Within the last few months I have been told by my orthopedist that I need a shoulder replacement. The doctor told me to "live with the pain until I can't anymore" and then get the shoulder replaced. Due to medication I take for hypertension, I can't take a lot of the new arthritis wonder drugs. I am going to suffer with the pain until after my hunt in Tanzania in September. Then I am going to decide what to do. Has anyone had a shoulder replaced and been able to shoot a big bore ( I have a Lott and a 375) without damaging the artificial joint?? I can shoot both now and it really doesn't seem to make my shoulder any worse. But the constant ache especially at night is getting old quick. Somebody give me some hope!!! Hell I ain't but 59 and I'll be damned if I'm ready to become JudgeG's gun bearer because I can't shoot anymore.

1115, this is a tough question. I'm a physical therapist, been rehabbing shoulders for 30 years. It's PROBABLY not the artificial joint that is the limiting factor, but rather, how good is your rotator cuff? The rotator cuff is 4 relatively small, but very important muscles and their associated tendons which keep your shoulder together and allow you to raise your arm over your head. If your cuff is good at the time of surgery, and only your surgeon will know, then there's a good chance that your rehab will go well and you'll be able to return to shooting...the .375 probably, the Lott, I wouldn't bet on that. Remember that soft tissue healing is 8 weeks for anybody, your formal rehab may be another 2-4 months after that and one whole year to regain all of your strength. So don't plan that Cape Buff hunt too soon....

Best of luck....

MKane160

Mkane 160,

Thanks for the honest response. My rotator cuff is in great shape, as are the rest of my shoulder muscles. I still lift weights three days a week, and ride a stationary bike three days a week. I am a cop, and have to stay in shape to survive. I backed off of heavy bench presses and overhead lifts a while back to give my shoulder some relief, and probably have everything in my home gym to rehab myself once a theratpist shows me what to do. Thanks again.

quote:

I still lift weights three days a week,

I have acute arthuritis in my left shoulder. Been lifting heavy weights for some years now. they want to replace the shoulder but I quit lifting instead. The pain finally went away.

1115,
stop doing bench presses of any kind completely.....they are a shoulder destroyer without peer. i know from my own experience as well as many others. overhead presses and various bodyweight pushing exercises will serve you much better. fwiw

MKane160,
if you dont mind, what are some good rotator cuff exercises? my right shoulder has been giving me trouble for the past few months and it seems to be taking it's dear sweet time about healing up. i think i tweeked it by rope climbing of all things. i havent had much trouble out of it since i stopped bench pressing and dipping a few years ago. thanks, in advance

http://knoxx.com/NewStyleKnoxx/Products/RifleCompstock.htm

I saved this link some time ago because I have an upper (cervical/neck) spine issues, and have to take strong painkillers everyday now, and shooting gets quite painful. The doctors want to wait until the pain gets worse down my right arm, and not cause additional damage to any nerves with surgery at this time, etc.
Anyway, these guys don't currently make one for my main rifle, though they keep telling me it is in the works. So I can't speak to what help they are personally, and aren't exactly cheap either; but thought if/when it got unbearable I might try one.
Some info for anyone if interested though....
Good luck.

UnitSA,

In 2003 I had cervical fusion, fusing C5,6,7 & T1. I went on my first safari one year later and have been doing great since. Before this surgery my left arm was almost paralyzed and the pain was horrible. Good luck with yours. My shoulder (right shoulder) is the one that is causing me problems, but it hasn't whipped me yet.

quote:

Originally posted by degoins:
1115,
stop doing bench presses of any kind completely.....they are a shoulder destroyer without peer.

Are pushups, dips and L-seat dips ok, or are they to hard on the shoulders?

quote:

Originally posted by 1115:
UnitSA,

In 2003 I had cervical fusion, fusing C5,6,7 & T1. I went on my first safari one year later and have been doing great since. Before this surgery my left arm was almost paralyzed and the pain was horrible. Good luck with yours. My shoulder (right shoulder) is the one that is causing me problems, but it hasn't whipped me yet.

