Torn Rotator Cuff Ligaments (Help)

[AllLoadedUp]

Here is what I had

Full thickness near full width tear of infraspinatus
Full thickness near full width tear of supraspinatus
Partial tear of subscapularis
Intracapsular bicep tendinosis with mild medial subluxation/tenosynovitis
Mild/moderate acromioclavicular joint degenerative changes

Yeh I had all kinds of shit going on. My Ortho told me no HEAVY weights for 6 months. You will be able to do weights before then you just have to go light. Even at 6 months I went up slowly increasing the stress on my shoulder. MAKE SURE YOU DO THE REHAB if you have the surgery. If you don't you will regret it. A buddy of mine didn't when he had his surgery. He can't even get his arm behind his back his shoulder is so stiff. Dumbass move.

I was 51 when I had the surgery in 2024. Surgery was done in May. By April of 2025, 11 months later, I was pressing 120's on incline dumbbell. Probably could have done them before then but like I said I took it gradually. I'm currently rehabbing my left elbow/tricep from surgery this past November. Yeh 2 surgeries 2 years in a row but that's life. The elbow/tricep thing has been coming for last few years. Just decided to get it done. Distal tendon had started to tear so got it fixed before it was a full tear.

Your doc is right. If you delay surgery then the tendons will shrivel up and become brittle and much harder to deal with. I wanted to wait too but when my doc explained it I said "lets do it". Glad I did. He was right. My surgery was also my right shoulder, which I am right handed, but you will manage wiping your ass with your other hand. Its tricky but doable. Hardest part for me was trying to get use to jerking off with my left hand.

 

[RepZZ]

Here is what I had

Full thickness near full width tear of infraspinatus
Full thickness near full width tear of supraspinatus
Partial tear of subscapularis
Intracapsular bicep tendinosis with mild medial subluxation/tenosynovitis
Mild/moderate acromioclavicular joint degenerative changes

Yeh I had all kinds of shit going on. My Ortho told me no HEAVY weights for 6 months. You will be able to do weights before then you just have to go light. Even at 6 months I went up slowly increasing the stress on my shoulder. MAKE SURE YOU DO THE REHAB if you have the surgery. If you don't you will regret it. A buddy of mine didn't when he had his surgery. He can't even get his arm behind his back his shoulder is so stiff. Dumbass move.

I was 51 when I had the surgery in 2024. Surgery was done in May. By April of 2025, 11 months later, I was pressing 120's on incline dumbbell. Probably could have done them before then but like I said I took it gradually. I'm currently rehabbing my left elbow/tricep from surgery this past November. Yeh 2 surgeries 2 years in a row but that's life. The elbow/tricep thing has been coming for last few years. Just decided to get it done. Distal tendon had started to tear so got it fixed before it was a full tear.

Your doc is right. If you delay surgery then the tendons will shrivel up and become brittle and much harder to deal with. I wanted to wait too but when my doc explained it I said "lets do it". Glad I did. He was right. My surgery was also my right shoulder, which I am right handed, but you will manage wiping your ass with your other hand. Its tricky but doable. Hardest part for me was trying to get use to jerking off with my left hand.

Did they do an ultra-sound before the surgery to make sure the tendons where decent/quality before going in? I'm I had some tendon damage from the years of lifting and I see that many failures were bc there wasn't viable tissue when they went in.

Appreciate you sharing. I had distal bicep surgery about 3 years ago on the same arm. They want to cut the long head of the biceps when they go in.

As for the JO part, I'm in Asia. Get that done for me daily for $5, lol

 

[RepZZ]

Bro, if you decide to do surgery, do not start the healing peptides until after the surgery. Running BPC / TB etc before the operation can hurt you, because, one it is not going to heal a tear that needs surgery, and it can actual impede how successful the surgery can be. As soon as you are done with the surgery start it up.

source is my cousin an Orthopedic surgeon and is big into lifting / supps / peptides etc. He has told of times where guys have used those peps prior to surgery and it has made the surgery more difficult surgeon to get the most favorable correction.

