SmallPotatoes, My fiancee had a torn labrum in her hip, and had surgery. Her doctor told her it was only a minor tear and she could be "skiing in two weeks" after the surgery. Here we are nine months later, and the surgery has only worsened her condition. She has more pain than before the surgery, and is still limited in her activities and has pain daily. Take this for what it's worth... one person's experience. But based on this, I would avoid the surgery if you could.
Shoulder injuries in general are tough, and surgeries don't clean it up and repair it magically. A lot of times the pain doesn't totally go away. I've lived with shoulder problems from my baseball days for 10 years now. The shit of it is, it hurts the most when I shoot a basketball. I also can't sleep with my arm over my head. Good for me, 95 percent of the time, I'm OK. So I'll live with it.
I was trippin over an ankle problem I'd had for a long while. MRI results were iffy. I elected to go ahead with surgery anyway. Had it in early June. Surgeon found the problem once he opened the area, restructured the tendons. I feel great now. Took a while to feel great, but I'm glad I went though the process. That has nada to do with your shoulder situation ... but surgery was great for me. PS: we have a dude on our beat, older guy, who is trying to live with a torn labrum. Lemme tell you -- it ain't going well. He's nearly in tears this morning. He's a tough dude, too. Get it fixed!
I had the MRI yesterday and all I can say at the moment is that I'm glad I lost all the weight I did. Three years ago, I never would have been able to fit into that thing.
The MRI showed a small cyst on the labrum and a bone spur that is probably what's causing the pain. The rotator cuff was OK. We decided to give therapy a few more months to see if any of the pain will go away. If I get surgery, it won't be as bad as I thought. It would only mean a weekend, maybe a week at most, in a sling and light activity for six weeks. I'm going to a seminar on Oct. 28 that a trainer is giving about working with shoulder problems.
Pardon my physiological ignorance, but what's the diff between a torn labrum and a torn rotator cuff?
The rotator cuff is a group of three muscles in your shoulder. The labrum is a piece of cartilage in the ball and socket joint of your shoulder that acts like a washer or a gasket. The socket is a very shallow one and the labrum allows the upper arm bone to stay in the socket more securely.
Start spankin' it with your other hand ASAP. That way if you get the surgery, you'll be ready to go once you have the sling on.