I had 3 tears; rotator cuff, bicep and the muscle that runs along the clavicle, surgically repaired in 2011. As stated above, it is a long, painful recovery process. That was my right shoulder, and it is ok, not great. My left shoulder has issues, but it is usually more of a nuisance than a handicap. It does flare up sometimes. I also have chronic spinal issues, 1 of 4 surgeries being a fusion of C5/C6, I have a mechanical disc at L5/S1, and while that was a long, hard rehab, the shoulder was considerably worse. The neck and shoulder issues feed off of each other. About the worse thing I can do now, for comfort level anyway. is get lazy and lay around doing nothing for more than a couple of days at a time. I am more prone to overexertion and the price that comes from that. At this stage, I rarely ride a bike more than an hour without stopping at least once. Even just a minute or two to lightly stretch and ease my bladder makes a large difference for me on longer rides.