I'm not a surgeon. Did he explain why? I would hate to not use them but I'm hearing you/cousin.

 

[pesty4077]

Wow, thanks for that. Makes me feel much better. I'm researching the techniques with highest rates of success. I'm in Thailand, so I want to make sure the surgeons here are keeping up with the best technique (screws, double knot, etc). I live alone and not sure how I'll manage some things but like anything,, I'll figure it out. Yes, its my dominate hand and keep thinking, how am I gonna wipe my ass now, lol

I had to take 3 months off due to a cat bite that caused a bad infection. My hand and wrist were swollen and I couldn't use my hand at all. It was my right hand, the dominant one. I didn't realize how it difficult it was to start using my left hand. I had to also get my wife to help me with somethings.

 

[RepZZ]

I had to take 3 months off due to a cat bite that caused a bad infection. My hand and wrist were swollen and I couldn't use my hand at all. It was my right hand, the dominant one. I didn't realize how it difficult it was to start using my left hand. I had to also get my wife to help me with somethings.

necrotizing fasciitis? That's more common than people think. Sorry that happened

 

[pimpman]

A couple days ago, I tore my supraspinatus 1.6cm and my subscapularis 2.4cm. (MRI readings)
They want surgery but I've dealt with Ortho surgeons in the past and I'm hesitant. The recovery would be 6 months before I could touch a weight and 1 year for full recovery. As an avid lifter, that would crush me but I want to make the best choice.

I'm starting BPC-157 and TB-500, GH and IGF. I got a Cortisone shot and I have more mobilization but very painful.

I asked about Stem cell treatment or PRP and the doc said it wont do anything.

Has anyone here had anything similar and what choice did you make (good/bad)?

* This was not a lifting accident. Did a small U-turn on a scooter and the back wheel hit some oil and slid out. I put my arm out to catch myself and hit the road hard. My shoulder immediately had intense sharp pain.

Man I had complete rotator cuff tear and bicep tear. The dr said I needed surgery. I was like you. Hell no recovery time and not lifting and in a sling for weeks nope. Dr told me it’s only going to get worse. I said BPC AND TB will take care of this. Well I was very wrong. The dr was right it only got worse and more pain. Workout where unbearable. Here I am 17 weeks later after surgery in the gym and pain free. Yea ROM will never be the same. But I take this over the pain I was in. Get the surgery done BPC and TB ain’t going to cut it brother. Which you the best in your recovery

 

[RepZZ]

Man I had complete rotator cuff tear and bicep tear. The dr said I needed surgery. I was like you. Hell no recovery time and not lifting and in a sling for weeks nope. Dr told me it’s only going to get worse. I said BPC AND TB will take care of this. Well I was very wrong. The dr was right it only got worse and more pain. Workout where unbearable. Here I am 17 weeks later after surgery in the gym and pain free. Yea ROM will never be the same. But I take this over the pain I was in. Get the surgery done BPC and TB ain’t going to cut it brother. Which you the best in your recovery

Trying to get the surgery scheduled now. Thanks for the kind words

 

[PoptartPsycho]

I am currently dealing with shoulder issues. I tore my labrum a long time ago. Around 2012. The funny thing is that after the first week, I had no pain in the area and could perform all movements at full strength. So I figured that it was just a kink and nothing was wrong. It was not until 2020 when covid closed the gyms that the inactivity lead to massive arthritis in the area. Which brought on pain and a reduced range of motion. the first doctor I saw was a shoulder specialist and he said I would need a full shoulder replacement due to the amount of arthritis in the area. Well I was unable to get that done at the time as I was having to build my business back up post covid as opposed to closing up and losing everything.

I went back to a different doctor (the first one left the network that my insurance was in) this past October. He also said that I had too much arthritis to take out as it was basically holding my shoulder together. He gave me cortisone shots and it was amazing. For 4 hours. I could life my arm all the way up, all the way to my ear in a side lateral raise (previously could not get it parallel to the floor) and turn it behind my back. I could even external motion and rotate it to the point I could hold a broomstick across my traps like I was going to squat it. Which because of this and the lack of motion, I have not done a regular squat in years. But four hours later, I was back to the same restricted range of motion. No pain though.

