Labrum surgery (dislocated shoulder)

I tore my labrum back in high school... The surgery was conducted via 3 laparoscopic sites and I spent 3 months in an immobilizer sling, day and night. It took 3 months of physical therapy, twice a week to regain a full range of motion in my shoulder. With an additional 4-6 months after that before I could lift a gallon of milk with my arm straight and not feel like it was gonna snap at the shoulder.
I continued to play high school sports after recovery though it always bothered me in the weight room. It's been 10 years since the surgery and I still suffer an ache after a day of kayaking or raking leaves in the yard. Up skiing, it doesn't bother me unless I fall with my arms above my head and come down on my shoulder/armpit. As for swimming, the freestyle and butterfly technique make me worry as I sometimes hear crunching and popping, the breaststroke seems to work best, though I didn't do any pool physical therapy...perhaps something to look into if you're a big swimmer/surfer.
It's a long and slow recovery... I really wish you the best OP. Happy to answer any questions.

**This post was edited on Apr 9th 2022 at 2:43:09am

You’ll be fine, stay on top of your PT and you’ll be all good by next season. I dislocated my shoulder again first week of this season and just destroyed my rotator cuff, I wore a sully harness and rode the entire season.

I had to get the Latarjet surgery in late October cuz I dislocated about 35-40 times and as a result was missing ~%15 of the bone that holds the shoulder in place. So ya, mine was totally fucked. Anyways, I didnt get cleared to ride until march but I said fuck it and rode the whole season (started late december). Went super easy tho, like insanely cautious, no tricks until mid February. Idk what procedure you are getting but what I will say for sure is don’t be stupid and don’t do anything where you risk falling until you at least have FULL ROM. Physio and doctors always recommend getting back to full strength before riding but tbh you’ll know when you’re ready to ride again. I rode before being full strength and slammed on it pretty damn hard a couple times, you just gotta remember never extend your arm when falling. But we already learned that the hard way didn’t we lol

Heres a basic timeline for my surgery. I got the Latarjet procedure done and man it went smooth.

First part was shitty after surgery ngl. Got my arm outta the sling at around week 4. Took everything pretty slow. Didn’t force anything. Around the 3 month mark I got full rom except for my external rotation. This will be the hardest one to get back so make sure to keep on those physio exercises or else you’re fucked. I missed 2 days of doing exercises at one point cuz I didn’t feel good and it significantly lowered my rom. It came back really quick but that goes to show how consistent you gotta be with it. Started doing tricks skiing at probably 3.5-4 months in and for me personally, I knew I was ready. My shoulder clicked a little (and still does) but once I got full rom I exercised a lot with really light weights and I could tell I could slam on it if I wanted, and believe me, I slammed on it hard. It was chill tho, no problems. I could have probably rode a little earlier but I don’t recommend pushing it, its not worth it. My surgery was Oct. 28 and im finally almost full strength now.


Just be patient, don’t force it. You will know when you’re ready.

BLandzHeres a basic timeline for my surgery. I got the Latarjet procedure done and man it went smooth.

First part was shitty after surgery ngl. Got my arm outta the sling at around week 4. Took everything pretty slow. Didn’t force anything. Around the 3 month mark I got full rom except for my external rotation. This will be the hardest one to get back so make sure to keep on those physio exercises or else you’re fucked. I missed 2 days of doing exercises at one point cuz I didn’t feel good and it significantly lowered my rom. It came back really quick but that goes to show how consistent you gotta be with it. Started doing tricks skiing at probably 3.5-4 months in and for me personally, I knew I was ready. My shoulder clicked a little (and still does) but once I got full rom I exercised a lot with really light weights and I could tell I could slam on it if I wanted, and believe me, I slammed on it hard. It was chill tho, no problems. I could have probably rode a little earlier but I don’t recommend pushing it, its not worth it. My surgery was Oct. 28 and im finally almost full strength now.


Just be patient, don’t force it. You will know when you’re ready.

Gotcha thank you. Probably gonna get the surgery at the beginning of May... I'm fine with being laid up / in a sling for a month, but come June I know I'm gonna be losing my mind if I cant at least hike again. Also would love to be able to get a backpack on / maybe even be swimming by the end of June or mid July.

i have chronic shoulder dislocations but i've never had an injury like this, usually i just use a personalized method to pop it back in. did you know immediately that something was really wrong? when my shoulder comes out of course it hurts but it's not debilitating, was there a sharp pain separate from the dislocation? i'm interested in this because basically every time i fall it comes out, but like i said its an easy fix for me. i hope you have a smooth and fast recovery bro.

Timbyi have chronic shoulder dislocations but i've never had an injury like this, usually i just use a personalized method to pop it back in. did you know immediately that something was really wrong? when my shoulder comes out of course it hurts but it's not debilitating, was there a sharp pain separate from the dislocation? i'm interested in this because basically every time i fall it comes out, but like i said its an easy fix for me. i hope you have a smooth and fast recovery bro.

I was in the most pain I've ever experienced... and I've broken a number of bones / gotten injured a lot. I literally couldn't move on my own or think straight until they put it back in at the ER. It went back in extremely easily once I relaxed.

I'm currently back working/coaching and can use my arm with 99% ROM and about 50-75% (strength depending on the angle). It occasionally clicks and feels like theres something wrong. From my understanding the tear they found in the MRI isn't that significant, but due to skiing and doing other high impact activities they want to repair it to prevent the ligaments from getting more stretched out, and the possibility of bone chipping away they more it happens.

Taking a shower this morning before skiing, lifted my arm to wash the soap off my arm pit.... shoulder slid out a little. Not the best way to start the day.

d_kolI was in the most pain I've ever experienced... and I've broken a number of bones / gotten injured a lot. I literally couldn't move on my own or think straight until they put it back in at the ER. It went back in extremely easily once I relaxed.

