Following the plan for recovery a shoulder surgeon lays out is the only way to ensure a successful outcome.
If you have suffered the pain and misery that leads to eventual shoulder
surgery, you probably feel you cannot have the operation soon enough.
Talking to a shoulder surgeon about the operation may even instill
optimism in a patient. Those having a shoulder surgery are mentally
prepared for the procedure itself, and they are especially ready to
function normally again. It is going to take quite some time to feel the
positive effects of such an operation. Recovery begins as soon as soon
as a patient awakens from anesthetic.
No matter why a person has been in the hospital, the information they
desire the most is “When can I go home?” After shoulder surgery, a
patient will remain at the facility for a few days. He or she must be
able to eat without nausea, urinate, and walk at least for a short
distance. Most importantly, the patient must be able to experience pain
relief without the help of intravenous painkillers. Pain prescriptions
will of course be sent home in the form of Motrin, Advil, Tylenol, etc.,
but if the patient has not weaned off the hardcore stuff from the IV,
these will do no good. At some point during a hospital stay, a shoulder
surgeon will switch the patient over to oral medication.
The first days at home a recovering person will need help with daily
activities. The goal is to return to normal eating and sleeping as soon
as possible, and the way to accomplish that is to follow the plan the
shoulder surgeon has given. The first day or two, help will be needed
with almost everything, but the less a person uses the muscles that are
conjunctive to the shoulder, the less helpful the effect of the
procedure. Being as active as possible is recommended. This just means
not to lie in bed for days or weeks in an effort to “recover.” A sling
should also be worn at night during sleep for a least a month,
preferably until the doctor releases the patient from the sling. It is
also important, as with any incision, to keep the site dry and
non-draining. Stitches will come out in a week or two, but the incision
should still be monitored.
Moving onto months afterward, therapy will begin within eight to twelve
weeks following the procedure. Therapy is progressive meaning the
exercises build upon each other; therefore, doing therapy daily is a
must. Again, not correctly participating in the recovery plan will cause
muscles to weaken. Those muscles are needed to aid healing.
