Modern Vespa

Have a tear in my right shoulder after a kayaking accident. Surgery on Wednesday next.

So far I'm told no driving for six weeks and no kayaking for six months, which sucks, but there ya go. Not to mention the LX190 will be dormant for quite some time.

Anyone here that has gone through this that can provide insight into recovery, rehab or pain management? I know it depends on the extent of the injury -- I think I have a partial tear, along with a bone spur and some arthritis.

Getting old ain't for sissies, obviously!

I had surgery a year ago. No tear so not a full rotator cuff surgery. I also observed my Dad getting both shoulders done over two summers. Most importantly: do your PT religiously! Follow instructions and don't overdo it. Also be aware that inactivity is as bad or worse than too much activity. Frozen shoulders are no fun.

Also, my Doctor wasn't lying when he said it would be a full year for complete recovery. My shoulder still gets sore after a long ride. Good luck.

No advice, but I feel for you! Sprained my shoulder a year and a half ago, sweating bullets that it wouldn't require surgery (being self-employed can have its downsides). Finally could sleep through the night after an amazing steroid injection a month in. Fortunately no surgery, but I'd say it will probably be quite a while before you're at your best. Let's hope it doesn't dig into your scooting time too much.

Hope it's a fast six weeks!

Dave

I had keyhole (3) rotator cuff surgery years ago on my left shoulder after steroid shots didn't work anymore.

I had surgery the day before Thanksgiving and was driving the day after. That was a trick because my truck was a manual shift, so my right hand had to come off the steering wheel to shift and my left arm was in a sling. The Monday after, I went back to work at the machine shop I owned. Perhaps if I worked for someone else, I would have taken time off, but my job as owner was mostly office work.

Of course they gave me pain meds but the thing that absolutely relieved the discomfort was a device called a Cryo-Cuff, which wrapped around the shoulder and was filled with ice water from a portable cooler that was connected by a rubber hose. As the water warmed up, it was circulated back to the ice cooler and refilled with fresh ice water. This was done by operating a small valve and lowering and raising the cooler, allowing gravity to make the exchange. It is absolutely an amazing device that took 90% of the pain away.

I was fortunate that my surgery could be done through 3 small incisions. The doctor told me that they would try to minimize the invasion of my shoulder but until they got in there, they didn't know if the whole shoulder would need to be opened up. They were able to stitch up the tendon and scrape a bone spur off.

Recovery from any surgery can vary from person to person. My second cousin's husband had both hips replaced and he was walking in less than a week.

I dislocated my shoulder extremely badly a few years ago. The only thing I didn't damage was the nerve running down the outside of the arm. It didn't require surgery but took a year to fully recover. The key was doing what the physio said.

When I began my treatment I could only move my hand (with my arm hanging down in a straight line) less than an inch up, down and sideways. The physio thought I might never be able to lift my arm above waist height and thus not be able to ride a bike!

However she came up with a series of exercises, I stuck to them and have basically regained full movement. She did say that a lot of people don't bother doing as directed and consequently never fully recover.

I also used one of those Power Ball things (on her recommendation) which helped a lot.

Good luck and I hope all goes well for you.

Lost use of shoulder for a while when skiing years ago. They thought it was the rotator cuff but it was a torn upper bicep. Rather than dope up on powerful NSAIDs, I rotated between heat and ice. I iced it until numb then heated it. Bought four bags of frozen peas and had a microwavable heat pad. The doc said that I took a full two weeks off the treatment. He said I healed lot faster than expected.

Well mine was done back in 1/11/2011. Not sure who to give credit for how the repair went. Either the Doc or my parents good genes!

First follow-up after surgery Doc told me to slowly raise arm as far as I could with out pain. When I stopped he looked a bit surprised and said, "Normally we wait till someone has that range motion.

He did put in in PT and then gave me a "back to work" date of 4/4/11 with the only stipulation being 20lb max over head lifting. By the way I worked as a heavy equipment mechanic and was 59 1/2 at the time of the surgery.

I feel this operation was needed as the result of an accident 11 years earlier that injured the same shoulder. That one was only treated with PT but they kept me out of work for six months.

Guess the best I could say is listen to the Doc and do the PT. The worst part of mine was wearing that sling for several weeks, and the boredom, wife would not let me work on any of my motorcycles! But I was lucky to a scheduled it during the winter so by the time riding weather was back I was all set to go!

