Partial Tear Spraspinatus. Options?

so im 18 years old and have a partial thickness tear in my supraspinadus it measures .5 cm by .7 cm. the doctor is setting me up for a surgical consultation but id like to explore other options. i competed on it last year and i would like to this year again. any ideas/ alternatives?

i have a genetic problem with loose joints heres a video of when i was 15

I think something like 50% of the population is estimated to have some sort of partial tear in the cuff and they don’t know it… so right now, many people get by without surgery!

On the other hand, a lot of shoulder experts would say that shoulder hypermobility can cause a lot of damage and often can’t be corrected without surgery.

You’ll just have to weigh the pros and cons. What do you mean by you competed on it last year? Have you had this tear for a long time? Why do you want surgery in the first place… is it hurting you?

My advice would be to see a professional, and I don’t say that too often. I don’t mean your general practitioner, but a really good therapist or similar. If a surgeon tells you that you need surgery… not a big surprise. If someone who makes a living off of therapy tells you that you need surgery, well then that could mean something.

In the mean time, check out the shoulder savers savers series and just dig into the literature so you can make an informed decision.

I’m impressed. Usually people under the age of 40 don’t suffer significant RC tears. The docs I used to work with said MRI is very iffy on diagnosing them, especially w/o contrast dye. These docs also did not like to put a scalpel to shoulders that were congenitally loose.

Get a second opinion, too many sportsmed doctors are cut-happy. Do not do it unless you NEED to.

From what I was told, (could be wrong) generally the down time after surgery is not much shorter than if you skipped surgery and you’ll be rehabbing either way. Good reason for a second opinion.

I would recommend doing a lot of therapy on it. I skipped it initially and had to backtrack because I developed tendonitis and bone spurs. Good luck!

i origionally hurt my shoulder at the start of last school year during a terribal long board catastrophy, since then i seem to injure and heal and inure and heal every couple months but its getting alot easier to “tweak” and alot more inconvenient, i copmeted in a season of power lifting on it and had it buckle on me only once while doing bench negatives. latley though if im not carefull raising my arm it can be all inflamed for a few days. i was at the beach the other week and tried to swat at one of my friends the result has been many nights where if i dont sleep as if my arm was in a sling it disjoints

i went to the doctor for it at the start of summer just a general physician, he recomended me to a specialist in the city were i went for the ultra sound test. now i guess they want me to have a surgical consultation with a surgeon. the regular doctor said that he thinks we should operate because of my age

also im being sent to another city to see some certian special kind of physio therapist i guess.

thanl you all for the advice and input btw … im going to start the shoulder savers as soon asn my shoulder stops sounding and feeling like a cement mixer

Since its been getting easily injured after the accident, make sure your pt takes a look at nerve function and innervation to the entire cuff (and scapula preferably). Not uncommon to see nerve inhibition after accidents.

is that why my arms are numb when i wake up ?

I mean, that could be as simple as you sleeping on your arms and squeezing the nerves and cutting off the blood supply, lol.

Or, you could use your scalenes too much for deep breathing and be roughing up the brachial plexus. Or your neck could be completely locked up after your accident. I can’t tell ya for sure, and no one can over the computer. Alls I can say is find someone good to check you out in person before you opt for surgery. You might need to travel a bit.