prind0

So I recently found out I have a labral tear in my shoulder . Long story short the doctor recommends that I get shoulder surgery which he said would keep me from having full use of my arm (in terms of being able to play football again) for about 6 months, which I equate to at least 3 months off the road but I'll know more once I go in again and talk more about the surgery with my doc.

So I was wondering what type of training/workouts I could do that would keep me from losing too much of my riding strength. I have an indoor trainer, would I be good just to jump on it and do some workouts on that? If so, are there any specific workouts that anyone recommends that can be done without the use of one of my arms? Also, are there any weight training exercises that I could do to supplement my riding strength, once again ones that can be done without the use of one of my arms.

vic303

Buy or borrow a recumbent trike (Catrike is a nice one) and ride that for about 9mo. It will take months for your shoulder to fully heal internally, strong enough to tolerate a possible fall. You have a hard time falling, on a trike.

My experience? In 2009, 1 major open shoulder surgery (5" ventral incision) involving 6 spyderwire sutures and 3 bone anchors, plus cutting the biceps tendon and moving it back where it belongs. I spend 8wks in the "pillow sling combo" with my arm strapped to my side on the pillow, and another 4 wks in the sling alone before we started ANY rehab. After around 2-3mo of PT/rehab I was fortunate enough to regain 100% use of my shoulder and no pain. At the time, I was not riding at all, but I know had I taken a fall of any kind on my shoulder it would have been devastating to the repairs done.

Whatever you do, be careful with your shoulder and let it heal fully.

ratdog

Just be advised that shoulder surgery will be one of the most painful surgeries you've ever experienced. When my sports doctor/surgeon told me that I didn't believe him, but I found out after the nerve block wore off that he wasn't kidding. I ended up sleeping in a chair for 3 nights because the slightest dip in the position of the shoulder brought excruciating pain. You probably won't gain full strength for close to 8 months, but full range of motion should come back after 2 months of rehab/therapy.

Best of luck with the surgery.

prind0

So in all reality staying off the road (to avoid the risk of falling) until I'm healed would be the best thing to do? A recumbent is not really an option, first off due to finances and second off there aren't many bike trails/paths around me and I'm a little at bay about riding a recumbent in traffic. Going with my first question, would riding the trainer be advisable as a way of just staying comfortable on the saddle (came at the worst time too, I'm just a few parts away from finishing up my first "nice" build).

I'm going to get a second opinion in about a week or two so I'm not 100% sure I'm gonna have the surgery, but it's apparently about a 40% tear so I'm not being too hopeful. Either way thanks for the kind words and advice.

Colonelmom

I had surgery done in winter of 2010, was on the trainer after about three weeks, once I was off most the pain meds.. Initially I had to ride sitting straight up (like riding with no hands) because my sling got in the way... once I was allowed to take my arm out of the sling... I still road the trainer, and I couldn't even reach the handle bars with my "bad wing" As my range of motion increased, I was able to reach the handle bars... I would slowly put weight on the arm... I think it was 3 month after surgery before I road outside, and my surgeon was not happy. BUT the weather getting nice and I could not stand the trainer any more...
SO, just come up with a great indoor trainer program, and then take it slow.. My legs were ready for long rides, but the shoulder was not... I went out once TOO early in recovery and ended up riding back 5 miles with just my good arm on the handle bars...
good luck

valygrl

I think you need to talk to your doctor about what you'll be able to do after.

I had arthroscopic debridement of a supraspinaus tendon and labrum tear with acromial arch decompression, I was on the stationary bike in 1 week and on the road bike in 3. No mountain biking or rock climbing for 3 months.