I am right handed and am having surgery on my right shoulder next week. I have a torn labrum which will be repaired and the biceps tendon will be relocated. It's a pretty standard procedure for SLAP tears. The doctor says it will be a three month recovery for normal work but I am wondering about shooting since it is my shooting shoulder. Has anybody gone through a procedure like this that can give me an idea of how long before I can shoot again without too much pain?

I found it took twelve months before I could shoot without discomfort after shoulder and elbow surgery. But we are not all the same and some people could start shooting sooner without problems and others a little longer. Though the best thing I found was to leave my light Brit side by sides in their cases, and used a far heavier over and under with a rubber recoil pad. I was really surprised how much a heavier gun reduced the felt recoil though I do miss the light guns I have grown old with.
I hope things go well for you after your surgery.

Tom C,
I didn't have this type surgery, but my wife did. She lost a fair amount of "range of motion". I suggest you talk to your Doctor about your concern, while he still has some possible choice of the new location of the tendon. Failing that, I suggest you speak to your physical therapist , during rehab., about your special requirements.

Interesting timing. I was just diagnosed with an 80% tendon tear in my right shoulder. Doc said the surgery would be pretty routine, but the recovery would be 6-8 months. He also told me not to hunt ducks this season because the recoil could further damage the shoulder. Because of everything I have going on, I probably won't do the surgery until next spring, and I'm thinking about learning to shoot left handed before dove season. Alternative would be to use my Rem 1100 .410 with skeet loads, right handed. Hate to miss a dove season.

I have had several minor cleanups and my shoulder rebuilt. Age matters, your ability to do physical therapy both before and after your surgery, the extent of damage done does matter. The younger and better health you are will help you heal faster. I did a lot of range of motion and strength condition before the surgery and it hurt like a B.... but the better your muscle condition the better your post surgery recovery. If you have let your shoulder get weak from lack of use and pain with motion your post surgery recovery has a lot further to go. Doing the physical therapy is the only way to get range of motion and strength back. Fail to push the therapy and you will never get as much recovery.

As to time, I was back at work far faster than your doctor predicted for you and a lot of that was due to doing all the pre-surgery work. Everyone is different. I'd figure six month to almost full recovery but the little things will take longer. I could reach the top shelf quickly but rotating my hand when the arm was fully extended took more time. I could do a simple reach and grab but turning a screwdriver was later. Again doing the therapy will get you all the way back if there is no structural damage they can not repair.

I have a bone spur in my other shoulder which I am going to have shaved down in a few weeks. I do not intend to miss much work with that. I'll take two to three days off total.

I had a major rebuild of my right shoulder about 4 years ago: tendon re-attached, rotator cuff repair, pinched nerve,many bone spurs removed--five hours of cut-and-paste After years of pain and increasingly limited motion, I got about 90% function back in three months. Let PT be your new religion!

I started shooting a .410 with skeet loads after that and quickly went back to light loads in my 12s and 20s (I seldom shoot heavy loads any more, I shot a couple of 3" in my Gold Label and that was enough of THAT!).

So far no recurrence of pain, but I avoid .45-70s and upward. But then, we don't have any loose bison around here....

I had rotator cuff at age 65 and it was tough! Now at 75 I need it again but I say no because it is not worth it at my age. I will take an advil and try to get through the skeet matches but I have to fight flinching on every shot. I gave up 12 gauge and have only shot 20 but may have to switch to 28 this season?? I do shoot about 10,000 per yer.

bill

Anyone had a "manipulation" to restore range of motion?

DDA

One of my best friends, Charles Boswell (yeah, that's really his name) who is the founder owner of CompNChoke, had extensive shoulder surgery about two years ago, after a terrible injury to it resulting from a fall off of a 7410 JD tractor. His arm was in a sling for a good while afterwards, but he did his therapy religiously. He kicked my butt yesterday on a round of sporting clays, 90 to 86. He shoots as good as he did before the surgery.

You can do it, too. Think positive thoughts only. Work hard at recovery. Don't take no for an answer.

All my best, SRH

I had the left shoulder done 8 years ago and it was much worse needing 3 anchors added to the bone and removal of a large bone spur. I was still sweating bullets 6 months later. I am hoping there is less bone work this time and I will talk to the doc about the relocation point for the biceps tendon. I am getting this done now so that I can hunt in the fall. I visited my PT friend 28 times after my left shoulder repair. Swimming is what really strengthened my left shoulder after the repair. I suspect clays will be minimal for a good while.

This gives me a reason to pick up a 28! I will mention that to the doc so I can tell my wife he prescribed it.

We are getting to the tail end of dealing with a major joint reconstruction for a family member. To a large extent, it really seems to be the mindset of the individual to push. In agreement with the orthopedic surgeon, we tapered off as quick as possible from the standard PT, and worked with a good athletic trainer to make much better headway. On the other hand, if someone were willing to put some good swimming in, I think that's a good bit more than most would do. Hope all goes routine and smooth next week.

I just had a total left shoulder replacement done 12/13/16 merry Christmas to me!my goal is to be shooting at Carlisle next month!

I figured I am too young (60) to be limited in what I can do. I still do most things including some weight lifting, kyaking and other things that require a fair amount of shoulder work. My only issue is when I over do it, I end up paying for it for the next 3-4 days. I will be swimming laps again as soon as I can.

