Horse chores with torn rotator cup?

[Bluey]

After several months of shoulder pain, finally went to the Dr and x-rays and MRI are showing torn rotator cup and arthritis, the last probably when 40 years ago a colt and I hit a tree and I dislocated my shoulder.

Since the rotator cup seems to be trying to reattach, the Dr decided to inject the joint, make me promise to take it easy, not lift the arm above shoulder height and not lift anything heavy, let's see if it keeps healing, for a month.
Then we reevaluate and see if we can go on loading it a little more with exercises, or go to surgery, surgery being tricky with my bad heart.

Soo, no riding, can't groom too well, only getting on something, hard to saddle and cinching up.:(
Remember, I am 4'11" short, even a short horse is tall for me, although I can feed and clean after the horses fine without breaking the restrictions.

Can't get on the back of the pickup, so I am carrying a two step ladder handy to get on and off, etc.
So much we do with both arms, some of it is now just getting half done.

One silly thing, my little dog likes to ride on the back seat top and my shoulders in the farm pickup when we check cattle, to help count and has immediately learned not to use that shoulder, just the good one.:)

Any advice from those that have been there, had to go thru that?
Dr said it is a very common injury, at all ages, not to feel old.:p

[Stay Gold]

I feel your pain...

Slightly different injury...

In Nov '08 I broke my collarbone and had ORIF surgery to repair it. 9 months later... I still have a broken collarbone, and have not been cleared by the docs to return to horses full time. I spent 6 months totally away from the horses -- as the bone showed no signs of healing. Tightening a girth is excruciating, and for the first month or two, I had to use a step stool to saddle a horse - even the 14.3h ones.

What I have learned is to let my body be my guide... Some days I have tested my limits (I have limited ROM, still in physical therapy) and been super sore the next day. But I find doing the works I can around the animals has helped keep my spirits up, and helps me regain my fitness so I can eventually get back into it full time.

*Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery

[slc2]

rotator cuff.

[Bluey]

rotator cuff.

That's right.
I was thinking about the surgery, that adds a plastic cup to the joint and mispoke.

Thanks for the correction.:)

Stay Gold, too bad you needed the surgery and it is still not going well for you.
I broke my collar bone about 40 years ago also two months after the dislocated shoulder, when a horse pawed at me, and with those two injuries in the same place it took 2 years to heal completely, although I only was in the injury reserve list, doing barn chores, but not riding, for some 2 1/2 months.

I hear you on the needing the mounting block to saddle.

Now, how was the riding, did it hurt riding, were you told not to ride?
My Dr just say not to do anything that will overstretch or that requires over the shoulder reach, didn't say not to ride directly, to let the activities guide what to do.
He said he puts a sling on patients he doesn't think will be careful, as that is the only way to keep the shoulder from tearing again and again, but that can freeze the joint too much as it repairs and take longer if ever to regain full function.
I told him I would be very good and won't need a sling.;)

I don't mind the nor riding so much, that can wait, but I wondered what all will happen with such injury and thought some here would know how they fared.
We are thinking of covering our arena this winter, but if I have to stay on the sidelines as rfar as doing real work, much overhead, welding and running machinery, with the gear sticks on the right, it is my right shoulder and can't train well for now, I don't think we will, will wait for winter after next.
That is one more reason I wanted to know what timetables they may be with these kinds of injuries.:(

I have heard that with badly broken collar bones, they just take it out and put a metal one and patients are very happy with the results.:cool:
Thanks for your story and good luck.

[camohn]

After several months of shoulder pain, finally went to the Dr and x-rays and MRI are showing torn rotator cup and arthritis, the last probably when 40 years ago a colt and I hit a tree and I dislocated my shoulder.

Since the rotator cup seems to be trying to reattach, the Dr decided to inject the joint, make me promise to take it easy, not lift the arm above shoulder height and not lift anything heavy, let's see if it keeps healing, for a month.
Then we reevaluate and see if we can go on loading it a little more with exercises, or go to surgery, surgery being tricky with my bad heart.

Soo, no riding, can't groom too well, only getting on something, hard to saddle and cinching up.:(
Remember, I am 4'11" short, even a short horse is tall for me, although I can feed and clean after the horses fine without breaking the restrictions.

Can't get on the back of the pickup, so I am carrying a two step ladder handy to get on and off, etc.
So much we do with both arms, some of it is now just getting half done.

