Serious question

dsgibbs1

dsgibbs1

Joined
Nov 1, 2005
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325
While lifting weights last week, my right shoulder shifted. I was working on my rear delts. So today I go to the Doctor. I have a partial torn Rotor cuff. So my question is this. Can I still grind a blade after the initial few weeks? I know that we are smiths and grinders, not doctors. This is a common injury. Have any of yall ever had this surgery? While I primarily am a smith. That will be out of the question for a few months. What can yall suggest?
 
I'm a physical therapy doctor.

How were you diagnosed with the tear? Surgery should not even be discussed at this point even if you had an MRI that showed this. See a good physical therapist and go from there.

Many people have rc tears and have no pain. You strained your shoulder. Think ankle strain. That doesn't need surgery and hopefully your shoulder won't. If you cannot get through a course of PT then go see a conservative orthopedist that your PT recommneded and discuss.

Good luck.
 
I went from the Doctor to the ortho. He said that I have a partial tear. I cannot lift my arm straight out at the shoulder, and I cannot lift over 10 lbs. without arching my back. He did suggest PT as a first step. He said that from the looks (I had to do a bunch of exercises and such) that surgery was his first suggestion. He will not be able to tell until I have the MRI done on Monday. So we will see. As for the pain part. I cant sleep on my right side and my shoulder is sensitive if rubbed. I dont want surgery. After I had a vasectomy I dont ever want a doctor to touch me again. LOL
 
Each tear is obviously different, but I partially tore my rotator cuff in a rock climbing fall about ten years ago. I never got surgery for it, and it only ever bothers me when I serve while playing tennis on a very cold day. If I was going to play pro sports, I would definitely have it fixed, but I'm not, so until it really bothers me, I'll just keep going. That being said, I don't swing a hammer for a living either, but I can't imagine that the motion would hurt my shoulder or cause me pain. I've done some pretty extensive remodeling work with a few heavy hammers, and didn't even notice it then.

I would recommend physical therapy first, but your ortho will know what's best after the MRI.
 
I had a minor tear a while back, and it was treated by exercises. It got better after a while. There is still some restriction as far as how high I can raise my arm, and once in a while it hurts, but it is OK otherwise.
Grinding isn't a problem because I keep my elbows tucked in while doing it.

Ask you physical therapist or orthopedic Doc his thoughts on grinding. Show them how you stand and what you do.
 
I had a 20mm tear with a bone spur growing through it, it made a variety of motions impossible. I wasted thousands of dollars on bad PT because of an ortho doc who would not do an MRI but that is another story. I finally asked a friend who was a PT who the best shoulder person in the area was and got a second opinion. She fixed my shoulder, but I was out of work for 3 months, it was 6 months before I could fully use it, now it is better than my other shoulder. BTW the PT I had after surgery was my friend who had referred me, and his PT was tough and painful but made a huge difference

-Page
 
Run for the hills from the surgeon that diagnoses you with a rct and tells you that you need surgery without having tried pt. And without ultimately having an mri.

You should give conservative treatment a try. No need for mri since you will have pt first anyway.

These are just my opinions and I am very conservative. I've rehabbed enough people that needed to have surgery per surgeon and they did great and never ended up with surgery. 6 Weeks in sling and no motion then slow introduction of motion if you have surgery.

Don't rush into surgery.
 
I tore my rc while fighting the sabaki tour and I couldn't even raise my arm more than 45degs. I was proud and stupid so I carried on for another 4 tournements of the tour (about 10 fights) until they wouldn't allow me to enter because I couldn't even raise my arm to sign the forms. I was told that surgery was my only option and got several opinions. I ended up opting for PT, which as PT Doc said, started with 6-8 weeks in a sling. Today(20yrs later), it gets sore if I do a lot of overhead work or sleep on it the wrong way, but it doesn't limit me and no surgery. Get with a good PT (GP's are for colds and genital warts) and tell them exactly what you do for a living.

Rick
 
After a serious talk with my wife. I will be going to pt first. I am an industrial electrician by trade at this time of my life. It may change. I will get the MRI next week as a matter of course. Just to see what exactly I did. I thank you all for your advise, I never thought to mention how I stand at the grinder to the doctor. Thats where other people come to play. Experience as a group can keep someone from a chancy mistake. I will let yall know what happens,
 
I had surgery on my shoulder this time last year. It was to the point where I'd lost all range of motion in that shoulder. I was back in action after 3 days of physical therapy. I would say I'm not 100%, but at least 90%.
 
I have had both rotator cuffs repaired. The first one was a complete tear and I was not able to do anything for 2 months after surgery. It was very painful week following surgery as well. My other shoulder was only a partial tear and did physio to try to repair it. Didn't work so I went for surgery. I was prepared to wake up in a lot of pain and in a sling for 6 weeks again. When I woke after surgery I thought I must have been drugged up a lot because there was minimal pain. They did this surgery orthoscopically and I was in sling only 1 week and back at physio in 3 weeks. Never did have much pain on second shoulder after surgery.
Before getting my shoulders fixed I coulnt lift anything overhead and had a hard time getting good night sleep. Now I am about 95% back to normal and can sleep all night again.
I wish I wasn't so stubborn. And had them fixed sooner.
Jim
 
I played college rugby and have torn or separated about everything in my shoulder area a few times, I think rest then exercise is the key. I slipped on some ice a couple of weeks ago while carrying 10 gal of water and re-tore my shoulder but after a week or so I have been grinding again. Like Stacy mentioned, elbows in really helps.

Obviously this is just my experience and I have no idea if my medical advice really applies to anyone here...

Any more of this and I'll be grinding both sides of the blade!
 
As a PT myself, I also recommend a good therapist. Ask around a find a good clinic in your area that sees orthopedics. That said, there are times that surgery has its place, but for a small tear, PT can often get you back where you need to be without having to go under the knife. Just make sure you do your part with your home exercises without going all-out Rambo.

--nathan
 
I think I might be able to add something to this discussion, since I AM an orthopedic surgeon, but I would also add some general cautions about "Internet advice":p

Every patient is a little different....some things that are highly relevant, but have not been discussed are : Is the injured shoulder your dominant one?
How old are you?
Do you smoke?
Do you have medical problems?

I am not suggesting you answer these in a public forum, but with all due respect to the advice offered thus far.....the answers to these and other questions are EXTREMELY relevant to whether or not surgery is or is not a good option.

I should say first that I tend to be generally conservative, and in almost all cases I agree that trying physical therapy first is the proper course. There are, however, cases where PT will NOT be effective, and will only delay the course of recovery.

I also would agree that you should seek out an orthopedist who does a good amount of shoulder surgery and who has a good reputation with the local PTs - explain your symptoms, your concerns and your expectations up front and don't be afraid to ask questions !!!

Even if I were to see your MRI on-line, I would still not give you more than this general advice, because a good physical exam and a face to face discussion is crucial to good patient care ! I would be happy to translate "orthopedic-speak" if you have questions in that regard though - either here of thru PM or whatever.

Bill
 
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