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Turning after rotator cuff surgery

George Pagliarulo

George Pagliarulo

Joined
Apr 1, 2020
Messages
52
Likes
37
Location
Hudson, NH
I have a different type of question. I am chomping at the bit to start turning and implementing everything I am learning from you guys. Problem is I had left rotator cuff surgery a little over two weeks ago and have about four more weeks of wearing this big sling that looks like a recliner couch arm. I am right handed.
Even after I am out of the sling, the movement I should not be making with my left arm for a few months is lifting it out to the side. Bending it at the elbow is not an issue.
When I was turning before, I would hold the chisel at the tool rest with my left hand and put my right on the handle for control. My left left elbow was pretty much always pinned to my left side so there was little to no shoulder movement, and so little chance of screwing up the rotator cuff.
Is that proper ergonomics for turning? I want to start turning as soon as I can but I don’t want to do anything stupid either.
 
I was not turning regularly when I had my Surgery so cannot speak from experience . I would say no problem just do not try to turn any large pieces . Ask your Doctor but they have changed the allowed list since I had mine. Problems might be when placing blank on lathe, I use two hands there for sure. Oh and try real hard not to get a catch.
 
I never had that surgery but know several who did. Their recovery times were quite different. One about 6 months the other about a year.

To follow up on @Gerald Lawrence comment. I visited the guy with the long recovery about 4 months after his surgery to pick up some Jacarunda he was giving me. While I was there he asked me to put a bowl he was roughing out in his chuck and stay while he hollowed it out. Then he asked me to put another 10” dia blank on the lathe.
He then thanked me for giving him a 2 bowl day.
He lacked the strength to mount small bowls. His wife would put a blank on the lathe before she left for work. Then put it in the chuck when she got home so he could finish it. Another club member fixed him up with 10” blanks in plastic bags.

I hope you heal quickly. Listen to your doctor. Everyone gets back at different rates and with different capabilities during the recovery period.
 
Had same op done 20 odd years ago after physio finished I was back at work as a house builder left nail gun in ute and used hammer and increased
difficult nailing slowly. I was back to what I used to be in 12 months, use it or lose it but don't force it. Hope it works out for you and all the best.
 
The stance you describe is fine.
For most turning, you can keep the tool handle next to your body, and control the cut by moving your body - sway back and forth for straight cuts and bend a knee to lean to make curves. This is the most stable stance with great control. Sort of a slow dance with the tool.
It doesn't work for every cut, but you can almost double the cases where it does work by switching hands - move the tool handle to the other side of your body and swap which hand is on the tool rest. Sounds awkward to cut "left handed" but it's not hard to learn, since one hand is just resting on the tool rest and the other is simply holding the tool against your body.
That doesn't work for every cut - such as the long sweep needed to track around the inside of a bowl. These cuts can be done in stages to keep the tool closer to your body. Also, if you can, arrange things so you can stand at the end of the lathe, which helps reduce how far out you have to reach. And of course you should use your "good arm" on the tool handle for control and range-of-motion. Since your right arm is the good one, you should be ok.
 
“And of course you should use your "good arm" on the tool handle for control and range-of-motion.”

Good one. My right RC is a scopata inoperable mess. I should probably put the lathe on the floor and start practicing with my feet.

When I start I’m going to just be doing spindle work. It seems to me that would be the best way to get familiar with the tools again and be a bit less shoulder stress. Then I’ll move onto bowls.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Timely post, I'm on week 6+ now; just got the ok to get rid of the big sling last week (that SUCKED).

My repair was major; severe damage. When the surgeon saw my MRI results her actual words were: "you need surgery _now_. I can't fit you in tomorrow, but the day after I'll make it work" - and she did. Procedure went well. 3 / 4 tendons were torn badly, and the 4th had a 2cm tear.

PT started at 4 weeks, and week 5.5 was when I suddenly got 30-40% improvement in mobility, but still sore and limited range of motion.

I can't imagine turning right now, too much tightness, limited range of motion, and fear of getting hurt if things don't go well.

Strengthening is scheduled for week 12+ for me, so guessing 12-16 weeks before I will try turning anything. But we'll see...spoke with my PT about it and she said we'd monitor progress.
 
The sling is a safety hazard, so you shouldn't try turning until you can go without it. After that, the body mechanics of right handed tool holding should be fine, as long as you attend to some other ergonomics. Your lathe and/or tool rest heights may need to be adjusted, at least for a while. You'll also need to pay attention to the position of your feet, and you also may need to stand closer to the lathe. All of these adjustments have the goal of allowing you to anchor the tool on the tool rest with your left elbow close to or right at your side with your elbow bent about 90 degrees. I think your shoulder will tell you what's right and what's not.
 