One silly thing, my little dog likes to ride on the back seat top and my shoulders in the farm pickup when we check cattle, to help count and has immediately learned not to use that shoulder, just the good one.:)

Any advice from those that have been there, had to go thru that?
Dr said it is a very common injury, at all ages, not to feel old.:p

rotator cuff:
My biggie was haying horses out in the field.........I took my daughters plastic snow sled and towed hay bales around in it.
If the cuff is unattatched there is no way it can reattatch short of surgery /that is a complete tear. . Fibers in the muscle belly will get less inflammed and feel better, but if the tear is at the tendon (where it attatches to the bone) that will not ever heal short of surgical reattatchment. Your rc is made up of 4 muscles. If you tear one of them you can get along without it (no surgery) just fine. Functionally folks run into trouble when they tear mutiple tendons. Is this advice from an orthopedic doctor or your family physician? What did he inject it with?

[camohn]

That's right.
I was thinking about the surgery, that adds a plastic cup to the joint and mispoke.

Thanks for the correction.:)

Stay Gold, too bad you needed the surgery and it is still not going well for you.
I broke my collar bone about 40 years ago also two months after the dislocated shoulder, when a horse pawed at me, and with those two injuries in the same place it took 2 years to heal completely, although I only was in the injury reserve list, doing barn chores, but not riding, for some 2 1/2 months.

I hear you on the needing the mounting block to saddle.

Now, how was the riding, did it hurt riding, were you told not to ride?
My Dr just say not to do anything that will overstretch or that requires over the shoulder reach, didn't say not to ride directly, to let the activities guide what to do.
He said he puts a sling on patients he doesn't think will be careful, as that is the only way to keep the shoulder from tearing again and again, but that can freeze the joint too much as it repairs and take longer if ever to regain full function.
I told him I would be very good and won't need a sling.;)

I don't mind the nor riding so much, that can wait, but I wondered what all will happen with such injury and thought some here would know how they fared.
We are thinking of covering our arena this winter, but if I have to stay on the sidelines as rfar as doing real work, much overhead, welding and running machinery, with the gear sticks on the right, it is my right shoulder and can't train well for now, I don't think we will, will wait for winter after next.
That is one more reason I wanted to know what timetables they may be with these kinds of injuries.:(

I have heard that with badly broken collar bones, they just take it out and put a metal one and patients are very happy with the results.:cool:
Thanks for your story and good luck.
The surgery with a cup is a shoulder replacement, not a rc repair. BIG difference there. Slings are only good for folks with extreme/acute pain and inflammation (will not help a chronic problem)...and as noted, they cause frozen shoulders very quickly.

[classicsporthorses]

Well at age 46 I can say that both of my shoulders are shot. I play hard and work hard and time has gotten the best of me. I had rotator cuff tears in both shoulders-two different accidents/injuries and doing the farm and horses has taken it's toll.

In fact when I lunge a horse I always now have to start lunging them counter clockwise first so if they have a brain fart and pull that arm/shoulder is better than my right arm and I can hold/stop them.

I finally went to the orthopedic who confirmed what I had thought all along-my background is in sports medicine. Anyway, Lorcet (Tylenol with codene) is my friend on those really bad days. He did tell me about steriod injections, which I may consider early next year.

IF it comes to surgery, which in my case would mean getting rid of the joint mice and smoothing out the ends of the AC joint, some surgeons now do it arthoscopically-and he said a reattachment can be done that way now too.

I have modified the way I do things-as in haying, and some days are better than others but mostly I just suck it up as the work needs to get done.

[JSwan]

Hey Bluey-

Sorry about the injury. Try not to over use the other arm or you'll end up screwing that one up too. Ask me how I know.

My neighbor is recovering from surgery and is in PT right now - I'm helping him out with his chores until he's recovered. He's in his late 60's/early 70's and is doing ok, but is disappointed that recovery is taking so long. Farm work doesn't wait as we all know. But he kept going and going with that injury instead of resting the arm.

[MyGiantPony]

I'm having surgery tomorrow to repair a torn labrum and torn bicep tendon. Not a clue of what I did, but the pain is horrific...so I can completely sympathise.

Had cortisone injections twice - no help - all they did was make my blood sugar go through the roof.

Barn chores haven't been too bad. I can keep my right arm close to my side for most everything. Tossing hay has been the hardest thing for me. It gets thrown on the ground instead of into the racks now.

Hope you feel better soon! This is NO fun!

[Wayside]

rotator cuff:
My biggie was haying horses out in the field.........I took my daughters plastic snow sled and towed hay bales around in it.


Interestingly, my mother has a sort-of ongoing rotator cuff injury and she loves her little plastic sled as well. She uses it to move hay, and to pick poop out of the paddock and run in shed instead of a wheelbarrow. Sometimes she even pulls it behind her riding mower.

Hope you feel better soon!

