rotater cuff surgery and hand planes

[Richard Hutchings]

Any one have this surgery and go back to hand planing? I just had surgery and I'm shopping for planes while I heal. Should I be selling them instead?

[Jerry Thompson]

Here is my shoulder(s) story. I had just received one of Steve Knight's last razee jointers. About the second time I used it my right shoulder became painful and got worse. My friend, who is an Orthopedist, told me I needed shoulder surgery. He only did hips and knees. I let it go and then the left got sore and I mean sore. So I had it worked on. When I woke up in recovery my right shoulder no longer hurt and hasn't for 4 years. I was able to go back to using hand planes after about 8 months and have had no trouble since.
I will say that physical therapy is what kept my operative shoulder in good order. I went for about two months after surgery. I hated to have to do something twice a week and all that but it is vital to a recovery.
Good luck.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Any one have this surgery and go back to hand planing? I just had surgery and I'm shopping for planes while I heal. Should I be selling them instead?

And the opinion of your orthopedic surgeon is..................?

I wouldn't take his advice on hand planes, and I wouldn't take our advice on surgery rehab. ;)

[David Ragan]

Ask the surgeon; shoulder surgery is notoriously painful to regain range of motion-the most critical being abduction of the joint- out laterally up to straight overhead (being able to comb your hair, reach up high, etc)
It is good/critical that you are willing to work at it
But-everything in its time. This is where PT and Occupational Therapy really come in

[Chris Parks]

I have had one shoulder done and will go to extreme lengths to avoid having the other done. The recovery is long and painful and also hard work, twelve months in my case. if I had been sitting at a desk in my job I would have said I was OK at a few months but physical work was another issue altogether.

[Richard Hutchings]

:) I'll be asking my surgeon as well. Planing didn't aggravate it before the surgery so I'm hoping that won't change.


And the opinion of your orthopedic surgeon is..................?

I wouldn't take his advice on hand planes, and I wouldn't take our advice on surgery rehab. ;)

[Al Weber]

I had right shoulder rotator cuff surgery several years ago and the recovery period tends to be fairly long. In my case about 12-14 months before I was ready to use a hand plane again. It is totally dependent on how religious you are about the PT necessary for recovery. I am on the + side of 70 so my healing process was probably longer than a younger person. Generally you will know when you can get back to hand planing. However, after that 1 year period I use my planes frequently so I wouldn't sell them.

[Shawn Pixley]

I tore my rotator cuff a number of years ago free climbing (no surgery but extensive PT). For the first few years after I would feel the stabbing pain reaching to field a ball playing baseball. I have no problem planing but it hurts when I try to do military presses in the gym. Only your surgeon should guide you here - Not us.

[Chris Parks]

Short term after the surgery your arm is immobilised for about six weeks, most probably recovered enough to say pain free after two to three months all going well. It is really up to you and the work you put in, the exercise is damned painful as is the Physio treatment. Trying to sleep is the worst and it is best if you can sleep on your own.

[Mike williams54]

Like the others have said, shoulder surgery has a very tedious painful recovery, I tore about everything that can be torn in my left shoulder racing dirtbikes. I've had several other surgeries, from this awesome hobby, and the shoulder was by far the longest and most painful recovery. But it was to the point that if I walked down stairs relaxed it would pop out. But after a few months of physical therapy, then just doing some stretching each day after, for another year or so, i don't even notice it anymore, and it's strong, I've takin a few spills on that same shoulder and it's held up. Oh, I was 22 when I had the surgery done, recovery time may vary. I'm taking up a new, not so hard on the body hobby cutting wood, and I've been doing all sorts of hand planing with no problems. Moral of the story, if your shoulder hurts, a surgeon can fix it, it will be a lot of work to recover from, but not being in pain and being able to do what you enjoy is 100% worth it. Hopefully this helps, I'm sure a worn out shoulder is a bit different than torn tendons, but I'd think the recovery and PT are similar.

[Winton Applegate]

Not to worry.
Step into my shop, er . . . I . . . mean . . . surgery.
A few Borg implants . . . some custom nano bots.
Hey . . . nows the time to add that laser guide into your left ocular cavity for the dovetails.

What do you say ?
I work cheep.
Cash only.
Igor . . . my young assistant will be by to collect you.
Don't let the blind fold and the blacked out windows in his carriage for the trip alarm you.
It's SOP.

[Matt Zettl]

Richard, I am a retired orthopedic surgeon and a 35-40 yr woodworker. I am assuming that you are talking about your dominant hand/arm, the one that you would use to push the plane. Were it your non-dominant arm, things would be easier for you. As many of the previous posters have reported, the recovery can be long and tedious. The final result is dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to, the size and location of the cuff tear, your age and physical condition, concurrent medical conditions, compliance with a quality rehab program, etc., etc. It is impossible for any of us here to predict how you will do in the long run. The only person who has all of the knowledge necessary to give you a reasonable prognosis is your own surgeon. Even he cannot predict every single outcome accurately. The only thing that you have control of is how you approach your own rehab. That rehab will be guided by your surgeon and your therapist, but it is you that have to do the exercises. The more effort you put into it, the greater the benefits in the long run. Although it is nice to hear about others's experiences, their post-op programs and outcomes may not apply to your particular situation.

