I am considering having surgery to repair a SLAP tear in my left labram. Has anyone gone through this, and if so, how did you recover? My fear is not being able to lift again.
Doc has prescribed staying away from exercises where I can’t see my hands or gives me pain. Problem is, I am in the car for work at least 5 hours per day and the pain is pretty damn sharp while driving. The pain is present regardless of what i do or not do.
Any insight or experience with a torn labrum would be very much appreciated.
I had shoulder surgery a year ago. I was also having pain on a regular basis, mostly in the AC area. I had to stop all benching, pressing and dips. Tennis was impossible and throwing any kind of ball also impossible. Cortisone injections helped but were only temporary fixes. I tried physical therapy but thanks to the articles here on T-Nation I knew more than the PT folks.
I tried the shoulder rehab exercises for several months and after continued pain finally decided to have surgery. Plan was to perform a distal clavicle resection and an acromioplasty. During the scoping procedure a labral tear was discovered and also repaired. I was fanatical with my shoulder rehab efforts and started light lifting about 4 months after surgery.
By 6 months post surgery I was able to resume fairly heavy lifts, including bench press and overhead lifts which were previously impossible. I continue my shoulder rehab work at least once a week. Thanks to a stretch I discoved myself, I’ve been able to keep my “good” shoulder healthy even though it was also painful before surgery. Now, at 1 year post surgery I am not only stronger than before surgery but I am also pain free. Make sure your anesthesiologist is planning to perform an inter-scalene nerver block at the time of surgery.
I honestly had almost no pain for the first 24 hours after surgery. After that the pain was manageable with a couple days codein and tylenol. I may be understating the post op stiffness and remember, ice is your friend. Good luck, I hope you have as good a result as I did.
Thanks for your reply. I am going to try and avoid surgery but may have to go that way.
Good to hear you are back on track!
If at all possible…stay away from any type of surgery. I’ve had tons of different ailments and all and they’ve all seem to either go away on their own, or I learn to adjust my lifts to live with it. I mean, if it’s for you, then go ahead with it but the others guys in the gym who’ve had surgeries, they’re never ever the same.