My right shoulder arthritis is taking the joy out of surfing. I can't dig hard when I paddle, it's slowing down my pop ups and the pain after a session makes it hard to sleep. My ortho said shoulder replacement is the only long term solution. I saw there is a thread on this. If you have had this done can you comment on how satisfied you are and any restrictions. I saw there is a ream and run replacement that doesn't use a plastic socket so less chance of failure. Anyone have this less common procedure?

Don't do surgery. Sounds like you have arthritis. I've dealt with shoulder problems for the last 4 years and it hasn't been fun. Sports therapy can be helpful but honestly you can find better help working with a N.M.T. Neuromuscular therapist. There are several you can find on Instagram just to get a few stretches and exercises. This is one I have found to have the most useful stretches to get you back to feeling a little better. https://www.instagram.com/paintherapy/

---

But as with all injuries like yours it's really important to get a diagnosis of you particular injury, impingement or weak muscles and improper movements. There is a therapist in Satellite Beach who does N.K.T. NeuroKinetic Therapy who I have been seeing for several months and she has done wonders to help with my shoulders, knee and hip. Julie Wilson is a trainer for this type of therapy, N.K.T. Its focus is on finding dysfunction (overworking muscles doing the job of underworking muscles) which is usually why you experience pain. https://neurokinetictherapy.com Julie's contact info is on this page https://www.amtamassage.org/famt/1275012/julie-anne-wilson/

---

Also, working on your paddle technique can help tremendously. You can find helpful information from checking out freestyle swimming on Youtube. This guy breaks it down quite nice and is easy to understand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_oANei1VPU&list=WL&index=10

Edited: 07/01/2021 at 10:08 AM by satbch

I appreciate the advice. I definitely have some muscles on my scapula compensating. I get knots and trigger points like crazy. I did physical Therapy for awhile and do lots of stretching and exercises but my shoulder gets stiff and inflamed after a surf session. If I do two days in a row I'm in agony. My shoulder hurts front back and deep inside. That deep pain just throbs.

I feel your pain. Believe me, I can't surf, sit or sleep when my shoulder is hurting. I'm a side sleeper and until I started focusing on proper movement I continued to have issues. I have and had the worst knots in my back, especially my rhomboids, between the should blades and I focused on that. I foam rolled, yoga and used tennis balls or massage sticks trying to get those knots to release. I was also doing some silly exercises from my physical therapist, but they were all canned solutions and not based on my actual issues, although they helped some. But the NKT person told me it wasn't even my back or shoulders, it was my pec muscle, pec major and pec minor muscles overworking and my serratus under working. I can get instant relief and release with a tennis ball and a wall pushing against my upper chest. Then I activate my serratus with some simple exercises and it's like the pain disappears. Having someone like Julie Wilson or a N.M.T. analyze your dysfunctions will help, I promise you. It's not the cheapest, about the same as an hour therapeutic massage but so much cheaper having a surgeon cut you up. Lately I've been sleeping on a very stiff/firm mattress and it helps too. Hope you are able to get some relief. Worth a try to go the therapeutic route.

Edited: 07/01/2021 at 10:36 AM by satbch

I second that! Suffered from the same and it was not until I changed my paddling technique that things started to improve.
The days of deep digging like an animal had to go :-)



-------------------------
Worst thing I ever read - "No tropical cyclones at this time"

Exactly! Works when you're a kid but poor form leads to pain as grown ass man with shitty joints.

Edited: 07/01/2021 at 01:23 PM by satbch

10 years ago this coming August 26, I got caught in a mid-day hellstorm paddle out from a long ride on Hurricane Irene. I paddled furiously for 45 minutes until finally giving up.

Around 6pm I went back out and had a great session, mirror glass, no problem paddling out. Huge waves, probably 8-10 foot faces.

Several days later I could barely lift my board up to put it in the ceiling racks. The board was 9'2".

After this incident, my shoulders, more right than left were in pain. Side sleeping nearly impossible.

Rob, the physical therapist who surf's RCs then and now, examined me and said it's tendinitis and I just needed to surf less and recover.

I never had surgery and just manage the pain, which is much lower and mostly gone.

Don't let them cut on you unless absolutely necessary.

Edited: 07/01/2021 at 03:35 PM by rc

I appreciate the advice. It probably is best to explore all options before surgery. The pain and frustration has me super aggravated right now. I did find that regular PT wasn't doing much and cut myself loose after 5 sessions. They did seem to be pretty standard stuff you could find on YouTube and do yourself.

I'm not sure who the go-to surgeon is for arthroscopic shoulder repair since Dr. Woodward retired, much less who would do a full shoulder replacement, but, FWIW...

Cleveland Clinic has announced the opening of an orthopedic specialty group in the Vero/Sebastian area. If they live up to their rep, they should be up to date on state-of-the-art stuff. https://ccirh.org/service/orthopaedics/

Might be worth a consultation there.

