Why does my shoulder hurt months after rotator cuff surgery?

Why am I still having symptoms after rotator cuff surgery? The most common causes of pain after rotator cuff surgery are (1) that the shoulder is still recovering from the surgery itself and (2) the shoulder has gotten stiff due to lack of movement.

How long does a small tear in shoulder take to heal?

In majority of the recovery can take 4 to 6 months or longer, depending on the size of the tear. Most activities can be resumed at 6 months, however the rotator cuff will heal for up to a year.

How long does it take for bone anchors to heal?

Recovery can take 4 to 6 months, depending on the size of the tear and other factors. You may have to wear a sling for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.

How long do shoulder anchors last?

Ideally, the resorbable anchor would show adequate pull-out strength, be made of nontoxic material, resorb within 4 to 6 months of surgery, and be associated with regrowth of bone at the anchor insertion site [13].

How long does it take for a tendon to attach to bone?

At 12 weeks, collagen fibres connected the tendon to the surrounding bone and were aligned in the direction of the pull of the musculotendinous unit, closely resembling Sharpey’s fibres.

Why is my rotator cuff not healing?

After the rotator cuff is attached to the bone it will require a lot of time to heal. Sometimes the reason why the rotator cuff doesn’t heal and tears again is that you may have become too active too quickly. This is a less common reason for failure of rotator cuff surgery.

Is it normal to have pain 3 months after rotator cuff surgery?

The rotator cuff (four tendons and their accompanying muscles) is notoriously stubborn and takes a very long time to heal. If you’re still having pain three months out from surgery, or you have new (acute) pain, this is most likely par for the course.

What causes pain in the upper arm after rotator cuff surgery?

It is well known that rotator cuff surgery is a major operation where the rotator cuff tendons (Figure 1) are sewn back to the upper arm bone (humerus) (Figures 2 and 3). The other major reason patients have pain after rotator cuff surgery is due to stiffness of that shoulder.

What causes stiffness after a rotator cuff tear?

Stiffness unfortunately often occurs after both nonoperative rotator cuff tear treatment and after rotator cuff surgery. Let’s take a look at the latter. Surgery for a rotator cuff tear involves tying the torn rotator cuff tendon to the humerus where it has pulled off from.

Why does my shoulder hurt so much after surgery?

One of the leading reasons is the common post operative course that I described above. In essence, early on, your surgeon is trying to thread the needle between limiting shoulder activity so as to maximize tendon to bone healing while trying to move the shoulder as much as possible in order to reduce the risk of postoperative stiffness.