Acromioplasty recovery

I had an acromioplasty done on Thurs. Nov. 9, 2006 to take care of a hooked acromion that was causing impingement in my shoulder the last couple of years.

It's been 4 weeks and I still have some discomfort in the shoulder. I feel it right where he shaved off the hooked acromion. The pain has gone down alot but I still can't move the shoulder without there being some disscomfort.

Three questions I have:

1) Should I still be having discomfort at 4 weeks out?

2) I'm just naturally a nervous wreck so that's why this might seem negative but...is there any way my doc could've botched my acromioplasty? Or is it a relatively simple common procedure?

3) Has anyone here ever had an acromioplasty? Can you tell me about your surgery and recovery? Are you back to lifting and playing sports at full strength?

This year has been a nightmare. I had 4 surgeries in a span of 7 months:

Surgery 1 Tues. April 12, 2006: Surgery to repair an umbilical hernia.

Surgery 2 Tues. May 9, 2006: Surgery to repair a ruptured pec tendon.

Surgery 3 Thurs Sept. 28, 2006: Surgery to remove a bone spure from my humurus bone that formed from my ruptured pec surgery.

Surgery 4 Thurs Nov. 9, 2006: Surgery for an acromioplasty, partially torn labrum repair, biceps tenodesis, and scar tissue removal from bicep and pec area.

I can honestly say that I feel alot better. I no longer have pain in my pec or bicep area. Like I said, the only discomfort I still feel is from the acromioplasty. I'm 26 years old 6' 245 all natural (with a HUGE gut right now). My doc says I can start light lifting again in 2 weeks. My doc also says in April I can go back to amateur boxing training.

And I must publicly thank muscle96ss. This man has helped me and gave me excellent advice, encouragement, and motivation from the very beggining. I'm very fortunate to be able to communicate with someone with that type of knowledge on a regular basis. The man is a saint for offering to help me in my time of trouble. If you're reading this bro, thank you.

Anyway, if you fellas get a chance can you answer my questions? Thanks in advance guys.

Anyone?

YGPM

I've had it done but it was in conjunction with reattaching the infraspanatus - so my experience would not apply to your situation.

I am stronger after the surgery than before, if that's any consolation!

Jake LaMotta said:

I had an acromioplasty done on Thurs. Nov. 9, 2006 to take care of a hooked acromion that was causing impingement in my shoulder the last couple of years.

It's been 4 weeks and I still have some discomfort in the shoulder. I feel it right where he shaved off the hooked acromion. The pain has gone down alot but I still can't move the shoulder without there being some disscomfort.

Three questions I have:

1) Should I still be having discomfort at 4 weeks out?

2) I'm just naturally a nervous wreck so that's why this might seem negative but...is there any way my doc could've botched my acromioplasty? Or is it a relatively simple common procedure?

3) Has anyone here ever had an acromioplasty? Can you tell me about your surgery and recovery? Are you back to lifting and playing sports at full strength?

This year has been a nightmare. I had 4 surgeries in a span of 7 months:

Surgery 1 Tues. April 12, 2006: Surgery to repair an umbilical hernia.

Surgery 2 Tues. May 9, 2006: Surgery to repair a ruptured pec tendon.

Surgery 3 Thurs Sept. 28, 2006: Surgery to remove a bone spure from my humurus bone that formed from my ruptured pec surgery.

Surgery 4 Thurs Nov. 9, 2006: Surgery for an acromioplasty, partially torn labrum repair, biceps tenodesis, and scar tissue removal from bicep and pec area.

I can honestly say that I feel alot better. I no longer have pain in my pec or bicep area. Like I said, the only discomfort I still feel is from the acromioplasty. I'm 26 years old 6' 245 all natural (with a HUGE gut right now). My doc says I can start light lifting again in 2 weeks. My doc also says in April I can go back to amateur boxing training.

And I must publicly thank muscle96ss. This man has helped me and gave me excellent advice, encouragement, and motivation from the very beggining. I'm very fortunate to be able to communicate with someone with that type of knowledge on a regular basis. The man is a saint for offering to help me in my time of trouble. If you're reading this bro, thank you.

Anyway, if you fellas get a chance can you answer my questions? Thanks in advance guys.