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I would agree with the advice from Hugh above - listen to your physical therapist and your doctor. I would only add don't rush into things like turning until you are sure you are completely recovered and have built the strength and mobility back to the level that the physical therapist indicates is a successful recovery. My advice would be no turning until you are told you are at your full recovery, which I would think would be at least 10 weeks after surgery; maybe 12 weeks. I do have experience with rotator cuff surgery and recovery. Rushing things will only make a recurrence more likely, especially as we get older.
 
Doctors will just tell you not to do it for liability. I was able to turn with a broken left arm. Just keep it simple and go slow as you start. Dry run with the lathe off. Also if you have a hollowing setup, this is great for 1 handed hollowing. I was doing segmented work. It took 10 times as long and I used clamps and feather boards etc more than normal.
I cant find it, but for inspiration I have seen a video of a man with no arms turning with his feet for a living!
 
I have had both shoulders repaired. Both were torn lifting heavy green slabs of wood. Right shoulder in 2010, left shoulder in 2014. The surgeon who did my right shoulder listened to my request - don't treat me like a 51-year-old female, treat like a 25-year-old male. I told him I run chainsaws, lift heavy logs and blanks of wood, swing mauls and mallets, and do a lot of other things that females of any age typically don't do. He listened. He put my rotator cuff back together with two titanium screws buried deep into the bone. I was back to running my chainsaw 4 months to the day of the surgery.

In 2014 I had a different surgeon. (The first one moved out of state). He didn't listen. He tried to use plastic pins to repair my shoulder. He snapped three of them while trying to insert them and had to completely open my shoulder up to dig them out and finish the repair. As we age, our bones become brittle; it's easier to place a pin into older, brittle bones. He expected my bones to be brittle, and they weren't. It was over a year before I could fully depend on that shoulder.

So, the answer to your question is, it depends. Listen to your physical therapist. If something happens while you are turning, and you instinctively make a sudden reflexive move, you could be setting your recovery period back. By a lot.
 
I'm not a fan of medical advice on internet forums, but with an activity as unfamiliar as wood turning, the doctors and even the physical therapists won't understand the demands. Hearing the experiences of those who have been down the same road can be useful, but ultimately, you've got to explain the activity to them. As Donna found out, an arrogant surgeon may still not get it. (shame on him!) It might be possible to get a curious PT or OT to come watch you work, though.

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in our body. Rotator cuff surgery inherently reduces that mobility, with the result that it's a long, hard task to regain it. With the exception of the unexpected, as Donna sagely points out, woodturning doesn't require a lot of mobility in our non-dominant shoulder. We're not swinging an axe or pitching a baseball, or even swinging a golf club. Experienced turners don't really put a lot of stress on their shoulders, while turning, at least with small projects. Novices with white knuckles are a different story. Loading a large or green blank UP onto a spindle, is also a different story.

Yes, listen to your PT. And if you doctor listens to you, listen back. But first, explain to them what the activity is like, whether woodturning or something else you do. Use the same analytical skills you use as a turner to look at yourself while turning, so you can describe your actions and needs most clearly. All medical people are under tremendous time pressure these days, but you're important and it's OK to insist they listen to you, whatever is concerning you.

OK, off the soapbox, now.
 
I have a dammaged and worn out right shoulder. Waiting on the VA has left me 10 years with very limited movement. I have adapted my stance, and the range of motion to accomodate it. For me, a bit lower lathe works a bit better.
 
Thank you for all the advice. It is very helpful. I still have 4 more weeks in the sling so I am not going to be doing anything for quite a while. I am not going to do anything that would threaten the repair. I will definitely explain the mechanics of turning to the surgeon and PT see WhT they say.
 
My hands are not steady, so I try to keep both elbows tight against my body. Sounds like this is what you will need to do. Might want to consider wrapping it to your body when turning so you don’t inadvertently lift it.
 
I had rotator cuff surgery done on my right shoulder and foolishly overextended it with force so it retore and was inoperable. Had to have reverse shoulder replacement surgery. Now that it’s healed I’m able to do most anything. My left is still functioning, (it’s been repaired twice) and the surgeon was right when he said that my replacement would feel so good that I would want my left done too.
Bottom Line: it takes a lot of time to heal completely from shoulder surgery and replacement even longer. So why try to push it when it significantly increases the chances of reinjury and more problems. Nobody intends to rehurt themselves but when they do they usually always say” I shouldn’t have been doing that”
DAMHIK
 
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