I got nuthin' other than good luck and worship daily at the idol of PT.

And as a guy who does at least half an hour of various PT exercises for half a dozen injuries: make it fun enough to be diligent.

In my case, that's my half an hour to eventually watch every known youtube Vespa video, or every superbike race, or every episode of Road Kill...or half a dozen otherwise utterly unjustifiable things on Netflix.

Also eat one prune for every pain killer.

This part I understand!!!

Thanks to all for the encouraging words!!

Teapot,

When they say "Don't rush it." and "Do your physical therapy.", they mean it. Hopefully, in about a year, you'll be posting pics on your latest ride!

Buena Suerte
Mr. F

Ouch, that sucks, but it is summertime and so the healing will be slightly faster.
If you don't take any blood pressure medications or any blood thinners then I would recommend looking into taking the supplement "Serrapeptase".
It is an enzyme and has anti-inflammatory properties and may help you in post surgery and pain killer time i.e don't think you would want to be on the oxy stuff for more than a few days.
You can do your research and see if it may benefit you longer term.

I've had the rotator-cuff thing twice, separated by about 10 years. Mostly caused by bad technique in tennis. I had the choice of the surgery but I prefer to stay away from that stuff if I can. I spent about 3 months each time with large rubber bands following all the physio's exercises and then improving my serve so there was less stress on the body. I haven't had any twinges since the last time but that's not to say it'll never come back.

As others said do your PT religiously. It makes all the difference in the world in outcome and recovery time.

I had my left shoulder operated on 10 years ago - was able to ride my scooter to the PT sessions. This shoulder feels as good as new. I had the same surgery on my right shoulder last summer - still have pain and limited mobility. While it is possible that I overdid it on my PT exercises, the main difference between the rehabs was that the focus on my left shoulder was for flexibility and for my right shoulder - strength.

Here's hoping you have limited pain after surgery and full recovery.

PT,PT,PT.When i had my left knee replaced i was riding at 3 1/2 weeks. 20 miles RT but they said i wouldn't be able to ride until 2 months. Love proving them wrong. Good luck

Thanks to all my MV peeps for the words of advice and encouragement. Had the pre-op visit yesterday -- received the conservative prognosis of six weeks in a sling, no driving, etc. Their expectation is no cycling or kayaking for six months. And likely no scooter riding for close to that time.

I'm under the knife tomorrow at noon. Two hour procedure and then home, with sling, drugs and tenderness. Thankfully, my wonderful wife (who has seen me through two knee arthroscopes and an involved Achilles repair) is here to support. She's close to sainthood.

Love this forum...a great place for perspectives and advice on everything from medical to mechanical emergencies.

Again, many thanks. I'll post results once my fingers can reach a keyboard!!!

Good luck Chris. We'll miss you! Hope you surprise your rehab peeps.

Check back in when you can. Hope you had a talk with your scooter already.

I fear I'm heading in the same direction. Snapped my humorous in 2 on 1-1 and had surgery for a rod. Have great passive range of motion, but mixcles wont control certain movements. MRI Thursday to confirm damage.

Ouch!! I'll be glad to be the guinea pig for future consultations!

I am 74 and had shoulder surgery 3 weeks ago for 1 completely torn rotator tendon, 1 partially torn tendon, and a partially torn upper bicep. Here is my advice:

- The pain following surgery was beyond anything I had ever experienced. I had the wild idea that I would not need the stronger pain medication. I did not know what I was talking about. The next day my wife went back to the doctor and got the pain pills that he originally wanted to give me. These stronger pills will mess with your appetite, your mood and your attention span. I lost interest in reading.

- The doctor will tell you to take 2 stool softeners a day. That isn't even remotely enough to keep you from getting constipated. By day 6 following the surgery I was in big trouble and thought I would have to go to the hospital. After many enemas, much pain, multiple laxatives and an entire afternoon in the bathroom, I finally managed to get things moving. My advice is to take at least 3 stool softeners every day along with a 10 to 12 oz glass of prune juice.

