Rehabilitation after surgery | The lime shoulder

Rehabilitation after surgery

Following an operation, the shoulder joint should be immobilised for a period of about 3 weeks. Afterwards, a longer period of physiotherapy is necessary to restore full mobility and freedom from pain. How long a patient is on sick leave after an operation for a calcified shoulder depends greatly on the individual stresses to which the patient is exposed.

The operation is often performed arthroscopically, but there is also a so-called needle lavage (Needling), in which lime crystals are first crushed and then suctioned off. Depending on the course of the operation and the individual healing process, a rest of about 3 weeks may be indicated. Patients who are exposed to heavy strain on the shoulder in their job may have to expect a somewhat longer period of absence.

Summary

The calcified shoulder is not a rare disease whose causes are not yet fully understood. The calcification, which is deposited particularly frequently on the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle in the shoulder, causes the tendon to swell and thus leads to a lack of space in the joint.Different structures can be irritated and react with inflammation and/or scarring, which causes pain and restricts the mobility of the joint. In many cases, the lime recedes without help from outside. If it does not, physiotherapy, extracorporeal shock wave therapy or, in an emergency, surgery can usually be used to remove all the calcium and thus cure the disease completely, as the risk of relapse is considered very low.