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My husband had this surgery... the procedure is simple, but the recovery is long... but listen to the doc... ours said six to nine weeks before lifting again and three to nine months for full recovery... based on the individual... it's been two years now and all is fine... time and patience is a virtue... but be gentle when you get back into it

I had a subacromial decompression, don't know if that is the same as yours but similar. I waited so long to get the surgery that my tendons and ligaments were streched out so the Dr. used heat to tighten up my capsule. I could lift after about 4 months, took about 2 years to regain full strength. Sorry if this is discouraging. Don't push it! You will get better, but it takes time. Work on getting your full range of motion back, and keep streching for the rst of your life. Best of luck.

gassy said:

I had a subacromial decompression, don't know if that is the same as yours but similar. I waited so long to get the surgery that my tendons and ligaments were streched out so the Dr. used heat to tighten up my capsule. I could lift after about 4 months, took about 2 years to regain full strength. Sorry if this is discouraging. Don't push it! You will get better, but it takes time. Work on getting your full range of motion back, and keep streching for the rst of your life. Best of luck.

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A subacromial decompression is EXACTLY what my doctor preformed on me. I found out that I had a hooked acromion in May of 2003. But I never had it fixed until Nov. 9, 2006. I have a couple questions for you:

1) Will this discomfort in my shoulder (where he smoothed down the hooked acromion) ever go away? My surgery was done on Nov. 9, 2006. How long until I no longer feel this discomfort?

2) My doctor said I could start light lifting 6 weeks after surgery. Yet you waited 4 months. Should I follow my docs orders or wait a little longer? Is it ok to do light lifting even though I still feel this discomfort in my shoulder?

3) Do you think it's possible that I could one day go back to amateur boxing or did this surgery ruin any chances of doing that?

gassy, let me just give you the whole story of what happened to me:

In mid February I noticed that I had an umbilacal hernia. So I took some time off from doing squats, deads, abs, etc. About a month later I completely ruptured my pectoral muscle from heavy bench pressing (well heavy for me anyway LOL 265x3). However my first doc misdiagnosed me and said I just strained it.

Anyway since I was out of the gym, I decided to get my hernia repaired, which I did on April 12, 2006. After that I was still on the shelf but I noticed my pec wasn't feeling any better. So I got a second opinion and this doc gave me another MRI and said that I completely ruptured it. So I had surgery to repair it on May 9, 2006.

Well months past and my pec felt better but I had some pain in my bicep area. So on September 28, 2006 my doc did an exploratory surgery and noticed I had a 7 mm bone spur on the humurus bone where the new pec attachment was. So he went in and shaved it off.

Well a month and a half later I STILL had some discomfort in the bicep area. So my doc gave me an MRI which showed that my bicep tendon and pec tendon were rubbing up against one another causing irritation. It was also discovered on this MRI that I had a partial labrum tear. Also, back in 2003 I was diagnosed with having a hooked acromion that was causing impingement, which was the reason I stopped amateur boxing training (after a lousy 2-2 record).

So on November 9, 2006 I had surgery to repair the partial posterior labrum tear, the biceps tenodesis, cleaning out of scar tissue, and the ssubacromial decompression.

Since than the initial pain I felt in the biceps (that I had for months) is gone but I still have A LITTLE minor discomfort in my upper bicep area where the did the tenodesis. And like I said my shoulder has discomfort where he shaved off the acromion. It's getting better each week but not to the point where I would feel comfortable wrestling or fighting with someone if I had to (I work security but am currently out of work while I heal up).

According to my docs protocol I can go back to light lifting (as in 5 lbs. dumbell presses) on Tues. December 26, 2006. I hope this discomfort in my bicep and shoulder goes away one day so I can return to weightlifting and amateur boxing.

You guys think at 26 (about to turn 27) I can still come back from this and maybe one day box again?

For me, a lot of the pain was due to repair from the surgery. I had to keep my shoulder for like 4-6 weeks. After it came outta the sling, it was basically "locked up" - NO range of motion. IMHO, the pain from the shoulder area was from healing and scar tissue forming. Several years later, I had ART done, which I believe removed most of the scar tissue.

I had my surgery 6 years ago, I still have pain sometimes. You may become as strong or stronger than you were before. You may be able to box again. What your going through is hard right now, mentally. No one here can tell you that you WILL definetly bounce back and recover from this 100%. Listen to your Dr., listen to your body. I'm 30, I've had to struggle with the fact that I will never be as strong physically as I was when I was 25, to many injuries. Getting older and is a fact of life that nobody likes. We have to deal with it and become stronger and better mentally. Find some hobbies outside of the gym and let your body heal. I think a lot of people here know how frustrated you are. Keep your range of motion, do ART, look in to prolotherapy, diclofenac sodium is a great anti-inflamatory, and keep your head up, best of luck to you.

I had my surgery when I was 39. Prior to the surgery, on a GOOD day, I could flat bench 315 for one rep (could count number of times I did that on one hand). At the age of 53, last Saturday, I "slight" incline benched 315 for 6 reps and have gone as high a 345 for 5 reps and I always superset a lighter set of bench to finish it off (like 205-225 for 10+ reps).