- If the surgery is to be on you dominant shoulder/arm/hand, start practicing doing every day tasks with your non-dominate hand. I started a few weeks before the surgery but was still surprised at how difficult a task like brushing your teeth can be. My 'spoon-mans-ship' is still like a 5 year old. Electric tooth brushes are a godsend.

- I have about another month of being in this arm sling for 24 hours a day. The doctor told me that many people sleep in their recliner after this surgery. I bought a large wedge pillow which works fairly well.

- My left hand is slowly getting smarter and I have mastered many little tasks that were daunting at first. I can now put on socks with one hand, get my pants on, and completely dry myself off after a shower with my right arm dangling like a limp rope.

- I am blessed with a wife who looks out for me like a mother hen. Skimping on my daily exercises is not a option around here.

It will be 2 or 3 months before I can drive my car, and even longer before I can ride my scooter.

Still, I would not hesitate to have this surgery because I would not want to spend the rest of my life with a non-functioning shoulder.

I hope this helps, good luck, and keep your sense of humor.

MoonDancer makes a great point about pain meds. When I had my spine fused, I was given dilaudid upon leaving the hospital and refused to take it as I felt I didn't need it. My parents arrived a day later as I was screaming and bawling in pain. Out came dilaudid and the next few days got much easier. Taking the heavy stuff is no fun but when you need it, you need it.

You only need one finger, really. Having that much time on your hands will bring a whole new perspective.
No shoulder surgery in my history, only two broken collarbones. Well, OK, one broken collarbone, twice.

Best of luck to ya!

Nice to know I'm not the only one to have done that. I patiently waited for the 30th anniversary to break it a second time

I was not quite so patient, only waiting about 25 years between breaks.

You'd be surprised how good you can get typing one handed. That was a skill I learned when my kids were babies and nursing. However most operating systems now have this ability in their accessibility settings to enable dictation. I know people who never type on their smartphones but use dictation for messages. Hello Siri, Cortana or whatever that Google one is called. Make use of those assistants while you are not fully functional. Who knows like my friend you may end up using them even after you've recovered.

Oh, unless you are a recovering addict as others mentioned don't be a hero and take the meds at least for the first few days. With my TPF surgery I had a morphine pump while they waited for the swelling to subside enough to repair the leg then for the day after surgery. I was lucky enough to be off everything but the occasional Tramadol at night so I could sleep and ibuprofen during the day by the third day post surgery. You'll know when you can reduce then eliminate use of them. It won't be that long for most people.

Hoping the surgery goes well for you Chris!

As others have said, follow instructions from your doctors and rehab specialists. Be sure not to overdo it too quickly or you'll be worse off.

As for pain management, everyone has their personal limits. My advise is to take only what you need to manage reasonably well. It's gonna hurt and it's supposed to. But that will also keep you cognizant of your limits and your progress as you heal.

Good Luck and hope you are riding again soon.

Best wishes! Hope you have a speedy recovery!

It seems the season for shoulder surgery. I have several buddies that recently had theirs worked on. Get well soon.

Teapot,

Hope everything went fine! Let us know as soon as you can manage to tap out a few words. And don't worry if the spelling is a bit off most of us won't be able to tell!

A few drug aided postings might actually be fun to read!

Greetings from Oxycodone Island!

All went well -- doc removed a gigantic bone spur, did a general cleanup of the arthritis around the ball and socket and repaired a nasty tear -- all via arthroscopy.

A special shoutout to NightWing for the Cryo-Cuff recommendation and also to tdrake regarding the prunes.

Yes, it hurts -- had to get add'l pain meds once the nerve block wore off.

A very hopeful outcome. Too soon to know rehab time, but I'm expecting a 6 month timeframe to get to 85%.

September can't come soon enough, but I will definitely heed everyone's good advice here and take slow and thorough.

Thank God for Mrs. Teapotdome for caring for me like lioness cares for her cubs. My cup runneth over.

Hey, you're back sooner than expected. Glad things went well.

A little disappointed you're not writing in a drug-induced stupor, but we'll get over that.


Now time to get on with healing. Never too early to plan compensation for Mrs. Teapotdome.

Here's to a speedy recovery. You will feel much better after this is all over.

Heal well!

Yea a little disappointed with how good the post was was hoping for some wandering about, but seemed all right to the point.