I went through 8 weeks PT, 3x a week, 90 mins each time. From Oct-Dec. Had 3 weeks off. And he just renewed another 6 weeks of PT, 2x week, 60mins exercise and 30 minutes manual manipulation and tissue activation/release.

When this is over next month I have to make a decision on the next step. There are three options to choose from that do not include surgery. Surgery is the last resort. The options are :

1- Protein Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. Where they take your own blood and inject it into the shoulder joint.
2 - Stem cells
3 - Gel shots. Since he doesn't want to take arthritis out (leaving less tissue of any kind in there), he said maybe to put some gel in to help it glide smoother and get me over the sticking point in the range. However, the gel is very very expensive and insurance companies will not pay for gel therapy in the shoulders or hips. The reason being is that the gel the US uses is the same that has been around for 40 years. While it works to a degree in knees and elbows (small joints), it doesn't work in larger areas like shoulders and hips. So insurance companies will not pay for it. The US, unlike other countries has not made the move to the stronger concentration formula yet. Other countries like Europe, South America, Canada, Asia, etc. all use a stronger mix for shoulders and hips and get more successful results. He said that in the patients that take this route, he gives them a prescription to go to another country and have it filled. Bring back to him and he does it in his office then. The cost of the stronger gel outside of US is a fraction.

I was thinking of the gel route and going to Canada to have to filled. But two different people have told me that Canadian pharmacies are not filling US prescriptions anymore. Now I am not sure if this is exactly true or not. I know they live there during the summer, so maybe what they meant is that Canada is not accepting US scripts to be transferred. Maybe I can still walk with a new one time RX and get it filled.

 

[pimpman]

Trying to get the surgery scheduled now. Thanks for the kind words

Best wishes brother and fast recovery

 

[AllLoadedUp]

Did they do an ultra-sound before the surgery to make sure the tendons where decent/quality before going in? I'm I had some tendon damage from the years of lifting and I see that many failures were bc there wasn't viable tissue when they went in.

Appreciate you sharing. I had distal bicep surgery about 3 years ago on the same arm. They want to cut the long head of the biceps when they go in.

As for the JO part, I'm in Asia. Get that done for me daily for $5, lol

No. It hadn't been done very long before I had surgery. It was really stupid on my part. One day doing incline dumbbell I decided, instead of lifting the dumbbells and sitting them on my legs and then laying back, you know like an intelligent person, I would just sling them up onto my legs while seated. Well that might have been ok if they were 80's but I had 100's. Dumb move. Tear number one. I felt it. Then while doing incline bar one day I decided, like a moron, to do a really wide grip. Tear number 2. I felt that one also. Just being a dumbass and not remembering I was 51 instead of 41 I paid the price.

My doc also unattached my bicep tendon and reattached in a different spot. I've got a wicked peak on it now. So I didn't mind that. Lol.

 

[AllLoadedUp]

Man I had complete rotator cuff tear and bicep tear. The dr said I needed surgery. I was like you. Hell no recovery time and not lifting and in a sling for weeks nope. Dr told me it’s only going to get worse. I said BPC AND TB will take care of this. Well I was very wrong. The dr was right it only got worse and more pain. Workout where unbearable. Here I am 17 weeks later after surgery in the gym and pain free. Yea ROM will never be the same. But I take this over the pain I was in. Get the surgery done BPC and TB ain’t going to cut it brother. Which you the best in your recovery

Being a typical hard headed man? Ha ha. Did you do the physical therapy after? I did and my range of motion is as good if not better than before. I know people who don't do the physical therapy and they never have the range of motion they once had. My best friend didn't do it and he can't get his arm/hand behind his back at all. Stiff as hell.