Had my left shoulder replaced by Dr. Bernard at the Jewett Clinic in Winter Park due to a torn labrum repair gone wrong. Lived with it for years and finally got it replaced, hate to say this but it was a piece of cake and one of the easiest surgeries I have had. Then I broke my humorous at week 12 of the same arm. I am 18 months out of that repair and have been in the ocean again. Two things, I was a dumb ass to break my arm, and if I had not broken my arm I would have been surfing again post replacement in 12 months or less. Age over 60. As they say "you will know when".

-------------------------

JMA

I've worked with Dr Bernard and he is at the top of my list. there are a few Dr"s I'd let fix my shoulder if needed. Listen to the Doctors you trust, shoulder are different than other problems. The longer you wait the less likely you'll like the result. Get it fixed based you your MRI and doctors exam and diagnosis . Pick well , because no one likes fixing another's mistake if you are unhappy.

I'm 60 and very active and plan on surfing as long as by body lets me. Did the Dr. have any concerns about the plastic glenoid socket wearing out? Based on what I've seen that is the risk with standard shoulder replacement.

I hurt my left shoulder back in October; the orthopaedist decided nothing much had happened, but it never quite returned to normal. In May, it started worsening and in June I went back to the orthopaedist, got an MRI scan, and a tendon was severed, with some additional minor problems. Tendon surgery is scheduled for Aug 20. Looks like it'll be much quicker recovery than the major work on the right shoulder a few years ago.

This may or may not help you, but 5 advil every 4 hours when its really hurting can take the edge off and calm it down.

My motto w Advil is "hit it fast and hit it hard" I often take it as a pre-emptive ie: before the session.

and I will take it before bed as well. Best to take it w food.

A good Aspercreme w Lidocaine rubdown can be effective too.

Icing and heat rotation (hot tub/bath) works well too.

Just some thoughts on managing it in the short term.

This plus a few months rest period (ie: let it be/don't aggravate it)

might get you somewhere better



Edited: 07/03/2021 at 03:44 PM by paddleout

Thanks everyone. I see my ortho later this month and will get a MRI scheduled. I know I have arthritis but believe there is some soft tissue damage as well.

Paddleout you are taking to much advil . 800 mg every 8 hours , no more than 2400 mg per 24 hours . Anything over that can be toxic to your Liver and kidneys. Your body can only process so much .

Well tell that to the last 15 years of my life unfortunately

liver / kidney labs are still OK

but yeah only take that much if you are really hurtin to get it to stop

you do want to stay under 2500 per 24 hrs

Edited: 07/04/2021 at 09:27 PM by paddleout

I've seen conflicting max daily doses of Advil (Ibuprofen) of 3200 and 2400 max per day. Long-term use of NSAIDs increases chance of heart attack and stroke.

Tylenol (Acetaminophen) is a pain-reliever, but not an anti-inflammatory drug. Max daily limits on Tylenol were reduced from 4000 mg/day to 3000 mg/day a while back, in part to prevent liver damage.

FWIW, Voltaren Gel, formerly Rx only, is now available OTC. It's an NSAID, and you have to respect the dose limits, but at least delivery via the skin bypasses your liver. It works well near the surface, but may not reach deep enough to help an arthritic shoulder joint. Worth a try though.

I'm wondering if some ortho docs would consider steroidal AIDs (prednisone, methylprednisolone) to be acceptable low-dose on an as-needed basis (like one dose for the weekend warrior's shoulder on Sunday night). Short-term Rx are usually 4 days in a tapering-down dose. (Long-term use for arthritis is a whole different topic.) The "as-needed" frequency for surfer shoulder would have to be rare, but it seems like that rare steroid could bring more relief. I'm not a doc, so this is speculation, but if anyone has a chance to ask their ortho doc, let us know an answer. They generally want steroids cleared out of your body before surgery (6 weeks?) to help healing from the surgery.

A cortisone (steroid) injection might help take the big edge off temporarily if your surgery is many weeks off, but is not a frequently-repeatable option. I had one cortisone injection in each shoulder several weeks after surgery (torn labrum, bone spurs, and adhesions), and they were a huge help.

Edited: 07/05/2021 at 07:36 AM by CurtisEflush

Ibuprofen can be very effective, but I'm not allowed to use it because I'm on a blood thinner. I don't respond much to acetaminophen (Tylenol). It can cause harm if used much above the effective dose. In the United Kingdom it's sold only in small quantities in blister packs, so British tourists in Orlando buy big bottles.

Oh man, that is way too much NSAID's!

I have been having issues with what appears to be a tear as well as arthritis. Still waiting on the mri for final status. I have been seeing Dr Dominguez at 3D Sports in Indialantic and was wondering if anybody has any experience with him.