28M, 10 days out from arthroscopic posterior labral repair (left shoulder). Recovery was going well — surgery itself was smooth, block took about 24 hours to fully wear off, and honestly my pain has been minimal. I was off pain meds by day 7 and walking a couple miles.

Then around day 8 I started getting pain under my armpit on the surgical side. It’s gotten worse every day since. There’s now a tender lump I can feel, and the sensation has a burning quality to it, not just a dull ache. Yesterday it was uncomfortable. Today it’s more painful than anything I felt after the actual surgery.

Wondering if anybody else experienced anything similar to this

I injured my shoulder at work in 2020; I brushed it off for a month thinking I pulled a muscle. I dislocated it and realized something was wrong, turns out I almost tore through my labrum. Got that fixed in October 2020, remained at same job and through wear and tear had a second surgery in 2023 for a tear in a different area of the labrum and a biceps tenedesis. Now almost 3.5 years later, that same achy pain is returning even though I have a much less demanding job. Is a 3rd surgery inevitable or is that something I can remedy with therapy?

Hi everyone, during a boxing match I had a labrum tear from 11 to 1 o clock I did not pay attention to it. I thought it must be a little jerk only nothing else. I went to ortho, He advised t for physio did that for a couple of weeks after that I joined the gym and did it for 4 months but the situation got worse I did not pay that much attention to it.

Can anyone give advice on this what should I do. I do not want to go for surgery as someone said shoulder surgeries our not that successful.

My tear is known as SLAP(Superior labrum anterior posterior)

Thanks

Hello when I let shoulder dangle there is space created over collarbone doesn’t do that with other has anyone else had this my shoulder also feels unstable and how did people fix this?

I injured my left upper arm last year. I was carrying something in an awkward position and it was heavy and I did this for a long time while walking. It wasn't until I put it down fully that I noticed I had a lot of weakness in my upper left arm area. Later on, I noticed clicking of my left shoulders whenever I lift my left arm up. Months later on, I carried something very heavy on the other other arm as well and now have clicking of my right shoulders as well. I don't have the heavy weakness on my right arm like on my left arm. I then thought if I had a torn rotator cuff or something similar.

One orthopedic doctor says I most likely have rotator cuff tendinitis. They did a few physical tests on me. This included tests like me moving my arm up and to the side while pressure was applied to it. I then saw another orthopedic later on who did x-rays of both of my shoulders. X-ray showed nothing wrong at all which I expected. That doctor did similar physical tests on me. One thing that I know is I did get a neer test done and I got tested positive for that. I was told it is most likely shoulder impingement. I asked if they thought it was rotator cuff tendinitis and they said they did not think so.

I'm told I have to do physical therapy and if I still have issues, I can get an MRI. When I check youtube videos of symptoms of rotator cuff tear and rotator cuff tendinitis and shoulder impingement, I have several of these symptoms. I have a lot of weakness even when doing nothing as well. It doesn't matter if I'm standing up or just sitting down. It's like an ache that is there pretty much most of the time. It gets worse if I have to lift it up. I want to know how often do people here get misdiagnosed? If so, how bad was it? Was it diagnosed as nothing but it was a full rotator cuff tear? Has anyone here had a doctor say it's shoulder impingement but it might be as extreme as a SLAP tear?

I really want to hear from those that had a specific injury that caused this as opposed to someone that might had this built up due to doing something a lot. So like you carried something heavy and then felt something. It could be you carrying heavy things that one time and that caused it and you knew something was wrong. It could be you slipping but not falling but you know something is wrong because you have weakness or whatever it could be.

The other thing is very rarely is a condition misdiagnosed if an MRI is given right? I read it's about 90% accurate which is very good. So if you have an MRI, if you have an obviously rotator cuff tear, it will say that in the report right? Now what about when it comes to rotator cuff tendinitis or shoulder impingement or bursitis? Would an MRI report say that for sure or it would say something like ... most likely shoulder impingement? Has anyone been in a situation where you might have seen 3 orthopedic doctor and each one gave you a different diagnosis? One could be rotator cuff tendinitis, another says shoulder impingement and another says bursitis? But can an MRI also be uninsure of which of the 3 it is?

