Traditionally, we approach the deltopectoral intervals, so no muscles are cut there. Some surgeons will release a little bit of your pectoralis major tendon or a little bit of a release or not. Sometimes, the main tendon or muscle we cut is the subscapularis, the front of the rotator cuff. We cut that, open it…
The biggest difference, I would tell you, would be loss of motion. Typically, if you’re arthritic, let’s say right is my good side. My left side is my arthritic shoulder. It won’t go all the way up if you’re arthritic. And if you drop your arms and look in the mirror, the good side will…
Absolutely. Millions of people get some bursitis on their shoulders every year. With the natural body’s ability to heal and regenerate itself, it just goes away. Now, if it’s bugging you, you’ve waited a month or two, and it’s not going away, you need to come in and see us so we can make sure…
Symptoms people typically report are just aching and pain anywhere in the front, side, down the arm and the back. They report some crepitus or some popping and clicking in the shoulder. People report that when they lift overhead, go behind their backs, or reach out to the side. They have pain in their shoulder….
It could be a myriad of reasons. Typically, as we sleep at night and rest, our bodies are trying to heal and regenerate themselves as we wake up. Our mind all of a sudden notices very clearly what’s going on in our body. As we get moving through the day, a lot of the aches…
You almost can’t unless you have some sort of imaging. There are millions of people walking around that have full-thickness rotator cuff tears that are completely asymptomatic. They have a full-thickness cuff tear full torn, but they don’t have any pain because their shoulder has bounced, compensated, and coped. Some people have tendonitis with no…
As long as you need to. Ice is wonderful. We recommend icing your shoulder down 4 to 5 times a day right after the operation because it’s a pain control measure. We’re trying to mitigate the pain you feel after this operation as much as possible without using narcotics that have a lot of side…
I would say the number one thing is a rotator cuff tear. The symptoms of shoulder bursitis and rotator cuff tears are identical. A very common misconception is that “Oh, I can still move my arm. There’s no way my rotator cuffs are torn.” That’s false. In 95% of the rotator cuff tears we see,…
It can vary. I’ve seen people with tendinitis or bursitis in the shoulder for months and months and months and sometimes even longer. Typically, if it’s been there for over 3 to 6 months, it’s probably a rotator cuff tear, more than bursitis. But that’s not always the case. Rotator cuff tears can have relatively…
You don’t need any special pillows. You can just use your pillows. I tell people to sleep with just two or three up the back so you’re up at a 20- to 30-degree incline. Then, place one or two underneath your operative arm to help prop up your elbow and take off your sling. That’s…