[Bluey]

Thanks for all that advice.
I will know in a month, when I go for a recheck.
This is a top orthopedic surgeon, has operated on many local people and all did extremely good, so if I have to go that route, well, maybe it won't be too bad.

I didn't really get that much information, just that "we will see in a month".
The injection I think, a pure guess, was lidocaine and cortisone, part of a test also, to see how much I was hurting or got relief immediately from it.
He tought I should have been in terrible pain, from the x-ray and MRI results, as "there is a big spur in the worng place", but I am not, just incomfortable and can tell something is not working right, along with all the creaking noises.:rolleyes:

Good advice on not overusing the other arm. I noticed today that I was tending to keep doing the same, but now with one arm only, which is definitely harder on it, like moving 65# bales around.

This same surgeon did this kind of surgery on both of a friend's parents, she just told me and they did great, but it took long time to heal.

At least my friend is riding my young horse, took him to a big show this weekend and did very well.
The older ones can go without riding for a while.

Sounds like these kinds of injuries, probably happened while unloading and rolling around into place those 250lbs cattle supplement tubs, take long to work out.
Ok, patience seem to have become my middle name.
I do have a little manure cart with a handle that I use with a rubber feed bucket to pile the hay flakes into and feed from it and another for the manure bucket, so that is ok, can be done with one arm only.

Thanks to all again for your advice, at least I know now more, shall we say, directly from the horse's mouth.:lol:

[Stay Gold]

Stay Gold, too bad you needed the surgery and it is still not going well for you.
I broke my collar bone about 40 years ago also two months after the dislocated shoulder, when a horse pawed at me, and with those two injuries in the same place it took 2 years to heal completely, although I only was in the injury reserve list, doing barn chores, but not riding, for some 2 1/2 months.

I hear you on the needing the mounting block to saddle.

Now, how was the riding, did it hurt riding, were you told not to ride?
My Dr just say not to do anything that will overstretch or that requires over the shoulder reach, didn't say not to ride directly, to let the activities guide what to do.
He said he puts a sling on patients he doesn't think will be careful, as that is the only way to keep the shoulder from tearing again and again, but that can freeze the joint too much as it repairs and take longer if ever to regain full function.

Frozen shoulder.... yeah, CHECK, got one of those after spending 3 months in a sling after my ORIF surgery. I still don't have full ROM from this. So painful to regain motion.

So far as riding is concerned... I am very careful about what I do/don't get on... and am restricting myself to dressage and trail rides/hacks, as opposed to my eventing background. At first I had pain in my shoulder capsule when I rode - particularly at the walk, but it was a good stretch. Now mind you, my injury and yours are very different in this regard. The stretch was good for my frozen shoulder, and I think the motion of following the horses' mouth helped loosen my shoulder up. I am still only doing a small fraction of the riding I'd like to be doing/used to do.

[camohn]

If you RC will be able to avoid surgery: you will know in 6 to 8 months post injury. If it is not better in 6 to 8 months it probably is not going to GET better.
If yo have the surgery be prepared to be REALLY out of commission for 6 weeks and then slowly getting better over the next 6 ot 8 months. Some folks DO recover faster, but best not to be disappointed either.
The spur you mentioned: may be the CAUSE of the RC tear. If you have a spur it may actually have sawed through your tendon. In that case....only surgery is going to fix it and the spur needs to be removed.
Mounting blocks are your friend..........

[Bluey]

If you RC will be able to avoid surgery: you will know in 6 to 8 months post injury. If it is not better in 6 to 8 months it probably is not going to GET better.
If yo have the surgery be prepared to be REALLY out of commission for 6 weeks and then slowly getting better over the next 6 ot 8 months. Some folks DO recover faster, but best not to be disappointed either.
The spur you mentioned: may be the CAUSE of the RC tear. If you have a spur it may actually have sawed through your tendon. In that case....only surgery is going to fix it and the spur needs to be removed.
Mounting blocks are your friend..........

Sight.
I will have so many more questions for him next time.
We will see where we go with this, but I am thinking maybe I ought to let the young horse go, he is doing great, winning with my friend and no telling when I can get back to riding.:(

Thanks, it is good to know what to expect.:yes:

[sid]

Yes, I had a full thickness tear diagnosed by MRI about 8 years ago. I never did have the surgery as I can't handle a horse with one arm, much less deal with a stallion in the breeding shed.

My other shoulder's not so hot either. I was doing "okay" as long as I always keep my elbows bent when lifting or throwing anything -- I look rather comical throwing hay:lol:.

It's recently flared up again and I'm just having to live with it. The pain is always worse while I'm sleeping. Not sure why that is.