Recall when I had my ruptured appendix operation Doc had me on demerol for the first couple days. I had no problems but my wife would once in a while "Oh you're back!" She claims I would be talking right along and in the middle of a word stop and then a few minutes latter finish what I was saying like nothing happened!

Yes check in once in a while and let us all know how it's going, the sling is what I felt was the worst thing to deal with.

Glad to see your doingwell. Pain meds are your friend. If prunes don't work try some Colace. You can get it over the counter. I pushed thru my PT because i wanted to ride. 3 1/2 weeks isn't to shabby after a new knee. Saw the Ortho nurse at my HMO the other day and she still says i had the fastest recovey time of anybody whose had it done. The first week was Brutal, so don't get discouraged.

My recovery is getting to the point that I may be able to start riding again, but
..... my right arm/shoulder is still rather weak and I don't want to re-injure when putting my scooter back on the stand.

Is there some technique that would enable a person to get their scooter back on the center stand without putting too much stress on their right arm/shoulder? In the past I predominately used my right arm to lift/rock the scooter back on the stand.

No special technique that I can think of (trying to think back when I sprained my own shoulder....managed okay with my GTS then...).

Two thoughts: One, I'd consider putting that concern to your surgeon as far as defining your limits. On the plus side, the muscles you use with your arm in a dependent position are not so much the rotator cuff muscles that are much more vulnerable (vs. outreached and overhead) so you're somewhat safer there. See what they have to say.

Something else apart from reinjury is that I found having pain in my shoulder inhibited my ability to make the subtle balancing movements that you usually take for granted. I had a few scary moments when I was off the scooter and trying to balance it on the side of the road, and another time when I tipped over trying to walk the scooter through a Y turn with my daughter as pillion. Can't blame it entirely, but you don't know how much you depend on 100% pain-free function until it's too late. So, when you do ride, be careful!

The way I was taught to use a center stand you use your upper body very little. Just to guide the scooter. Most of the 'work' is done by putting all my weight on the foot lever of the center stand.

This video shows the technique:

fledermaus, Thanks for your thoughts on how shoulder pain can affect good balance while driving. I think I will wait a couple of more weeks, and talk to the Doctor about this.

touchton, Thanks for sending that link about getting the bike back on the center stand. All this time I have been "wrestling" it into place when I didn't really have to.

I had a full rotator tear surgery in 11/14 but missed this thread somehow. Subject is well covered at that. I was 72 at time of my surgery and the OP should be getting close to being able to sleep in a real bed about now. I like most with shoulder surgery slept in the recliner behind me. Forearm propped on a pillow after the sling could come off. That's the $7-800 sling I speak of. Thank you Medicare.
Pain meds are a well known PITA especially for seniors who have slowed down a bit. I was liking them pretty well after the shoulder experience but hip replacement only a couple of days and off them.
My shoulder has 4 titanium screws which hold a cable/cord that's fixed in a square pattern with an "X" in the center. That stays with me until the end.
The summer after my surgery I was able to sand the logs on our 2-story log home with a 2.5# sander held in either hand extended away from my body. This after a surgery that my doc said I'd be lucky to have full range of motion much less that amount of usage, he was amazed. I find that I pay little mind to my shoulder now no matter what the task at hand-other than limitations of age and a seriously bad back.
It was 4 months of hard work for me to regain full use. I went twice a week to PT place to stay up on changes in the regimen but daily at home for 6 months. I have a log high across my dining area from which I dangled the pulley for my rope stretches. Dining chairs & door knobs for stretch bands.
Osteo arthritis can be cleaned up some during the surgery like the spur mentioned above but generally speaking unless the joint itself is replaced that issue remains.
When I was using my shoulder sling for several months, I found it amazing how often someone would say "I had that surgery and threw that sling away and didn't do the PT". People are their own worst enemies as we often see with other health issues. Go figure huh?
Partial tears are really common and in PT I could see that they get range of motion in about half the rehab time as a full tear.
Write this down- a full tear rehab is one bitch of a rehab, even worse IMO than ACL rehab.
But, there's life after surgery and lots better than the "Big C" for sure.
Monday I find out when my next hip is coming, ah, the shuffle of senior life. Makes me wonder how much the old folks suffered back when i was a kid.
OP-Hope your progressing well now and able to return to active lifestyle soon enough.
Work hard and stay safe.