06-22-2015, 07:24 PM
My father is in amazing physical condition for a man 86 years old. He still raises cattle on his farm and cuts enough firewood every year to heat his home for the whole winter. He even split the wood with an ax or maul until he was into his 70's. He has a woodsplitter now, but he still falls the trees, cuts them up, hauls and stacks all of the wood.
This year his shoulder finally gave out on him. he can't lift his arm above shoulder level. They did an MRI and the doctor told him that his rotator cuff (a group of tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint) was completely torn. The doctor also said that the tendons were so worn out that they could not be repaired. If they were sown back together they would just tear again. So instead he ordered some physical therapy and told my dad he may need a shoulder joint replacement.
My dad does not think that physical therapy will help, and he also did not understand how replacing the the bones in the shoulder joint would help with his rotator cuff problem. He asked me to do some research and I found some fascinating information about a "reverse shoulder replacement".
Everyone knows that there is a ball on the end of the arm bone that fits into a socket in the shoulder. With a reverse shoulder replacement they attach a ball on the shoulder and the socket is on the end of the arm bone. Then somehow the way they reattach the muscles allows the shoulder to work without the rotator cuff tendons. I am sure it will not work as well as a normal shoulder joint, but it is supposed to function a lot better than a shoulder with no rotator cuff tendons.
I still don't know exactly how it works, but it is fascinating that they even thought of something like this. Anyone have any experience with this procedure? The doctor said it would heal faster and have less pain than repairing the rotator cuff tendons.
Anyone else ever heard of this?
This year his shoulder finally gave out on him. he can't lift his arm above shoulder level. They did an MRI and the doctor told him that his rotator cuff (a group of tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint) was completely torn. The doctor also said that the tendons were so worn out that they could not be repaired. If they were sown back together they would just tear again. So instead he ordered some physical therapy and told my dad he may need a shoulder joint replacement.
My dad does not think that physical therapy will help, and he also did not understand how replacing the the bones in the shoulder joint would help with his rotator cuff problem. He asked me to do some research and I found some fascinating information about a "reverse shoulder replacement".
Everyone knows that there is a ball on the end of the arm bone that fits into a socket in the shoulder. With a reverse shoulder replacement they attach a ball on the shoulder and the socket is on the end of the arm bone. Then somehow the way they reattach the muscles allows the shoulder to work without the rotator cuff tendons. I am sure it will not work as well as a normal shoulder joint, but it is supposed to function a lot better than a shoulder with no rotator cuff tendons.
I still don't know exactly how it works, but it is fascinating that they even thought of something like this. Anyone have any experience with this procedure? The doctor said it would heal faster and have less pain than repairing the rotator cuff tendons.
Anyone else ever heard of this?