The farm and rearing young horses has shot my body, for sure.

[baysngreys]

The pain is always worse while I'm sleeping. Not sure why that is.

RC injury, damn draft/X who lunges me right off the ground!

I also have the most discomfort at night. I'm a "side sleeper", and can't seem to find a comfortable position. Joint injections didn't help -sorry horses, didn't know they hurt so much!

Voltaren is my med of choice.

[FatPalomino]

No advice on this sort of injury, but jingles for feeling better really soon, Bluey.

A vet I know had a torn ACL for 10 yrs, he said. He didn't want to take the time off for surgery, and it wasn't that painful (he still skied often). He finally got it done a year or 2 ago when he found the time. The dr's tried to threaten him with the increased chances of arthritis, etc, but obviously it didn't get that much worse in the decade until he could find the time!

[Bluey]

No advice on this sort of injury, but jingles for feeling better really soon, Bluey.

A vet I know had a torn ACL for 10 yrs, he said. He didn't want to take the time off for surgery, and it wasn't that painful (he still skied often). He finally got it done a year or 2 ago when he found the time. The dr's tried to threaten him with the increased chances of arthritis, etc, but obviously it didn't get that much worse in the decade until he could find the time!

Thanks for the good well wishes and especially for that story, as it gives me hope that I can keep on going without surgery, if it does get any healing on it's own.
I am being VERY good, but it is very hard to remember not to use that arm, until it hurts.
I see why he has some people wearing a sling, so they don't forget and overuse it.

I did get the shredder PTO connected, hanging it from the 3 point hitch with a rope and working at it with one hand.
Those things are very contrary.

I bet it will be fine, eventually.
I think the torn part is what connects to the bicep, as that is what is also very sore.

At least the shot, that made me miserable for the first day, seems to now be helping some already.
I think that, if I am careful, I may be able to still exercise horses, to keep them legged up, if not really train them hard for a while.:)

[camohn]

FWIW I have 2 bum shoulders......RC tear on the left (did not get the surgery) and dislocated the right one. The key thing you mentioned here though is the spur. An acute injury related tear will at least not get WORSE. If the tear is from the spur cutting the tendon it WILL continue to get worse and needs to be dealt with.

[pintopiaffe]

Ahh...Bluey, you remind me of myself. Where there's a woman's will, there is a way.

No advice, just some jingles that the short term PITA is good for the pain the shoulder and surgery not needed. ;)

[Flash44]

Rotator cup is correct because every time you move it the wrong way and you feel that sharp pain you are allowed to drink a cup of something to make yourself feel better.

I did something to mine about 20 years ago when I fell off a horse and tried to hang onto the reins. It still flares up once in a while. The motion that occasionally sets it off is when I am brushing a horses neck or back and have my arm raised. So take it easy and follow your dr's directions. This type of injury usually needs enough exercise to promote circulation and prevent adhesions, but not so much that the new tissue is torn...

[Bluey]

Rotator cup is correct because every time you move it the wrong way and you feel that sharp pain you are allowed to drink a cup of something to make yourself feel better.

I did something to mine about 20 years ago when I fell off a horse and tried to hang onto the reins. It still flares up once in a while. The motion that occasionally sets it off is when I am brushing a horses neck or back and have my arm raised. So take it easy and follow your dr's directions. This type of injury usually needs enough exercise to promote circulation and prevent adhesions, but not so much that the new tissue is torn...

Thanks again to all.
Seems that the joint injection, that made it so sore for a couple of days, is now making it better, also that I am being very conservative with the use of that arm.

I feel like a horse that just had hocks injected.:eek:

I really thank all of you that had stories to share, gives me a more clear idea of all that is going on and what to expect, some good, some not so good and what to do to get back to ride fully again as soon as possible.
I am already thinking very hard of ways to do so, without causing harm, knowing what to look for and what to avoid.:)

[camohn]

Thanks again to all.
Seems that the joint injection, that made it so sore for a couple of days, is now making it better, also that I am being very conservative with the use of that arm.

I feel like a horse that just had hocks injected.:eek:

I really thank all of you that had stories to share, gives me a more clear idea of all that is going on and what to expect, some good, some not so good and what to do to get back to ride fully again as soon as possible.
I am already thinking very hard of ways to do so, without causing harm, knowing what to look for and what to avoid.:)

It is perfectly normal for the injection to make it more sore for a couple days. They should warn you about that....usually "they" (ortho) will (or SHOULD) tell you to rest and ice it for a couple days post injection.
Basically keep as active as you can within your comfort tolerance. (Yeah...I know....comfort is a relative term.....basically stuff that does not make it feel worse).

