How A Physical Therapist Will Help You Return To Activity After Rotator Cuff Surgery
If you tear your rotator cuff, surgery is often the fastest road to recovery. But after surgery, you will need to see a physical therapist to help restore your mobility. They'll help you stretch and regain your range of motion in the initial weeks after surgery. Some people end physical therapy at this point, but it is often wise to go a bit longer. At this stage, a physical therapist can help you work your way back into more regular activity and exercise. Here are some ways they'll help you do that.
Weighted Exercises
When you are first recovering from surgery, your physical therapist will generally have you do some basic stretches and moves using no weight, or just your body weight. This should be enough to get you basically mobile again. But if you're looking to return to a higher level of activity, your physical therapist will generally start adding weights to the exercises. This can challenge certain muscles a bit more, allowing them to strengthen and take the strain off your rotator cuff itself. The weights will also put an increasing amount of pull or strain in the rotator cuff, which will cause it to heal even thicker and tougher than it was previously.
Post-Workout Stretches
When you reach the point that you're working out on your own or doing work that involves your shoulder, it will be important to stretch out the shoulder at the end of your sessions. Your physical therapist should show you a specific stretching sequence and technique that you can use for this. Doing the right stretches will be really important as you enter this phase. There are arm and shoulder stretches that feel good but might not really target the rotator cuff. Your PT will ensure you're doing ones that are truly effective.
Preventative Care
What kind of pain should cause you to back off from your routine? How can you stabilize your shoulder when you're moving in a way that really strains it? Your PT can help you get good answers to these preventative care-related questions, which can help ensure you don't reinjure your rotator cuff after surgery. (There is always some risk of reinjury, even after a surgical repair.)
Rotator cuff surgery is just the beginning. After that, if you want to get back into exercise — especially exercise that's hard on your shoulder — you should work with a physical therapist.
For more information about rotator cuff physical therapy, contact a local physical therapy office.
