So I took a little digger at Northstar in July... You can read about the trip here. The result is a torn rotator cuff and torn bicep tendon. First words out of the doctor's mouth were: "Tell me about your previous injuries." well, that I remember, there haven't been any to my shoulder. Him: "You didn't do that all at once, no way..." Whether I did or didn't, the two options are: a) learn to live with it and b) surgery. a) isn't really an option because, well, I can't live with it. I can't ride and working is tough. So surgery it is. Thing is, he won't operate until three months after because the bone needs to heal (not broken, just damaged), which will make it late October early November. Riding a mountain bike isn't impossible, but the bumps hurt a bit and I can't muscle the bike around like I'm accustomed to, so I'm thinking of trying road riding. Those of you who have had rotator cuff surgery.... How long before you were back on a bike, and how long before you could ride a mountain bike? What was the PT like? Thanks!
I had a very similar rotator/tendon issue. First time, I also broke my arm but the real damage was done with the tendon tear. Very painful and dibilitating. I was given the option of surgery or learn to live with it. I chose to try to live with it. So I was learning to live with it when I fell on my road bike and managed to now tear the muscle. I talked to a number of doctors along with friends who had similar injuries and almost all that had surgery recommended I don't. It's been a couple years now and I have limited motion in my arm, and can't lift it more then 9 o'clock. It still hurts especially when it gets pushed past that mark but I am able to work and do most everything as before. I'm not a fan of the surgery as the doctors told me the success rate isn't much better then just letting it heal pretty much on it's own. The doctor who did the MRI told me he didn't think I could of done all that damage in one accident either. Physiclal Therapy saved me from the frozen arm syndrome.
Go to a Sports Medicine doctor and have them get you back on the bike! Regular doctors don't quite understand not being able to do what you love just because of a little injury. Go to someone where it's their job to get you going ASAP (a little bit of pain ain't going to kill you).
The bicep tendon is the tricky one. If it is only partially torn, you're looking at 6 weeks recovery, if it is totally detached (as mine was), the recovery is longer. During the surgery, they staple the tendon to the bone then immobilize it to allow it to bond. I had the surgery while I was in the Army. It took me 6 months to get my range of motion back. That is with two hours/three days a week of physical therapy/torture for six months. It took another six months to get full strength back. I swore at the time that if it happened again, I would just live with it. Now that the memory has faded, I'm glad I had it fixed. I had lived with constant pain for almost two years prior to the surgery. Your insurance will probably not cover that kind of physical therapy so you may end up with motion and strength issues as described by PF.
Thanks for the info, guys. Yeah, it's the bicep tendon tear that I think is causing me the most pain. The good news is with each (easy) ride I seem to do better. But I may still try some road riding, especially since I want to avoid anything too chunky and really need to minimize the crashing potential. I can only imagine the pain if I landed on that shoulder again right now.... Several friends have taken great delight in describing the torture of physical therapy in my future. But I'll do whatever it takes. Need to be able to ride with confidence and without pain again. I really believe mountain biking saved my life, even if it does hurt me once in a while. I'm mostly concerned with the time immediately after the surgery and how much thins are going to weaken then - not just my left arm, but the rest of me. Might have to learn to love the stationary bike.
IMO (maybe worthless???),The rotator cuff can be a non issue if you can live with it (for some people it may hurt and for others maybe not). Both of mine have been shot out for more than 20 years (football and motorcyles being the cause). They stopped hurting very shortly after the injuries occured but they will dislocate much easie due to the tears. Sleeping can be tough at times but for most motions where the arms and hands are below the shoulder I never have a problem. I can't swing a golf club and I don't throw baseballs! That bicep sounds bad!
I totally agree. Thankfully, I was able to afford continuing my PT and the NINE months of strength rehab. I'm real close to 95% on my range of motion and can lift my arms over my head with no pain. I don't think I'll ever be able to throw a ball hard again - that REALLY hurts. Of course you're going to lose some strength and endurance. I was surprised how quickly it came back once I was freed from PT. I signed up with the Brea Community Center gym to specifically use their nice stationary bikes - and I didn't fall off once. :lol: Good luck with your recovery!
So, five months out.... I had surgery five weeks ago tomorrow. As it turns out, there was nothing to re-attach. The rotator cuff healed itself thanks to the damage I did to the humeral head. The increased blood flow to the area to repair the bone also helped the rotator cuff heal, which doesn't typically happen. As for the bicep tendon tear, there wasn't enough viable tissue to reattach. The long head of the bicep tendon remains unattached. My doctor assures me that that will have no impact on motion or strength. Basically when he went in for surgery, he cleaned it out, removed a piece of the tendon that was sticking in the joint and causing me a lot of pain. I've been doing PT for four weeks with good progress, but I have a long way to go before I have anything close to full range of motion again, and much longer before full strength. But yesterday the doctor game me permission to lift 10lbs. with that arm – before now, I could only lift a pound, he said – and told me I could swim. Trying to keep in shape on a borrowed road bike on a borrowed trainer. It will be at least four weeks before I'm back on a bike, and then it will be limited to pavement or fireroad, and another four weeks before I can truly ride mtb again (or, at least as much as I could ride mtb before....). Thanks STR for at least letting me ride vicariously through your ride reports. Sorry I'm going to miss Saturday's holiday ride up Blackstar - last year's was a blast despite the weather - but looking forward to riding again and will hopefully be back in pretty good shape by the Rwanda ride. Can't wait to see dirt again.
