My name is Mayra. I am 47 and have been a bilingual speech pathologist traveling the schools and lifting and wheeling a briefcase that weight about 50 pounds. I noticed pain on arms and shoulders early this summer. At one point the pain was so severe that I thought I needed to go to the hospital. After managing the pain with medication and physical therapy the MRI revealed I had a labral tear and a cyst that was pressing the nerve that comes out of neck and towards the shoulder. the OS said I had to had surgery. I cried because I have a phobia with needles. It has not been easy but with prayer and God's help I am getting through. I go to Pt 3 times a week and use a passive range of motion chair for the shoulder at home. It seems that my elbow is really hurting from using the sling. It is now three weeks after surgery and I can finally take it off for sleeping. I also have a dull pain on the area where one of the anchors might be. Is that normal?. Thank you for anything you can share with me

At 3 weeks the repair is still pretty fresh. You will experience all types of pain and the elbow pain is common along with the other things you are feeling. Always let your PT know what you are feeling so they can adjust your program accordingly. You are the first poster who has the range of motion chair at home. I personally have not seen this for the shoulder only the knee. If you have a link to send regarding this unit I would love to see it. thanks, Sharon

Thank you Sharon for your advise. I will tell the therapist all that I am feeling. I have been nervous wondering if i hurt the repair by some of the excersise. I checked the business card of the person who left the machine but there is no link to a website. I have called her and left her a message and as soon as I know I will send it. The machine is made by Smith and Nephew-Kinetic and Centura were names on it. After two days of surgery I strapped my arm on it ant it just would move up and down and I was told to try to use it for at least three hours a day. At first I could only do 1 to 2 hours. I was also told to change and increase the degrees by 3 to 5 at a time according to how much I could tolerate. After the first visit with OS the arm was changed to an abductor/rotator type position and now I am working on increasing the degrees. This is much more painfull so I have been slowly changing the degrees. If you want to call Rapid Recovery Systems the President is JoAnn Kahan and the number is 1-877-727-4370.

Thanks, if you get a web address let me know. Most insurance companies will not cover the cost of these units and they can be quite costly on a weekly basis. You may want to be sure that yours is covered. At least in regards to the knee, studies were done years ago demonstrating that 1 year post-op there was no difference in recovery of those who used CPM (continuous passive motion) early in rehab. After this study was published insurance carriers denied paying for them. This is also the reason that insurance companies do not cover ice machines. They don't take into consideration that it can make our lives so much easier with less pain.

I believe there is something that was not tested for. There are some individuals, that I call scar downers. This generally occurs with the non white population, but there are always exceptions. This population tend to form scar tissue very easily. Very early range of motion will usually limit the negative impact of too much scaring/adhesions for these individuals. Then again there is PT for regaining ROM. I have no idea what the companies studies have revealed about CPM for the shoulder. Just thought you may find this interesting since you are the only poster given this post-op.

The injury I have is work related and Worker's Compensation is covering all expenses. They are also paying for a polar-care cooler for the shoulder. My brother is a pilot and says SLAP injuries are also common with pilots because they wheel around their bags and lift them. I had no idea I could hurt myself doing that. About 15 years ago I was 6 months pregnant and fell at work. I broke the Kneecap in 3 pieces. My daughter was well. Had to have 2 surgeries and one and a half year later I return to work. Worker's Compensation paid for many things including a daily nurse aid, a polar care for the knees, a stationary bicycle, a tens unit and they even offered a gym membership. I was impressed. All those things I got to keep. This time around they are doing some things but not as much as before. I am grateful and not complaining. The insurance from the School District would probably not cover it and every therapy session would be a $20 co-pay. Have you returned to work? I was not clear to go back but maybe after the December 1 appointment with OS, he will let me go back on light duty. Some days are better but after therapy I end up having to take pain medication which makes me very nauseous.

Wow is all I can say. What state do you live in? Do you have an extra room?.... Just kidding. Here in California there was so much insurance abuse, much of it from DC's in the state, the terminator, our dear Govenor, put a stop to this and now our Workers Compensation system is one of the worst in the country. You are fortunate to receive all of these goodies plus PT 3x weekly. As a practicing PT, I don't even take WC anymore because the pay is so low and with a total of 6 visits, 12 if you are really lucky, it is very difficult to help people recover from much at all. I did check out the machine on line and they sell for 5-6K, so I am sure this will not be one that they will give to you at the end, but then again who knows with all the perks you have gotten so far.

For myself, I returned to very limited work at 2 1/2 weeks. I really had no choice as I own my own clinic. I did not lift anything really for weeks. I have been doing most of my PT at home in addition to swimming and gym with some helpful guidance (about 6 PT visits to date.) I am now at 12 weeks. I was blessed with very little pain, off pain meds except for Tylenol PM after day 5. Sounds like with all of the support you have you will do very well. Your PT should be your best friend and first source for you questions and concerns going forward. Sharon