SLAP tear in shoulder

[SuppaTime]

Last year I was out on a big north swell day and got really worked in the white water. Tried to hold on to my board a little too assertively and was rewarded with a torn labrum, what ortho docs call a SLAP tear. Did PT and tried rest but I am a bad one for self imposed resting. 18 months later and it still is a problem for me.

Options are to live with it, cortisone, or surgery. I am worried cortisone is just a temporary mask and is not good over the long run. But will surgery really help? I can live with it although it limits my sessions somewhat. But I am worried that it will worsen over time and it can be painful doing certain things with my arm.

Anyone out there had a SLAP lesion or SLAP tear? If so, what was your experience? Any recommendations?

[ninja tuna]

Had both my shoulders done.  And I had a lot of damage in both, labrum torn about 75% in both and even some bicep tendon damage.  I did not think twice about getting the surgery done.   My movement is now a little limited in both shoulders and my strength is about 80% back. No regrets at all. 

The best advice I ever read was to find a sports orthopedic doctor and a sports physical therapists.  Dr's that would understand that I want to be back to doing all the physical things I was doing before.  Also, don't waste your time on a basic MRI. Make sure it is the one with the dye contrast injected into your shoulder so they can see exactly what is wrong and where.

[JP4]

Did the SLAP and biceps tear a dozen years ago in a bike crash.  Surgery, followed by falling on it and tearing it again.  Another surgery.  It's been ten years and is now only probably 40-50% of my good shoulder. I have to choke down on the paddle on my bad side if I want to accelerate quickly. Very limiting.  Hope you have better results.  Good luck.
JP

[FastEddie]

10 weeks in on my Labrum repair and bone spur grind.  Doc says 2 more weeks to go before I can hit the water.   Still have some pain but it's feeling better every week.  Recovery time really depends on how bad the tear is and they won't know it from an MRI ( my doc calls it MR lies) and they will not know until they are inside.  I think I was lucky with only 12 weeks being thrown around but then again it may end up being longer. I decided to get it done in the summer months so I'm back at it in the fall for the fun.   In any case good luck.

[SeldomScene]

I have had both shoulders done.  One was a complete rotator cuff tear (it was in two pieces).  I have been 100 percent in that shoulder for 20 years since.  Had the other shoulder SLAP procedure done 5 years ago.  It quickly healed to 100 percent.  I did tweak it a little in the weight room a few months ago, so I am doing PT with it now.  My paddling )board and surf ski) is not limited, I just have to ice after a hard workout.  If yours hasn't healed yet it ain't gonna heal.  There is no reason that, with a very good sports medicine surgeon, and good PT (Good therapist and good patient) you won't get back to 100 percent.  you have to maintain it for life, though.  Takes a few minutes a day to keep that RC strong and stable.  It's a complicated joint that requires maintenance as you age.

[Weeble]

My fiancee had a slap tear two years ago.  I can't recall the correct language/ definitions here, but I can always get with her to get the exact details.  Anyway, she had a slap tear on the bicep ligament that runs thru the back side of the shoulder (I think that's correct).  Anyway, when they went in there to fix that, they saw that the other ligament that runs up the front side and thru the upper arm bone into the should was starting to fray.  However, since they never though to advise her that if they saw other damage they would fix that as well, so they didn't have her sign anything about doing more if needed.  So, they fixed the slap tear and then put her thru major rehab to strengthen everything... and she still ended up needing the front one fixed as well.  they gave her the option of the quick and easier surgery/ recovery of just cutting the ligament, which would let the bicep sag a bit, or cutting it up at the shoulder and re-attaching it on her upper arm bone with an anchor.  Her surgeon had done the cut-n-drop done on himself because he could't afford the the lengthy downtime and not being able to perform surgery while he healed.  However, he advised her to re-anchor it, so she did.  Obviously, both surgeries hurt like hell, but she is back to paddling again.  We go for morning workout paddles where we go pretty hard.  She'll never try to race again as she doesn't want to damage it again, but other than that she is pretty good.  Every so often she'll have a bad paddle and I'll tow her back with my leash.  Obviously, everyone has different issues and heals differently, but as far as a pain perspective, she's glad she did the surgeries as she no longer lives with the daily pain that she did before the surgeries.

[SeldomScene]

in general, the notion that a shoulder cant be back to 100 per cent after surgery (with hard work by the patient, if you want it to come back) doesn't seem right.  plenty of major league baseball pitchers come back all the way after rotator cuff surgery. 

[pinoySUP]

No personal experience but I've treated plenty of patients conservatively and post-op.  Can surgery help?  Sure, but you should manage your expectations.  Generally, pain scores and strength are better, but whether that allows you to return to your previous level of activity pre-injury is not certain.