I'm currently back working/coaching and can use my arm with 99% ROM and about 50-75% (strength depending on the angle). It occasionally clicks and feels like theres something wrong. From my understanding the tear they found in the MRI isn't that significant, but due to skiing and doing other high impact activities they want to repair it to prevent the ligaments from getting more stretched out, and the possibility of bone chipping away they more it happens.

Ya I recommend getting the surgery 100%. I put it off for a year and did way more damage than necessary. Also, some ppl's dislocations are different. The guy above said that his is fine when it comes out, he just puts it back in. I also know a guy who can voluntarily dislocate his with very little pain/discomfort. Its not the same as what we have. When mine came out, it hurt like a bitch every time. First time it came out, I needed a nurse to put it back in, after that when it came out, it would stay out for several minutes until my muscles relaxed enough for me to put it in myself. I found the best technique for me putting it back in was take a deep breathe, exhale while grabbing my elbow with my good arm and raise it towards the sky. It usually took several times before it went in again and would sometime stay out for like 10 mins. The more times it came out, the easier it was to put back in but it always hurt pretty bad.

i've torn both my left and right labrums.

had open surgery on my right.

had arthroscopic surgery on my left.

avoid open surgery if you can. really painful.

make sure you do your physical therapy after surgery.

Speaking from experience as a patient with an unstable shoulder who opted for labral repair, 10 years later I wish I never did it.


I’m a physical therapist now and I think labral surgeries are WAY overdone, especially in younger patients.


Once you open up the joint with a labral tear, even with arthroscopic techniques it’ll never be the same. Plus surgery adds more trauma.


What I WISH I would have done when I was 18 was find a good sports PT and rehabbed hard for 6 months to build muscle and stabilize my shoulder.


I hope I can shed some light. Please DM if you want to chat further

SkierPTSpeaking from experience as a patient with an unstable shoulder who opted for labral repair, 10 years later I wish I never did it.


I’m a physical therapist now and I think labral surgeries are WAY overdone, especially in younger patients.


Once you open up the joint with a labral tear, even with arthroscopic techniques it’ll never be the same. Plus surgery adds more trauma.


What I WISH I would have done when I was 18 was find a good sports PT and rehabbed hard for 6 months to build muscle and stabilize my shoulder.


I hope I can shed some light. Please DM if you want to chat further

What exact surgery did you get and what negative effects do you have now. Like what do you mean by your shoulder will never be the same.

In my experience my surgeon said I was missing like 10% or maybe even 15% of the bone that holds my shoulder in place and I would dislocate like all the time constantly. Do you think in my case I needed it or do you think if I just jacked up my shoulder super hard if would have been better.

BLandzWhat exact surgery did you get and what negative effects do you have now. Like what do you mean by your shoulder will never be the same.

In my experience my surgeon said I was missing like 10% or maybe even 15% of the bone that holds my shoulder in place and I would dislocate like all the time constantly. Do you think in my case I needed it or do you think if I just jacked up my shoulder super hard if would have been better.

Once you tear the labrum, the biomechanics of the shoulder joint change. The negative “suction” pressure that exists due to the fluid in a closed system is released and no surgery can ever get this back.

For my case I had a moderate lateral labral tear. I had arhroscopic surgery and rehabbed for 6ish months. I didn’t not rehab well enough post-op but I was young and my parents didn’t know any better.


2 years after surgery I dislocated again and re-tore the same labrum. At this point I was getting into fitness and decided surgery wasn’t happening again. I rehabbed myself for months and continue to on and off to this day.


My shoulder is currently stiff lacking external and some internal rotation, BUT it’s mostly stable. I can lift weights as I want, I just avoid overhead press. I can ski and fall hard and be fine. Which makes me think how better it could be if I never had additional trauma via surgery.

SkierPTOnce you tear the labrum, the biomechanics of the shoulder joint change. The negative “suction” pressure that exists due to the fluid in a closed system is released and no surgery can ever get this back.

For my case I had a moderate lateral labral tear. I had arhroscopic surgery and rehabbed for 6ish months. I didn’t not rehab well enough post-op but I was young and my parents didn’t know any better.


2 years after surgery I dislocated again and re-tore the same labrum. At this point I was getting into fitness and decided surgery wasn’t happening again. I rehabbed myself for months and continue to on and off to this day.


My shoulder is currently stiff lacking external and some internal rotation, BUT it’s mostly stable. I can lift weights as I want, I just avoid overhead press. I can ski and fall hard and be fine. Which makes me think how better it could be if I never had additional trauma via surgery.

I have a similar situation,

I tore my labrum being an idiot skiing in 2014, it kept slipping out of place after trying to rehab it so I got surgery a couple months later. I probably wasn't the most diligent at post-op PT but I did my best and it felt strong.

Two years later I fell on it skiing again, and felt it pop out. That time it subluxed so much less movement and slipped back into place easily. I stopped throwing with my right arm, and hit PT hard, trying to roll my shoulders backward and strengthen my middle back (apparently this contributed to some postural instability). I got it feeling strong, able to rock climb, do pullups and throw again and didn't really think about it much for a while.

Fast forward to last fall. I ate shit washing out on a berm mtn biking, and it subluxed again. Since then I've kinda accepted I just need to consistently do shoulder stabilization and PT and work it into a regular weekly gym routine. OP hopefully you have better luck with the operation, my advice would just be to really put a ton of work into your rehab and PT, even after you feel like its back to normal strength.

Any updates op? Recently subluxated my shoulder and am wondering how your recover turned out