Hope this helps, and good luck. And oh, I wouldn't sell the planes yet.;)

Matt

[Brian Ashton]

As i hit the half century I've felt and heard a bit more crunching and grinding in the right shoulder, more so from pitching in my youth and throwing in Futsal later on than from planing... but learning to be ambidextrous has certainly help to alleviate the pain and crunching I've experienced. I think it's in everyone's best interest to learn how to plane left and right,or throw. Sharing the load is always a good idea whether you have pain or not. It's certainly a PITA when first training the brain to do things with both hands, especially hammering, but it's been well worth the effort.

[Dennis McCullen]

306736Ihad my non-dominant shoulder repaired almost 3 years ago and was told that Ishould not be doing construction at age 62. Bah humbug! A lot of your successwill depend on your determination as well as other factors others have alreadymentioned. Seek out the best care - surgical and rehab available to you. I hadpersonally been through PT in my local area because they first try that to seeif you can be healed with activity. I did not really agree because I am veryactive and knew something was torn.Whatit did tell me was that I did not care for the lack of professionalism in thatrehab clinic. My surgeon was an hour and a half away and I told him that I didnot want physical therapy local to me, but the absolute best he could recommendin his locale and that he had a good record of success with. I drove for overan hour each way three times a week and asked for a home program to do on theweekends. This was for 2 months.

Some folks start therapy sooner than others,but my surgeon wanted my shoulder immobilized for 6 weeks, for I had a tear inthe cuff as well as the biceps tendon. As my therapy progressed, I simulatedthe exercises at home; I used the progression of rubber bands as recommended.We woodworkers enjoy being creative and I set up pulleys (from home depot) withlight weights (matching only what weight I was using at PT). I set up threestations to do exercises hanging weights from the workshop ceiling. One othertip, when I was at PT if working a certain exercise with 3 lbs, I usedadditional weight and exercised the good shoulder to match. You do not want tolose the good one while rebuilding strength in the repaired one.My PT folks praised me for the hard work andI assured them it was to a selfish end - I had a workshop to build. I was toldit would be a year for full recovery - no construction during that time and Irespected that completely.

I am a homesteader and found that once therapy hadended (3-1/2 months post surgery) I could move mulch, hay, dirt, and gravel andcontinue the exercises at the stations set up in the old shop. I started withhalf shovels full of dirt and gravel but worked at it regularly. Yes, I agreeit is a long haul, but don't bite off too much at once and be steadfast in yourexercise regimen. One last point, it is the "outboard" use of thosesmall rotator cuff muscles that is dangerous so keep your elbow tucked close byyour side and reposition your body to use larger muscles. At 64, I do not havethe strength of days gone by, but I keep wheels handy and move things usingdollies, carts, etc as much as possible. When I must pick up something heavy, I keep my arms close and use my legs and back. I had a full recovery, delayed the shop building for a year and have just completed the workshop I started and worked on for 10 months.Best wishes and stay with it, work hard, Ishould say steady and not too hard and best wishes. Planing should be no problem but take your time getting there.

[Jim Matthews]

Don't sell your planes, yet.

Try pulling them toward you, first.
If that's too cumbersome - the Japanese
planes are designed to be used this way.

I would say that if you can focus on better sharpening
techniques and use a milling machine (jointer, planer)
to get your lumber close - planing is still feasible.

Listen to what Dr. Z says above.
The standard of care in most ortho cases
involves active movements.

[Richard Hutchings]

I started exercising yesterday following doctors orders. I was a little scared at first. One of the exercises required me to put my arm down by my side with my palm facing forward and bring it up. I didn't think I was going to get through that one. My arm was completely locked up. I manage it slowly and now it's no problem at all. 3 stretches once and hour and ice every 20 minutes seems to be helping a lot. I'm going to continue shopping for new plane for after the recovery.

Thanks for the encouragement. It's nice to talk to people that have been through this and a retired orthopedic surgeon. Pretty awesome. I'm now going enjoy woodworking through you all for a while. Virtual woodworking. Better than none.

[Larry Frank]

Getting old and having parts wear out is not fun. My right wrist wore out and I saw a couple of orthopedic doctors for opinions. There was some major differences in their recommended surgery. I finally picked one that was highly recommend and had published several papers about the type of surgery.

The surgery went well but was painful and long therapy but now a year later is good.

My point is that you should research your doctor as carefully as you do a new plane or chisel or saw. Then follow his recommendations. Mine even had a list of specialized therapists for my situation.

Unfortunately, I am pretty limited on the level of stress I can put on my wrist which greatly limits Neanderthal woodworking.

[Terry Beadle]

When my right shoulder started giving me grief, I went to 1 ~ 2 thou shavings and not 5 thou or more. It seems to work. I also put less power into the plane and paid more attention
to letting it do the work. Good sharpening practices also helped.

Just sayin'

[Jim Koepke]

Good advice from all above. Especially the ones suggesting you hang on to your planes.

I blew out my right shoulder in a bicycling accident over 40 years ago. Never had surgery. It still snaps, crackles and pops at times with the occasional crunch my wife can hear from across the room. My right hand was messed up in an injury over 50 years ago. The hand is better than the shoulder on most days.

Being careful with how much work my right shoulder has to do is how it keeps going. Learning to do things with one's nondominate hand helps. It has also taught me how hard left handers have it in a "right handed" world.

Learning the limits of one's abilities while recovering from or living with injuries is part of life whether it be woodworking, gardening or flying kites.

So Richard, here is to a speedy recovery.

jtk