Despite most rotator cuff injuries can be helped with non-surgical solutions, your physician may advise rotator cuff surgery to fix the tears that are in the shoulder. Certainly, the kind of surgery you have will depend on several things. No matter what kind of surgery you have, the steps to rotator cuff surgery recovery are much the same.

Day of the Operation

In most instances, you will not be required to stay in hospital overnight because this is an outpatient operation. You will only have to remain in the hospital until you can manage the pain with home medication. To protect your arm, it will be wrapped in a special protective sling. This will allow your shoulder and arm muscles to relax and help the healing along.

Some tips to speed up rotator cuff surgery recovery during the first few days after the operation, which are very important in the later phases, include:

* Keep your pain under control by taking your pain medications as soon as you feel shoulder discomfort.

* Try different combinations of pain and anti-inflammation medicines under the guidance of your doctor.

-Use ice bags on your shoulder to reduce the pain and quicken healing.

* When sleeping, sleep in a semi-seated position with your elbows pointing down.

Stages of Recovery

Be aware that the stages of rotator cuff surgery recovery will be different for each person in regards to the time it takes to get from one stage to the other. Therefore, it is best to follow your personalized rehabilitation regimen.

The first part of your recovery will go on for about 6 weeks, where you will be asked to only do passive motions. What this means is that you must avoid any kind of work or stress on the rotator cuff tendons and muscles. For this part of the recovery, your physical therapist will do two things. He will move your injured shoulder for you and second he will give you instructions on the best way to move your shoulders with as little as possible muscle contractions.

In the second part, you will be asked to move your arm on your own though you must not move it against any resistance at all. This is named the active motion phase and can go on up to 12 weeks from the time you have surgery.

The third part of your recovery is the strengthening period, where you will do a series of isolation exercises that will give strength to muscles that have been made weak because of inactivity. This is the most imperative part in rotator cuff surgery recovery because you can regain full muscle function if your do this step well.

During the fourth phase, you can now return to full activity for your shoulders. Of course, many factors affect this phase that can last up to 6 months after surgery and you will still have to consult with your doctor about returning to your old physical activities especially where your shoulder is concerned.

In conclusion, your commitment to rehabilitation, the size and location of the rotator cuff tear and physical condition will determine how well and how fast you can go through rotator cuff surgery recovery.

Tom Nicholson spends his time caring for sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. You can click here to learn more regardingrotator cuff surgery recovery.

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