[Trevelyan96]

Bluey, sorry to hear about your injury.

The main thing is to limit overhead rotational movement with the arm. If you don't have surgery, that is something that will need to be aware of for life. If you take care of it now and rest it and it settles down, then you can slowly work to re-strenghen it some, but you'll never be able to 'over work' it again. Mine flared up when I started swimming daily. Dr. told me NO overhead strokes, and as long as I stick to that, I'm usually OK, but it took about 6 weeks for it to settle down. But its been about 5 years now, and now, even though I do have complete range of motion, any repetitive overhead motion like swimming or throwing a foot ball will set it off again.

I didn't have to stop riding, and cleaning stalls and all wasn't too much of a problem. Actually, compensating for the rotator cuff issue helped resolve my piano hands! I've also changed the way I lung a horse, keeping my hands a little lower, and I've found its actually a stronger position for my arm.

good luck... I hope you appointment next month is good news.

[atr]

I'm heartbroken my plastic sled got shattered into pieces by an inquisitive horse a few weeks ago and I'm back to using the damn wheelbarrow until they appear in the stores again!

Everyone else has given you good advice. I tore mine in a stupid accident to the extent that my right arm was pretty much incapacitated and I didn't have any choice or any time to prepare much for the surgery, and my husband had relatively recently had his first hip replacement, so that was a pretty grim winter! I didn't ride for 6 months. The barn got kind of embarassing, but the horses survived and so did we.

[Bluey]

Yes, they forgot to tell me it would be very sore, but it didn't seem like an infection, so I was not worried and sure enough, it is better now.
I had orders of icing it the first day, then heat twice a day for this month of resting it.

Overhead is what the Dr prohibited and sideways with any pulling or pushing that requires an effort.

I have a friend that had this same going on for a year, then one day his bicep attachment just pulled loose and he had to have surgery after all right then.
That is what made me go have this looked at, because, really, other than some discomfort, it is not that bad, compared with other that really keeps you from doing things.

At least now, with all this information here, I have so much more to go by and I have already been talking to my friend about riding the young horse, if I can figure how to get on and off without strain.
I am not up to vaulting any more, should have kept it up all these years.;)

[Bluey]

I'm heartbroken my plastic sled got shattered into pieces by an inquisitive horse a few weeks ago and I'm back to using the damn wheelbarrow until they appear in the stores again!

Everyone else has given you good advice. I tore mine in a stupid accident to the extent that my right arm was pretty much incapacitated and I didn't have any choice or any time to prepare much for the surgery, and my husband had relatively recently had his first hip replacement, so that was a pretty grim winter! I didn't ride for 6 months. The barn got kind of embarassing, but the horses survived and so did we.

Have you given the muck bucket carts a try?
They work well for me one handed, the cheaper ones with the little chains on the side the best for what I use them for, the stateline tack one, that is the lowest to get buckets in and out:

http://www.nextag.com/muck-bucket/compare-html

[Jumperprincess]

Surgery does not need to be risky(bad heart), they do not need to knock you out. Find an ortho doc where the anesthesiologist can do whats called a deltoid block. No pain for 10-12 hours afterwards. The recovery will take 1 year and there will need to be intensive physical therapy at least 3 times a week post-op at a facility and daily at home. I was in pain 6 months afterwards but my shoulder is 90% now. I laughed when my ortho said 1 year-and I worked like a dog at my therapy most of the shoulder replacements(which sounds like what you may need) fail because the recovery is so rough. I wish you the best of luck!

[Bluey]

Surgery does not need to be risky(bad heart), they do not need to knock you out. Find an ortho doc where the anesthesiologist can do whats called a deltoid block. No pain for 10-12 hours afterwards. The recovery will take 1 year and there will need to be intensive physical therapy at least 3 times a week post-op at a facility and daily at home. I was in pain 6 months afterwards but my shoulder is 90% now. I laughed when my ortho said 1 year-and I worked like a dog at my therapy most of the shoulder replacements(which sounds like what you may need) fail because the recovery is so rough. I wish you the best of luck!

Wow, that sounds right down scary, hopefully I won't have to go thru that.:eek:

What a trooper you were, to stand that kind of treatment.:no:

My friend the horse trainer, that had to have his bicep reattached, same surgeon I have, spent four months, six hours a day, hooked to a machine that moved his arm.:(

Sure hope I don't have to go there, really don't want to do that, maybe it will self repair sufficiently to be able to function a while longer.
I am being veeeeery good and doing all I was told to do.:)

If I were a horse, they would just shoot me.:yes: