Well, I finally had it done last week, complete reverse shoulder surgery. I’m pushing 70 so I’m a bit concerned about how my playing skills might change. I shoot right handed and my right shoulder was repaired. Does anyone have any experience or tips on rehabbing one’s stroke after this type of procedure? Any advice would be appreciated.
I have to have the same shoulder surgery after 4 rotator cuff surgery failures to right shoulder.
Sadly, I also need to have left shoulder rotator cuff repair as well, plus a total right knee replacement.
My left shoulder surgery also failed just like all my right shoulder surgeries have. Statistics confirm
that 2/3rds of all full thickness rotator cuff repairs on males over 55 yrs. fail with the first two years.
All of this is from a workers comp accident in 2009 that prevented me from returning to work but
nonetheless, I played pool after every surgery. Maybe too soon as it might have been a contributing
factor for my surgeries’ failures. I learned last month I need to have hand surgery to both my hands
and my left hand will actually require two surgeries. One of them involves replacing a thumb bone
by removing a section of bone from my forearm and tendon tissue that has to be done as a stand
alone surgery. It can’t piggyback and be included with carpel tunnel surgery that both hands need.
So what’s this all mean…..I just turned 79…..what’s my life expectancy? Social Security charts predict
85……maybe, maybe not? So I require 6 surgeries…….3 for my hands, 1 knee, and both shoulders.
Nope, not gonna do it.……I’ve lived for 16 years in pain everyday of my life either before and always
after every surgery. I can recall re-tearing my surgical repairs in physical therapy as I progressed from
passive to active lifting exercises. When it happened, everyone in the therapy center heard my roar.
The only fix for any possible pain and limb usage improvement is surgery. This will never improve on its
own and actually will only gradually worsen with the passage of time. Unfortunately the cure involves 6
more surgeries encompassing the majority, if not the entirety, of my remaining life. I am not going to live
the remainder of my life having surgery after surgery that interrupts and interferes with playing pool.
Pool is my only recreational activity that I can still perform and relatively well. Sometimes I’m unable to play
up to a week when I hurt but now that I can get cortisone injections every 12 weeks because of my age,
there are extended periods throughout the years where my pain level is a lot less distracting. Of course,
over time, it gradually diminishes after getting a cortisone injection. The shot typically lasts 7-8 weeks.
So my decision is to not live my life undergoing continuous surgeries that restrict my ability to play pool.
Maybe when I can’t play pool at all, I’d consider surgeries then but not before. Pain is a mental state of
mind since that’s where pain gets processed. I’ve learned to tolerate pain and live with it. Some days are
worse than others & never the same. I’ve given this a lot of thought. A life with little pool play has no appeal.
Hope your rehab goes well and your recovery is better than you hoped. When I watched the video about the
total reverse shoulder replacement pioneered in Japan and the surgery involved using Black & Decker portable
power tools during the surgery, well, I’ll put it this way. This Everyready Bunny Rabbit made a U-Turn and left.
So instead of having a surgery every year until I die, based on Social Security’s table, I’ll tolerate pain to play pool.