Thanks for the info guys. Hope to be typing with one hand soon.

I think the swimming might be better than concentrating on the shoulder. Core strength, range of motion and keeping muscles balanced could be helped out by swimming, maybe more than targeting specific areas. And, lots of ice to get back in it the next day.

All four rotator tendons were torn from the humerus, labrium damaged, bicep tendon torn and other issues. After reattachments of all rotator tendons , and bicep tendon with 2 months sleeping in a recliner, started major rehab. Surgery was May 25th and I shot both rifles and shotguns in October . The key , I used the Evo shield to protect my shoulder. Without this device, I would have missed this past hunting season. My doctors allowed me to do what I felt comfortable with. Amazon has them but searching Amazon is difficult. www.evoshield.com/shop/sports/outdoors/shootershield...is best place to start. Be sure shirt is a very snug fit to keep the shield in place. I wear my all day and it does not hinder my movements in any way.

This is a difficult surgery, so listen to your PT and work hard at your rehab. I am now approx 80 % but it is a year recovery. I am 69.

My rotator cuff was a year recovering also. I had a 10ga I wanted to shoot. The first time I tried it jumped up and hit me in the nose, hurt my nose and my shoulder. I had it ported and lengthened the stock. That helped a lot.

I liked to play tennis so I started playing left handed and did surprisingly well. Shooting left handed is something you might give thought to. The big thing is to give yourself recovery time. Everybody is different because one person has a quick recovery doesn't mean you will. Exercising in a swimming pool really speeded up my recovery.

or maybe its just time to give it up.....

My hunting buddy shoots a 16 Ga. Parker built on an "O" frame and the gun is very light with a good amount of felt recoil. We fooled around with very light loads and eventually came up with a 3/4 oz. and a 7/8 oz., both of which had a minimum of felt recoil.
I suggest that if you want to shoot without pain, reloading very light loads could be your solution.

The most important factor in recovery is the Physical Therapy. I put off getting my shoulder fixed was partially because the Orthopedic doc I was going to said it couldn't be fixed and because I figured a little pain never hurt anybody. WE both were wrong. Dennis Ralston recommended the doc that fixed his shoulder and I had it done. Unfortunately they had to open me up to operate. If it can be done orthographically the recovery time is much shorter. Mine was over 25 years ago and I still throw like a girl. Dennis ended up losing leg. Too many injuries, too many pain killers. He was once a world class athlete and number one tennis player in the country.

The big thing is don't push it and keep doing your therapy. You can wait a year and still have fun shooting. I was playing pro am tennis and didn't want to stop, but I was just kidding myself. I was stupid to have pushed it. I wasn't that good anyway.

Had rotator cuff surgery in Feb of 15. Had great recovery and got range of motion back in uncommon time without all the pain etc. others had warned me of. Immediate goal was to get fly-casting ability back in order to use newly modified Whaler for spec fishing on Alabama/Fla coast. That went well but forgot about dove season until late August. Shot great % but only 6 birds first day, as I did not want to push my luck. (Opens first Sat of Sept. in MS) Too sore to even attempt to shoot the second day. Was fine by the first of that November, just had to redirect my therapy. Your results may vary.

That is amazing, but you are not superman and the shoulder is a pretty complicated,don't mess yourself up by pushing too hard.

Thanks guys. I am sure it will be fine after a number of months. I am going to a good friend of mine for PT. He has done my left shoulder, ankle and knee (from running myself over with a car - long story). I am hoping to get back in the pool by June or July.

In the meantime I am trying to get as much biofillia time in before Monday. I ice fished Friday and Saturday, fish for salmon and trout on a tributary of Lake Michigan yesterday and shot 10 pen raised pheasants today. I think I will take tomorrow off and go to work.

To all of you, i'll share my story. I've had pain in right shoulder since I was a fast-pitch softball catcher in my 20's - I speculate it was a bad throwing motion. That didn't keep me from war and all sorts of sport over half the globe for 40 years.

Then about 9 years ago in Pakistan, I suddenly couldn't lift the right arm. I could pull. I could row. But I couldn't push or lift. Back home I had a test; the cartilage had gone..it was bone on bone, I was one-handed having to shift the Jeep with the left hand. I opted not to wait - immediate shoulder replacement; I mean - what was I waiting for...a miracle?

Oct 2008 I had the operation. It turned out by not waiting I only needed the ball, not the socket. The surgeon said, "Now it's up to you." I had that operation not to be one-armed and I'd be damned if being a lazy ass would keep it that way.

I started physical therapy 3 days later. I worked out 7 days a week, for 1.5 hrs/da dividing the workouts into two sectors - flexibility (the far most important) and strength (you can always build strength). In 5 months I picked up a 5lb weight and put it on the top shelf, 5 mos 2 weeks I threw a ball 70'. 6 mos...I went through firearms training which included Remington 870 12ga. I can lift that right arm straight overhead and twist it then take the wallet out of my left pocket behind my back.

The moral...1) joint replacements work - I can throw, play golf, shoot as I never did before, 2) don't futz around - fix it; 3) If you don't want to put in the work to finish what your surgeon did, go back to eating McDonalds.