Don't let this recovery get you down and out. Get a positive mental attitude and stay consistent.

My life is hell

Well fellas I'm at 8 weeks post op and I still have some discomfort in the shoulder area (where he cut off the acromion). It's not as bad as before and it is gradually getting better but it's still feels funny. I don't think I should still have discomfort in the shoulder area 8 weeks post acromioplasty op. I'm starting to get nervous.

Yesterday I tried doing flat dumbell presses with 5 lbs. dumbells (that's right...5 lbs. dumbells!)...and my shoulder KILLED!! And I also tried doing dumbell flys with 5 lbs. dumbells and guess what?...MY SHOULDER KILLED! I also tried doing some light shadow boxing and...you guessed it...MY SHOULDER KILLED! What's the deal here? Should I even continue lifting weights right now or should I hold off until the pain has gone away (will it ever go away?).

Could anyone tell me if this is normal for 8 weeks post op for a subacromial decompression (acromioplasty)? I seriously doubt I will ever be able to box again.

Jake LaMotta said:

I don't think I should still have discomfort in the shoulder area 8 weeks post acromioplasty op.

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Why not? Have you done any rotator or scapular stabilization exercises to ensure proper shoulder dynamics before jumping into normal lifts(even w/light weight)? That is why I had recommended you goto PT, because most normal folks don't understand the necessity of strong RC and scap stab musculature in preventing injury. You should be doing sidelying ER's, prone rows, prone horiz ab, supine punches, full cans, etc... long before you start to do the major ex's like dumbbell press. Do a simple test for me; lay on your back and put your good arm straight up in the air. Place a 7 pound weight in your hand and then take your arm and reach for the ceiling as high as you can(protracting your shoulder, keeping back flat on floor). Hold it there for a 30 seconds. Then switch arms and do the same thing with the bad arm. I would be willing to bet that while both arms quiver, your bad arm quivers like crazy and feels way different. The moral of the story is that if you can't control a 7 pound weight in your hand then imagine what type of forces are going through the shoulder joint and associated structures when you are doing various dynamic lifts with these weights.

So are you saying that because I never went to PT that I am ruined for life? Do you think it's possible I did some extreme damage to my shoulder thus requiring another surgery.

Is it normal to still have this kind of discomfort 8 weeks after an acromioplasty? Am I just being paranoid?

Oh boy, I'm screwed.

muscle96ss, I sent you a PM.

Jake LaMotta said:

So are you saying that because I never went to PT that I am ruined for life? Do you think it's possible I did some extreme damage to my shoulder thus requiring another surgery.

Is it normal to still have this kind of discomfort 8 weeks after an acromioplasty? Am I just being paranoid?

Oh boy, I'm screwed.

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Yes, you are ruined for life!!! Just kidding, that is ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with your shoulder, it is just healing and you need to start at square one with the basics and build things back up.

muscle96ss can you please shoot me a PM telling me what you think of my PT exercises I plan on doing in 'my new plan'.

I had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders. One was a partial tear that they did arthoscopic on and the other was a full tear that required a full repair. They did something for the impingement, I can't remember if it was acrim. Anyways he had me start exercising it the day after I had surgery so it wouldn't lock up on me. They gave me a wall pulley to work on my range. I started back lifting gradually upping the weight and felt like I was 100% in less than a year. Yes, no b.s. the doctor is awesome, and probably the best shoulder specialist around here.

Hey bro, just wondering about your umbilical hernia you had surgery on. I have surgery scheduled for next week to repair mine. There isn't much pain there but the bulge there is more pronounced lately. How was the recovery afterwards? Were you in alot of pain, and how soon could you start lifting again? I heard I won't be able to do anything heavy for at least 4 weeks after.

ironone1 said:

Hey bro, just wondering about your umbilical hernia you had surgery on. I have surgery scheduled for next week to repair mine. There isn't much pain there but the bulge there is more pronounced lately. How was the recovery afterwards? Were you in alot of pain, and how soon could you start lifting again? I heard I won't be able to do anything heavy for at least 4 weeks after.

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The area around my belly button was sore for about 3 weeks. My doc said I could start squatting 4 weeks post op. Unfortunatly due to my other injuries I wasn't able to lift for a while.

Yeah, that's what I figured around 4 weeks. I believe they took a piece out of my collar bone to give me more range of my shoulder. I wonder if that was part of your surgery? Anyways, I was back to normal within a few months. I ran some deca to help out with the joint lube. You should be alright-just warm up and stretch a little more before workouts and train rotator cuff at least once a week. I even use the arm bike before working out just to get the blood flowing in my shoulders. You might want to ice your shoulder down good after each workout. It is more time consuming all the precautions you have to take so you don't reinjure it.