sound advice from someone who has been there. I am only at day 7, this pain and uncertain outcome has completely overwhelemed me, all the support and comfort from family and friends is much appreciated, since they don't hunt or shoot, not sure if they realize the importance and significance of a lifestyle.
I hope for a similiar outcome as yours, obviously 1 day at a time, this event initially left me with a sense of hopeless, helpless, why bother to try, attitude.
I am sure you would tell me you experienced the same feelings.
With a little luck my shooting skills won't go any where, lord knows my guns aren't
Thanks, JOE

 

[mateofeo85]

Re: OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

Joe, I dislocated my shoulder and experienced 2 type-4 labrum tears in the socket last winter (feb 2011) snowboarding. If there is any bit of advise I can give:

Stick it out 110% through physical therapy. The shoulder, especially type-4 tears in my case, is a pain in the ass to rehabilitate. It sucks to sleep with, shoot with; there's a lot that you don't realize will be affected by the injury. My therapist told me I may be 75% after 6 months of therapy if I'm lucky. I gave all I could (without doing anything stupid) through my therapy sessions, and I'd say, with my therapist in agreement, that I'm easily a 90% recovery.

I know different people at different ages and physical condition will heal faster or slower, but following through with physical therapy will get you right back behind the trigger. I took advantage of my time in a sling to work on my left handed pistol work and had some fun behind the 10/22 left handed. I followed doctor's orders 100% on when I could get back behind a rifle and I'm glad I did.

Best of luck to you.

-Matt.

 

[vferguson3006]

Re: OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

Matt,
Thank-you. The last week has been as if your were in the proverbeal crowded room and there was no one to talk to. A couple of success stories such as yours and M700's do help mentally, quite honestley as you well know, the mental side seems as insurmountable as the injury.
I use a Savage heavy barrel with thumbhole stock for triggertime, but I know where there is a 10-22 for $200 bucks.
I like your attitude and approach "when life give you lemons, make lemonade"
Left hand, off hand practice with pistol and rimfire had not crossed my mind, your suggestion was well timed. I am a couple of weeks away I think from anything too physical but this will give me some time to focus on putting a rimfire semi-auto together.
I am sort of ironically fortunate in that I teach at a college and have the summer off.
I have 6 heavy guns and about 4K rds. of ammo, look at all the money this shoulder will save me this summer.
Thank-you Matt.

 

[mateofeo85]

Re: OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

Happy to hear you're still motivated. When you're that involved in a hobby you love and something like this comes up, it's all mind over matter. Keep that day when you can get back on the big triggers a "carrot on a string" and use your free time to hone other skills.

Have fun with a 10/22 build. They're a blast (and cheap!) to shoot with gobs of aftermarket support. Keep us up on your status and keep your spirits up.

 

[Hackk]

Re: OK, blew the Rt. sholder Rotator Cuff, now what?

After a bad motorcycle accident, I had two broken scapulas, broken left arm (both upper and lower), left shoulder torn labrum (pot handle tear), torn rotator, and grade3 AC separation in the right shoulder. In the beginning I couldn't even wipe my own ass...

For shooting, a bipod in prone (or shooting bench) is mandatory. After that, its truly whatever your pain tolerance can handle. Lifting a rifle is going to be practically impossible, but managing recoil really wont be a huge painful task. Main force is absorbed by the clavicle before your rotator would ever feel it. While using the shoulder will hurt in and of itself, the recoil should be manageable.

and as for recovery, DO NOT FUCKING DROP OUT OF PHYSICAL THERAPY!!!! Do EVERY day you can, even if you feel 100%. Range of motion is key to keeping the pain away, otherwise you'll just stiffen up and hurt more. If your doctor has not recommended it yet, get a prescription for "dynasplint". Google it. It looks and feels like a mid evil torture device, hurts like hell, but will get your range of motion where it needs to be. a month+ of using that was all I needed, and now my range of motion is equal to my other side.

Hope I could help, and good luck