Hey everyone,

I had a slap II surgery with 5 anchors on 7/7/08 so im about 8 weeks post op. I originally tore the labrum doing heavy incline bench press.

I would love to hear from those that have returned to weightlifting or any other sport or physical activity. How long did it take to return and is there any complications. I am hoping to start light lifting at the 4 month point..... With all these terror and horror stories, it would be great to hear from those that have had success and give everyone else some hope because these months of rehab can be taxing. THANKS!

-Mike

hi mike, my daughter originally dislocated and broke her shoulder and ripped the bicep muscles away with a slap tear 4 with 3 anchors. she did all this racing motorcycles, has an important race in oct she received surgery june 23, pt was going kinda slow so she took some cordisone medicine and has since started riding again trying to build muscles in a fast way! her strength has come so much farther and faster with being on cordisone (medrol)however you have to be very cautious as you can hurt it again and not know it. but she swims works out and trains very hard now, but she is 19 so that in itself prob helps! Good Luck!

Thats great to hear your daughter is returning back to normal. Age will play a big factor in recovery, i'm only 21 so I'm hoping that being young helps me recover quicker. I imagine getting range of motion back would be much easier using cortisone, but can be risky for reinjury. My therapy is slow so I might go that route.....thanks for the reply

Mike,

I had a SLAP repair with 2 anchors and had my capsule tightened on 5/12/08 (17 weeks ago). I too am younger (27 years old) and had a fairly fast recovery. I am currently back doing almost everything I want in the gym working out (although I am a female, so I don't do nearly as much stuff as males usually do). I know my limitations and know that on some exercises like chest press I have to watch my ROM and not let my elbows go past my body stressing the front of my shoulder. I was released from PT just before 10 weeks because of starting grad school and moving away from my PT and OS. So I've been doing my exercises in the gym since and have been gradually adding more things I used to do. My OS said that if I was a competetive athlete, he would have let me go back to sports between 12-16 weeks. Eventually I want to be able to play pick up volleyball again, but I'm playing it safe right now since I don't want to stress the front of my shoulder too much where he tightened my capsule. So it is possible to be active again. You just have to carefully follow the guidelines set by your PT and OS which protect your shoulder as it heals.

17 year old son had slap tear repair and capsule release on 6/3/08. He is a year round swimmer and is back in the water with his team. He is only 'pulling' about 600 yards a day( 24 laps) but kicks a couple thousand. His OS has said 'go slow and gradual' to build up the muscle, is is weaker than he thinks it is. So that is our progress. He could do breast stroke first, then free, and has now added backstroke, tho that he says is a little tricky because of how he has to rotate his shoulder to make the proper pull. No fly yet, not strong enough.
He also lifts, but has gone SLOW, very slow, because he's afraid to have a set back. He says he is usually a bit sore after, but it is gone by the morning.
I know his age has been a tremendous help in his recovery, and am sure you will find that too. For whatever reason, young bodies seem to get through this faster and bounce back.
Best wishes on your recovery too.
Sal

Hey Mike:
I have been lifting for over 20 years. I had a SLAP repair and Mumford procedure 7 months ago. I went back to the gym in 7 days after surgery doing only stationary bike. After 2 weeks, I did light weights along with daily PT appointments. After 4 months I had to go back in surgery for loose bone fragments in my elbow (same arm as SLAP). Anyway, 7 months later, I am lifting heavy again back to about 85-90% strength. However, I do notice slight difference size in bicep, tricep, and shoulder size in my arm that I had both surgeries. Try to get back in gym asap doing cardio and when you can tolerate lift weights again.