By Mike Ho, Physiotherapist
How Can Physiotherapy Help After My Shoulder Surgery IN MELBOURNE?
You’ve had surgery in Melbourne for your shoulder, now what?
Whether you’ve undergone surgery due to injury, degenerative conditions or other medical reasons, the period following the operation is crucial for ensuring optimal healing and rehabilitation.
This is where the physiotherapist can play a significant role in helping you towards your recovery and restoring functionality.
The Shoulder:
While most people think of the shoulder as just a “ball and socket joint”, it actually consists of four separate joints that make up the whole shoulder complex. This includes:
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The glenohumeral joint - the “ball and socket” joint of the shoulder that involves your shoulder blade and arm
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The acromioclavicular joint - the joint that involves your collarbone and shoulder blade
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The sternoclavicular joint - the joint that involves your collarbone and sternum
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The scapulothoracic joint - the joint that involves your shoulder blade and thoracic spine
It is the interplay between all four joints that allow for optimal movement and function of the upper limb. With so many moving parts involved, you can imagine any insult to this area can lead to strength and mobility issues.
While you can have surgery involving any of these joints, the glenohumeral joint is the one that is most commonly involved.
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Common Types of Shoulder Surgeries IN MELBOURNE
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Rotator Cuff Repair - repairing tears or damage to the rotator cuff muscles and tendons. This can be from a trauma or from repetitive strain/use.
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Shoulder Stabilisation - following recurrent shoulder dislocations or instability episodes
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Shoulder Arthroscopy - arthroscopic surgery for various conditions, such as a labral tear or frozen shoulder
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Shoulder Replacement - for severe arthritic shoulders, where the shoulder is replaced with artificial implants
Understanding the specific type of shoulder surgery you've undergone is essential for tailoring your post-operative care plan and rehabilitation program. Your physiotherapist will provide detailed information about the surgical procedure, expected outcomes, and post-operative instructions to guide you through the recovery process.
Physiotherapy After Shoulder Surgery In Melbourne
Recovery from shoulder surgery is not a one-size-fits-all process. The timeline can vary depending on factors such as the type of surgery, individual health condition, and adherence to post-operative care instructions.
As mentioned before, with so many moving parts involved in the shoulder complex, it is important to get started early to avoid any secondary issues such as over compensation that can lead to biomechanical problems.
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Acute Phase - (weeks 0-4)
Typically, the initial phase of recovery involves immobilisation of the shoulder joint in a sling to facilitate proper healing. While this period may last for several weeks, your physiotherapist can go through a series of exercises and gentle movements to prevent stiffness and maintain range of motion. These can include:
Passive and assisted active range of motion of the shoulder
- This involves safe and pain free movement of the shoulder in multiple directions with the help of your other arm or a stick
Scapula range of motion and stability exercises
- The scapula or “shoulder blade” is important to the shoulder complex as it helps assist with movement, but also provides stability as a base for the arm to generate power from
Cervical/Thoracic spine and elbow range of motion exercises and stretches
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Our body is one kinetic chain, so it’s important that we continue to move the joints above and below the shoulder complex to prevent stiffness
In this stage, it is important to respect the pain and immobilisation period; however, this stage is where we can also see stiffness really develop and ultimately prolong recovery.
Frequent sessions here with your physiotherapist can be helpful to find that right balance to help us progress to the next phase.
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Intermediate Phase - (weeks 4-8)
As you progress beyond the initial immobilisation phase, physiotherapy becomes a cornerstone of your recovery journey. This is where we start to really progress our movement and resistance exercises.
Post-shoulder surgery physiotherapy is tailored to your specific needs and rehabilitation goals. A customised exercise program will be developed and focused on 3 main pillars during this phase:
Mobility:
Progressing to more independent active range of motion exercises and stretches
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Manual therapy techniques such as soft tissue release and joint mobilisations from your physiotherapist
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Stability:
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Rotator cuff muscle recruitment and scapula control exercises as you move through range
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Strength:
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Open and closed kinetic chain resistance exercises involving resistance bands and weights
During this phase is when we no longer need the immobilisation sling and we start to really see improvements in our functional range of motion in the shoulder. You will typically have a follow up with your surgeon during this time to check in and get clearance to be able to drive again.
Late Phase - (weeks 8+)
As we enter into the late phase of rehabilitation for your shoulder, this is where we start to incorporate more full body movements and look at returning to work, sport and recreational activities. The goals during this phase include:
Full active range of motion of the shoulder
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Continuation of the stretches and manual therapy techniques from previous phase
Optimising strength, power and endurance of the shoulder complex
- Using our strength testing equipment at our clinic, we can an accurate objective measure of your strength in the shoulder to gauge recovery and check for symmetry to the other side
Full kinetic chain exercises tailored to patient specific goals
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Full body movement exercises that incorporate the shoulder to simulate real life situations
Return to work, sport and recreational activities
POST SHOULDER SURGERY PHYSIOTHERAPY
Because of the many different types of surgeries for the shoulder, it is important to get in with a physiotherapist to provide a plan and have frequent sessions along the rehabilitation journey to progress you through the stages of recovery and avoid any complications. Incorporating physiotherapy into your post-operative care plan will help optimise your outcomes and achieve long-term success in rehabilitation.
If you or someone you know has recently gone through shoulder surgery and wants to develop a structured plan for your recovery with one of our experienced physiotherapists, contact us today.
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If your sports, fitness training or work has been wearing your body down, book in with one of our expert massage therapists so we can help you reduce your pain or stiffness.
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