Bad shoulder

[Ronnie z]

I never thought i would be asking this question.Has anyone here ever had tears to their bicep muscle that couldnt be repaired by a doctor.I flyfish and use both arms for casting but reel line in with my right hand only.I use my left hand to hold the rod while fighting a fish.Now that i cant support the rod with my left arm is there some kind of bracket that they make for this problem.Just looking for some ideas.

[MontanaMoose]

Hello RonnieZ, do I gather you are right handed, cast right handed then change the flyrod to your left hand so you can reel with your right hand?

MontanaMoose

[Dixiejack]

I had rotator cuff surgery on my left (I am left handed) shoulder 4 years ago that was not totally successful and one of my three rotator cuff muscles is torn in my right shoulder. I cast with my left hand and have adapted to holding my left arm close to my body when I cast. Although I don't get the distance I used to get my accuracy is now about the same before surgery. I have found that when my shoulders start sending pain messages, I rest for about 30-45 minutes and go back to casting. I find that an understanding wife who massages my shoulders with Biofreeze (which can usually be bought at a hospital therapy clinic) relieves the pain. Also, vertical lift exercise with about 6-pack of weight works wonders on strengthening your muscles (not repairing them). It is not the weight as it is the repititions that help. The 6 pack makes it fun. Hope that my experience gives you drink for thought.

[Ronnie z]

Originally Posted by Dixiejack

I had rotator cuff surgery on my left (I am left handed) shoulder 4 years ago that was not totally successful and one of my three rotator cuff muscles is torn in my right shoulder. I cast with my left hand and have adapted to holding my left arm close to my body when I cast. Although I don't get the distance I used to get my accuracy is now about the same before surgery. I have found that when my shoulders start sending pain messages, I rest for about 30-45 minutes and go back to casting. I find that an understanding wife who massages my shoulders with Biofreeze (which can usually be bought at a hospital therapy clinic) relieves the pain. Also, vertical lift exercise with about 6-pack of weight works wonders on strengthening your muscles (not repairing them). It is not the weight as it is the repititions that help. The 6 pack makes it fun. Hope that my experience gives you drink for thought.

Considering im still working out with two pound weights,when i get up to the six pack i hope their cold.lol

[yatahey]

Hey Ronnie,
Sorry to hear about the shoulder.
Last Friday night I was helping my neighbor move an upright freezer full of frozen food up onto his deck. We were using a basic two wheeled hand dolly with no strap. As we started getting the thing up over the edge of the deck the damn thing shifted to the right and started to go over. My natural reaction was to reach out and grab the thing. Not good. It tweaked my right shoulder bad and put me in the emergency room the next morning.
Well, I got to the Orthopedic last Wednesday and he's not sure if it's a rotator cuff or upper scapula injury. Gotta go back next Wednesday for another visit after the swelling goes down a bit more. He did give me a shot of Cortisone, which seems to be working as of this moment. There is a possible MRI in my near future for this too.
Several years ago I had a ruptured bicep in the same shoulder as a result of a freak accident. I was working on a handrail on the second floor of a commercial building and my hard hat fell off my head. As it dropped I reached out to swat it back and the tendon just snapped off my shoulder. Not much pain and the Orthopedic doc said my muscles would just compensate and there was nothing he could do.
It sounds to me like your injury is similar to what happed to me.
The ruptured bicep has never hampered my ability to work (finish carpentry) or cast, but this latest incident has put me out for at least 2-3 weeks, maybe more. And the pain is much worse this time around.
Anyway, I noticed your age at 55. The bicep rupture happened to me at about that age. I'm now 60 and I believe the weakened shoulder from the first injury contributed to this current injury.
What I'm getting at is that as we age our bodies begin to degenerate, like it or not. I've always been a physical person my whole life and it's hard to admit to or adjust to the fact that it's now time to start taking things a little more on the soft side. Lesson learned the hard way.
Here's a link to a website for Orthopedic patients. It's a site to educate patients about their injury and covers a few FAQ's. Under "Item Title" look down to "Bicep Rupture". There's some good info there. Hope this helps.
Shoulder Patient Education - Orthogate - Improving orthopedic care, education and research with Internet technologies
My goal now is to train myself to cast lefty and leave the heavy work to younger bodies.
Now if I can just get those garbage cans in the back of my pickup, I gotta make a run to the dump.
Good luck with the shoulder and tight lines.

[Ronnie z]

Yatahey great article to read .The funny thing about my shoulder was that i didnt even know i had tore it. I was going in for surgery on this impingement thing and when i awoke the doc was telling me about the bicep.If it was just the bicep that wouldnt be that bad, but combined with the rest of the stuff going on.The surgeon admitted to me that my shoulder is shot.

[Bigfly]

Tore my rotater cuff a few years ago. So painful I struggled with a seatbelt.
Quit rock climbing and got serious fishing again. Fly fishing rehab did the trick.
Heard later physical therepists for ML Baseball recommend it off-season for pitchers.
If recovery doesn't happen so easily for you guys, consider the switch rod, fish all day with no strain. No kidding!

[FISHN50]

About 12 years ago I was going down the basement stairs & tripped on some laundry my wife had thrown down the stairs. I gripped the handrail so hard I twisted my shoulder out of the socket. My shoulder was not up to par since V.N. anyway & I couldn't even throw a baseball hard without tearing it up & having to take it easy for a few days or weeks sometimes. After this incident I had to have shoulder surgery again & this time I had a non-military doctor who knew what he was doing. He repaired the recent damage & worked on the old wound site & what a difference. After a month or so of therapy it was & still is, I guess about 90% . It still will get a little sore after a lot of casting but what the hell, I'm past 60 & i like to take breaks anyway. I agree that Fly casting helps build up the muscles & help heal & keep the shoulder flexable. Some of the physical therapy I had sort of had the casting motion anyway. My point is It was 20 years after the initial damage that I really had it repaired so maybe you should look into another doctor. With all the advances in sports medicine I would think that there is a repair for what sounds like a common injury.

[Ronnie z]

Originally Posted by FISHN50

About 12 years ago I was going down the basement stairs & tripped on some laundry my wife had thrown down the stairs. I gripped the handrail so hard I twisted my shoulder out of the socket. My shoulder was not up to par since V.N. anyway & I couldn't even throw a baseball hard without tearing it up & having to take it easy for a few days or weeks sometimes. After this incident I had to have shoulder surgery again & this time I had a non-military doctor who knew what he was doing. He repaired the recent damage & worked on the old wound site & what a difference. After a month or so of therapy it was & still is, I guess about 90% . It still will get a little sore after a lot of casting but what the hell, I'm past 60 & i like to take breaks anyway. I agree that Fly casting helps build up the muscles & help heal & keep the shoulder flexable. Some of the physical therapy I had sort of had the casting motion anyway. My point is It was 20 years after the initial damage that I really had it repaired so maybe you should look into another doctor. With all the advances in sports medicine I would think that there is a repair for what sounds like a common injury.

Everyones injury is different.I did check with other doctors and it cant be repaired.The bicep was shredded because of the injury.By the time surgeon got to it it was to late.Sometimes things cant be repaired.

[FISHN50]

Sorry to hear that Ron. I'll ask around & see if there is anyone who can help. You might try "Healing Waters" They take a lot of injured Vets fishing & they might have info on some type of brace that will help .