 

[AllLoadedUp]

Trying to get the surgery scheduled now. Thanks for the kind words

Make sure you do the rehab man. If you don't you will regret it. I only needed to go once a week. Being a lifter and being in shape really helps when it come time to recover from things like this. My rehab lady on my first appt. was like "hell you don't need to come but once a week your range of motion is so good already". You will be glad you went.

 

[RepZZ]

I spoke to the surgeon today. Scheduling the surgery for next week or week after. He told me that this surgery is one of the most painful. For the guys that had this done, did you order those shoulder ice packs, sleep in a recliner? What did you do to keep pain down and get sleep quality?
Obviously pain meds but I don't like those as they make you constipated. Ice would be great but getting the cold to that area can be tricky

 

[pimpman]

Being a typical hard headed man? Ha ha. Did you do the physical therapy after? I did and my range of motion is as good if not better than before. I know people who don't do the physical therapy and they never have the range of motion they once had. My best friend didn't do it and he can't get his arm/hand behind his back at all. Stiff as hell.

Man lol yea hard headed like always. Yea I definitely did therapy. Dr had me start 4 days after surgery. Now I did continue using BPC and TB and it did help. The first day of therapy the girl told me. The goal was to get me at 90 degrees motion. But this will take a good few weeks maybe more. By the third time she lifted my arm back she said I can believe this you are already at 90 degrees motion. I can go even further but I’m not because of the Dr instructions. She Said she never seen that before. So the BPC and TB worked. But not to heal it before surgery

 

[buck]

I spoke to the surgeon today. Scheduling the surgery for next week or week after. He told me that this surgery is one of the most painful. For the guys that had this done, did you order those shoulder ice packs, sleep in a recliner? What did you do to keep pain down and get sleep quality?
Obviously pain meds but I don't like those as they make you constipated. Ice would be great but getting the cold to that area can be tricky

I never lost a night of sleep. Was off all pain meds in about 4 days. The nerve block they put in my shoulder for the surgury was likely enough for me. Could have stopped sooner as i had no real discomfort. I just took them to lower my ambition level. I eat enough fiber with veggies every meal along with fluids that constipation even on opiods doesn't happen with me. Pretty much the same thing when i had my other shoulder replaced years later. I hear from Dr's and nurses i have a high tolerance for pain. I just don't notice it. Hemorrhoid surgury is a different matter.

 

[pimpman]

I spoke to the surgeon today. Scheduling the surgery for next week or week after. He told me that this surgery is one of the most painful. For the guys that had this done, did you order those shoulder ice packs, sleep in a recliner? What did you do to keep pain down and get sleep quality?
Obviously pain meds but I don't like those as they make you constipated. Ice would be great but getting the cold to that area can be tricky

I did sleep on my recliner for maybe a week. I tried the bed but it was too uncomfortable no matter what I did. I didn’t put any ice. I took the pain med it was only 10 of them. But I really didn’t feel much difference taking them. But then again I use to take them before for over 6 years so I have high tolerance. Even though I’ve been clean for few years before surgery.

Now the nerve block they gave me lasted 24hrs. It felt weird uncomfortable. Your entire arm is numb including hand and fingers.feels weird.

I took a shower the second day after surgery. I brought a sling that it mesh so my arm could get wet and not wet my good sling. I did buy a sling because the one they give you after surgery not only was it like a baby size on me. But it’s extremely cheap. Trust me you will want to buy one off Amazon and before the surgery.

Taking a shower at first was a bit tricky. Since I couldn’t and wasn’t allowed to move my arm away from my ribs. I would lean forward and stick my hand under my armpit to wash it. Also to put deodorant. It was not my dominant arm but it’s a task to do things with just one arm. My wife had to shower me. No way can you do that by yourself not only with one arm. But to be careful not to fall.

I starting showering on day 4 after surgery without a sling. Dr said just keep the arm hanging straight down. That was much better than in the sling. Simple things you normally do is a bit challenging. Like opening a bottle of water with just one arm and more thing but you find out on your own. I won’t bore you with them.

