Movement after Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression surgery

Hi,

I had surgey o remove calcification on my right shoulder tendons about 6 weeks ago, I've had this problem for about 6 years and other treatments did not work. I think I'm doing a good recovery , I do the excercises recommended by my physio twice a day and I've recovered a good range of movement (more than I had before the op).

However as a result of having this condition for such a long time the bones on the right side of my back move in a complet different way to the left. When I lift my arms the right scapula moves much quicker and higher than the left, and the bone is protuding. This causes me lots of pain and general tension on that area.

I just want to know if this can be corrected and I can recover a normal movement, or if this is something I need to live with.

Many thanks

I think you are spot on that you he developed compensatory patterns that have allowed excessive scapula movement. Take it from someone who has had this surgery 3 times and rehabbed hundreds of shoulders. You do not have to live with this but it will take a lot of work. What you need is not just RTC strengthening but scapula stabilization alone and with all your strengthening exercises. Form should be emphasized and CKC exercises should be done. Any good therapist can provide these for you and work with you on this. If you don't correct this it will most likely get irritated again. Think of it like the fad term"core stability". If you stabilize the proximal(scapula) the distal will function as it should. They work together. We could go on for some time to explain the whats and whys but that isnt necessary here.

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Originally Posted by finchr

I think you are spot on that you he developed compensatory patterns that have allowed excessive scapula movement. Take it from someone who has had this surgery 3 times and rehabbed hundreds of shoulders. You do not have to live with this but it will take a lot of work. What you need is not just RTC strengthening but scapula stabilization alone and with all your strengthening exercises. Form should be emphasized and CKC exercises should be done. Any good therapist can provide these for you and work with you on this. If you don't correct this it will most likely get irritated again. Think of it like the fad term"core stability". If you stabilize the proximal(scapula) the distal will function as it should. They work together. We could go on for some time to explain the whats and whys but that isnt necessary here.

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Many thanks for your reply, my therapist now is from the NHS so I don't get much choice and the only thing she does is show me exercices. Is it too early to start with the CKC excercises, should i wait till the shoulder heals completely? (I've been told it can take up to a year). I don't mind going privately although I find difficult to find a good therapist, and in the past I've wasted a lot of money trying to sort out the shoulder problem, everyone said they could help and no one did, so I don't trust private therapists anymore.

I don't mind working hard, I'll do anything it takes to get better. I do excercise now but basically running and cycling, haven't done anything with my upper body as the shoulder has always been a limitation and I was always worried I could make it worse.

You can and should do CKC exercises now. As with any exercises, there are some that stress tissues more than others and can be progressed. There is plenty of data to support this. You need to coactivate the scapula stabilizes such as the serratus anterior & lower trap to name a couple. You tube and google are great resources. There are also many other exercises using any equipment that works both if they are done correctly. In my opinion, if you do not you will continue to reinforce abnormal muscle recruitment patterns. You shouldn't need anywhere near 4 months of rehab for this problem. It can take a while to be completely normal but that is for heavy lifting overhead type of activity