1115-
Glad it worked out for you, gives me some hope, ha ha. Thanks; locations sound very similar.
At times, the muscles mostly in my right arm and upper right chest will start "twitching/jumping" something fierce when nerves are aggravated to go along with the contant pain, pretty much making it useless to do anything with; goes on for days...frustrating as hell too.
Take care.

/

degoins:

That is a great question, not easily answered over the Internet without pictures. But, and I've got a big butt, I would stay away from dips, push-ups are OK but don't focus on what you really NEED. Remember, the supraspinatus muscle (the topmost rotator cuff muscle) is the most often injured and, in my opinion, the most important rotator cuff muscle. It abducts your arm, i.e., moves your hand away from your body, primarily in the plane of your body. So, to strengthen it, you need to lift weights out to the side, slightly in front, of your body. I favor light weights, higher reps. What is light? Less than 20 lbs. moving thru an arc from 0 degrees to about 80 degrees. Zero degrees is standing with your hand at your side. There are MANY other rotator cuff strengthening exercises, way too many to go into here. Check with your local therapist...

To add to ALFs comments, I believe cuff tears fall into one of two categories: attrition tears as ALF describes, where the tendons gradually wear with time until they finally rupture, and frank tears, where the momentary shock load exceeds the tensile strength of the tendon. An example would be falling awkwardly and extending your arm to protect your head (a reflex action, BTW).

MKane160

/

The shoulder joint is like a tiny saucer sitting in the palm of your hand, with a tiny teacup sitting on the saucer, with the fingers of your hand loosely retaining the tea cup as the cup spins around on the saucer.

Marvelous!
Listen to Alf!
I wouldn't get a shoulder replacement until I was ready to hunt with a .30-06 or lesser whomp, and then only after rigorous PT rehab, as per MKane160.

Thanks for all of the comments. I realize that once I have it done, I am very limited in what I can do compared to what I did before. I am going to put it off as long as I can. Maybe I can reach a happy medium with some kind of medication that will buy me a few years. I hope so. Getting older has its rewards, but it can really suck sometimes too.

Have you given thought to shooting w/ the other hand? Pushups have strengthened my shoulders. Along with some common sense. Dr. C

MKane160,
thanks for the helpful response.

500,
any kind of dip hurts my shoulder now, but if you dont already have shoulder trouble i think they are fine as the range of motion isnt as great as with regular dips and there's less chance of hyperextension (which im sure contributed to my shoulder ills). when i first stopped lifting weights regular pushups and one arm pushups would hurt, but hindu pushups and handstand pushups wouldnt. since the rope climbing incident a few months ago, they all hurt a little.

500,
insert L chair dips in that 1st line.

Alf (or any other docs):

I noted you said "big bore shooting". I know that every medical condition is different, but if a .30/06 might be acceptable, how about a 9.3x62 with a "cushy" pad and a weight of 10 pounds or so with a scope, maybe even a damned muzzle brake.

Practice with squib loads and shoot the DG capable stuff only a few time a year while on Safari?.... or there is that Bell Rigby in .275 out there?

I've got the whole thing figured out. If push comes to shove, and I end up getting my shoulder replaced, I'll buy myself a left handed double rifle, spend some time learning to shoot left handed which by the way, I have done from tree stands out of necessity with great success, and I'll keep right on hunting until something else gives out. Nothing wrong with my left shoulder, so I'll let it take up the slack if necessary.

/

I second the bit about never doing bench press -- unless you're competing in powerlifting, where it's an event, you'll be much better served by over head press. There's something called a shoulder horn that does an excellent job of helping w. rotator cuff problems. Ask you orthod, but, since you mentioned lots of bench press, I presumed your anterior delts and pecs are over-developed relative to the other shoulder muscles -- Dips are a great exercise, but will continue to exacerbate an imbalance.

What has worked the best for my shoulder, is to do strict press, with the bar in a back squat position as my rest position -- my shoulders feel much better for it (well, that, and no longer competing...now if only my waistline hadn't "improved" as well.)

My 375 Ruger Alaskan has a very low level of recoil -- I find it more comfortable than either my brother's 300 win mag, or my father's 270 WSM.

hey Aglifter,
switch to bodyeight only and never look back. all my joints(until this recent shoulder thing)have thanked me for it.