3 Tips For Optimizing Comfort And Convenience While Recovering From Rotator Cuff Surgery

20 December 2017
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It can take several weeks to fully recover from rotator cuff surgery, so expect your life to be turned upside down for awhile. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make recovery more comfortable and convenient overall such as:

Get Help Friends and Family

Even if you have family members at home who plan to help you handle daily tasks while you recover from your rotator cuff surgery, it's important to make sure that friends and extended family members will be available to fill in where necessary. You shouldn't be left at home alone in the first days or even weeks after surgery, so if your spouse and children have to go to work and school, you'll need to have someone else stay with you.

You'll be wearing a sling most of the time, and won't be able to do things like wash dishes and take care of pets. And you may even find that putting on a sweater or even getting out of a chair is too tough. Making sure that someone is always around to assist you will ensure that your shoulder has an opportunity to properly heal, and minimize the chance that you'll injure yourself.

Make Time for Physical Therapy

It may not be a requirement to utilize physical therapy while recovering from rotator cuff surgery, but making time to work with a therapist can speed up the recovery process and help strengthen your shoulder so it works effectively once it's fully healed. As your shoulder heals, you'll learn multiple range of motion exercises that can be done at home, and you may even be able to take part in weight training under expert supervision so you can more quickly get back to participating in the sports and physical activities that you enjoy.

Be Mindful of Your Movements

As time goes on and your shoulder starts to feel strong, you'll be tempted to use it more often throughout the day. But if you start moving your arm and shoulder too much, it could stall the recovery process and result in additional pain and suffering as time goes on. So even when the sling comes off and you don't feel pain when you move your shoulder, it's important to be mindful of your movements to ensure that you don't strain any shoulder muscles and your recovery isn't compromised. Avoid reaching above your head, carry heavy items, moving furniture, or even holding toddlers until your doctor verifies that you're fully recovered.  

Visit a site, like christophercschmidtmd.com, for more help.