And thank to my wife that would help me. Shower, cooking or preparing a meal and many other things. I couldn’t walk my dog she and my son had to. He weighs 150lbs solid muscle.

Wishing you a quick recovery brother

 

[Poonami]

So is there anything outside of the old person replacement where they swap the position of the ball and socket for a shoulder when the rotator cuff is so frayed and retracted it is basically useless? Because that’s where I’m at.

 

[Jefe]

So is there anything outside of the old person replacement where they swap the position of the ball and socket for a shoulder when the rotator cuff is so frayed and retracted it is basically useless? Because that’s where I’m at.

My surgeon was the ortho for some Florida sports teams. He told me the shoulder replacement isn’t as bad as it seems online. You just lose some ROM reaching for items but pain wise it’s great.

I was scared to death of it. (I didn’t get the replacement, just Frankenstein rotator cuff)

I’m investing in a sweet recliner because I can’t do this sleeping in bed after surgery shit. “I’m too old for this shit!”

 

[RepZZ]

I did sleep on my recliner for maybe a week. I tried the bed but it was too uncomfortable no matter what I did. I didn’t put any ice. I took the pain med it was only 10 of them. But I really didn’t feel much difference taking them. But then again I use to take them before for over 6 years so I have high tolerance. Even though I’ve been clean for few years before surgery.

Now the nerve block they gave me lasted 24hrs. It felt weird uncomfortable. Your entire arm is numb including hand and fingers.feels weird.

I took a shower the second day after surgery. I brought a sling that it mesh so my arm could get wet and not wet my good sling. I did buy a sling because the one they give you after surgery not only was it like a baby size on me. But it’s extremely cheap. Trust me you will want to buy one off Amazon and before the surgery.

Taking a shower at first was a bit tricky. Since I couldn’t and wasn’t allowed to move my arm away from my ribs. I would lean forward and stick my hand under my armpit to wash it. Also to put deodorant. It was not my dominant arm but it’s a task to do things with just one arm. My wife had to shower me. No way can you do that by yourself not only with one arm. But to be careful not to fall.

I starting showering on day 4 after surgery without a sling. Dr said just keep the arm hanging straight down. That was much better than in the sling. Simple things you normally do is a bit challenging. Like opening a bottle of water with just one arm and more thing but you find out on your own. I won’t bore you with them.

And thank to my wife that would help me. Shower, cooking or preparing a meal and many other things. I couldn’t walk my dog she and my son had to. He weighs 150lbs solid muscle.

Wishing you a quick recovery brother

Surgery scheduled for this Thursday. You didn't use ICE? I definitely want to ice it. I see these Ice machines that circulate cold water but I think I'll get gallon freezer bags and use those. I'm getting a recliner tomorrow. Showering will be very hard and it's my dominant arm. Not sure how to keep my arm from getting wet? Maybe plastic wrap? I'll be in those bandages for a week or so and I need to shower. I live alone so this will complicate things but hey,, life throws fast balls and you need to hit these MF'ers. Being out of the gym will honestly be the worst part for me. And did your right side atrophy a lot? Did you still do any pressing with your good arm to keep blood moving or did you just do cardio? Thanks for all the support bro. Much appreciated

 

[Theone233]

Surgery scheduled for this Thursday. You didn't use ICE? I definitely want to ice it. I see these Ice machines that circulate cold water but I think I'll get gallon freezer bags and use those. I'm getting a recliner tomorrow. Showering will be very hard and it's my dominant arm. Not sure how to keep my arm from getting wet? Maybe plastic wrap? I'll be in those bandages for a week or so and I need to shower. I live alone so this will complicate things but hey,, life throws fast balls and you need to hit these MF'ers. Being out of the gym will honestly be the worst part for me. And did your right side atrophy a lot? Did you still do any pressing with your good arm to keep blood moving or did you just do cardio? Thanks for all the support bro. Much appreciated

They make arm cast waterproof covers for your arm and shoulder. I got one at the local pharmacy recently when I had my bicep tendon surgery. Kept my arm completely dry during my shower