So the best way to deal with these tears is by surgery. You can live without the repair, as I have demonstarted for the past who-knows-how-long, but to really return to the highest level of function, especially for an athlete, there doesn’t seem to be much other option. The surgery is most successful, with tears that occur 1) in patients 35 or younger and 2) following an acute injury, like the one I described happening to me (layout). There’s a whole host of literature on chronic issues, degeneration with aging, etc, etc, but I won’t get into that. If it tickles your curiosity, again, a simple internet search will reveal tons of information.
The main complications with the procedure (assuming the deltoid does not need to be detached) are shoulder stiffness, and inability to return to full strength. I don’t quite understand the full medical side of this, but then again, based on the literature I scoured, I don’t think the surgeons are 100% clear on it either. Suffice it to say, as I mentioned earlier, the tendon doesn’t get tons of blood flow, executing a correct and tidy reattachment is not trivial, and while younger people are more successful at coming back strong, they are also the most likely to re-tear because they will be returning to the athletics that cause the injury in the first place. Stress for post-operative stress is placed on a high baseline strength prior to the surgery, a strict approach to the instructions of the surgeon (i.e. adhering to necessary rest times), and a regimented adherence to the physical therapy once (~6-8 weeks post-op) active motion is allowed to resume in the shoulder. Disclaimer: any time line I provide is from my own experience and should be used as an idea. Your guidelines from your orthopedist and therapist are key in proper healing. They say not to use your shoulder for 8 weeks? Listen. Please.
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