Just got the MRI results back and I have a partial tear in my right supraspinatus tendon caused by having a type II acromion. My ART practitioner calls it “Classic shoulder impingement” and says that the orthopedic surgeon will have to grind down the bone to make it level (like a type I), and possibly put a stitch or two into the tendon depending on the severity of the tear. He will see me again near the end of my rehab to help break up any scar tissue and speed my recovery. I see the ortho on Friday to get everything set up.
Anyone had this surgery done before? What can I expect?
Get a second opinion and talk to a good therapist who deals with athletes before going under the knife. You might even want to look into prolotherapy as an alternative to getting cut.
From what both the Ortho and the ART doc are saying, it is a common overuse injury. The type II acromion curves down at the end, impinging the tendon when the arm is raised overhead. I guess a lot of people have a type II acromion, but few do a consistent bodybuilding workout. I’m 35 and I’ve been an athlete my whole life, so I guess it was time for things to start breaking down.
The “tear” is more like an abrasion than a rip. They said it probably started years ago and just got to a point now where it was causing pain. They both agree that given my lifestyle (consistent working out) this was unavoidable. As I’ve gained size and strength, the tendon has thickened, which has made the impingement worse. It’s just the way my body was built.
Surgery is not required, but the injury will most likely reoccur if they don’t shave down the bone that is causing the impingement.
On the good side, it’s just a quick scope out-patient surgery that they do all the time and it will permanently fix the problem. I caught it early enough that I didn’t do any major damage that would require opening the shoulder.
I am really sorry to hear about your shoulder. I hope everything works out to your benefit.
I also hope that some of the twenty somethings on this site who think that they can train any way that they want and have no repercussions will think twice!
You’re right. There is definitely a lesson here to the younger lifters about being aware of your body and knowing the difference between soreness and an injury. I could have ignored the discomfort, taken pain meds, and tried to work through it. But I would have ended up with a full tear and reconstrutive surgery.
For those who are interested, this all started back in July as a mild discomfort in my shoulder, very similar to a knuckle that feels like it needs to be popped. I didn’t think much of it, other than it wasn’t normal. I tried stretching and longer warm ups, but after another week, neither had had any effect. I went to my doc who gave me an anti-inflamitory and referred me to a PT. Three weeks of PT, and the shoulder was starting to turn from discomfort to an ache/pain. The PT suggested an MRI and referred me to a local ortho.
Anyway, two weeks to get in to see the ortho and I finally got the MRI done. The next day I went to an ART practioner who looked at the results . This guy was great, he spent 45 minutes with me and a model skeleton explaining my injury, what the Ortho would probably say, why he couldn’t help me, and what would need to be done. And then, because he couldn’t do anything for me, he didn’t want to charge me for the office visit! Now that’s a doc that’s in this for his patients. I will definitely be seeing him for my rehab.
So that’s where I’m at now and how I got here. 10 years ago I would have continued to work through the discomfort, and would have done a lot more damage to the shoulder.
I’ll keep this thread updated post-op so others will have a reference.
Always get as many opinions from qualified persons (which I should say I am not) as possible.
If it’s all to late with regards to non invasive methods and they are going to open you up and muck around in there do a little reading of your own on the different types of procedures available. I know that it if they are going to be taking some bone out larger (non key hole) surgery has a better success rate. Actually the text I have on it is a few years old - you will want to check that! Also ask the surgeon?s success rate ? shop around, it?s your body.
How is your scap stability? Proper scapular stability will lift the acrom. off the top of the tendon. Keeping the
Scap/shoulder back with the lower traps (and not the lats) most of the time and make sure they are firing all the time you are moving you arm. A good physio will have seen this often and be able to help you.
Finally, if you do have the op - sounds like you will - how well you follow the instructions will make a BIG difference to how much range of motion you have.