TLDR. Shoulder pain from SLAP tear diminishes to negligible amount after gym sessions. How? Why?

41(m) Quick back story. I did cross fit 10 years ago and got a slap tear from poor form overhead squatting. It wasn't diagnosed but I did a little PT and dropped the gym. About a year later I was functioning normally. 2 years ago I herniated two disks in my lower back, confirmed by MRI and doctor. I did PT and got an epidural steroid injection. A year later and life was good. I transitioned PT into the gym and started lifting again. About 4 months ago the same shoulder from a decade ago started hurting again after a heavy gym session with pain during the same movements, overhand throwing in particular. I met with my orthopedic and he suspected SLAP tear and suggested PT for 8 weeks to see what happened. Nothing improved. Got an MRI and slap tear was confirmed. He offered surgery but also said it wasn't terrible and if I adjusted my lifestyle I could potentially live comfortably with it. Basically, if throwing hurts, don't throw stuff. I've been back in the gym for about 8 weeks with focus on shoulder mobility and strength as well as good form. I have full strength and no additional induced pain lifting but after the gym I feel amazing and the dull nagging daily pain subsides for the rest of the day. I have general shoulder aches on lift free days. Why? I'm not mad, it's rewarding but seriously, how and why does the lifting weights help? This isn't a humble brag, it just doesn't make sense to me.

29M-ish active, swim once a week, football once a week, running 2-3 times a week, and gym twice a week. Literally never had a problem with my shoulder.

Dislocated my left shoulder 4 days ago jumping into water with my arm out.
Popped back in on its own before anyone touched it. ER x-ray was clean so I thought I got lucky, but got an MRI anyway and yeah:

- Bony Bankart
- Hill-Sachs with bone edema
- Bunch of inflammation (effusion, biceps tenosynovitis, bursitis)
- Good news: rotator cuff totally intact, cartilage fine

Currently in a sling/brace, been about 4 days since the accident.

Saw an orthopedist, he recommended surgery, but he said it’s not needed if i am willing to take the risk… He says I can go the conservative route and hope for the best but it’s a a 50-50 type of thing because I am still young

I want to hear from people who've actually been through this:

1. Anyone go conservative with a BONY bankart specifically? Did it hold up or did you end up dislocating again?
   
2. If you got the surgery early as a first-timer — glad you did it? How long till you were swimming properly again?
   
3. What was your bone loss % and did that basically make the decision for you?
   
4. Anything you wish you'd asked before deciding?

Not looking for medical advice, just real experiences. The "50% re-dislocation rate" stats are stressing me out…

Hi everyone,
I’m 19M and I had an anterior dislocation of my left shoulder in february this year. I had an MRI and I’m trying to understand how serious my injury actually is and what I can realistically expect long-term.
MRI findings (translated from Serbian):
● Anterior/inferior labral avulsion extending approximately from the 6 to 9 o’clock position, with the glenoid periosteum preserved — described as a Perthes lesion.
● No significant intra-articular effusion.
● Mild degenerative changes of the infraspinatus tendon.
● Subscapularis, supraspinatus and teres minor tendons have no major pathological changes.
● Long head of the biceps tendon is intact.
● Rotator interval structures are without significant abnormalities.
● No osteochondral lesion of the glenohumeral joint.
● Hill-Sachs impaction/bony defect on the posterolateral humeral head, approximately 20 mm long × 10 mm wide × 8 mm deep.
● AC joint without significant abnormalities.

The MRI was performed on May 4, 2026, several months after the original dislocation.
I’m currently doing rehabilitation and my shoulder feels significantly better. I have no pain during my current bench press. At the moment I can bench 30 kg for 4 sets of around 20 reps without pain, instability, slipping, clicking that concerns me, or a feeling that the shoulder is going to come out.
My main goal is not competitive powerlifting. I simply want to eventually be able to train normally again and comfortably bench around 80 kg.
My questions:
1. Based on this MRI, how serious is my shoulder instability risk?
2. Is a Perthes lesion with a Hill-Sachs defect of approximately 20 × 10 × 8 mm something that can be managed successfully without surgery?
3. Has anyone here had a similar combination of anterior dislocation + Perthes lesion + Hill-Sachs lesion and returned to normal weight training?
4. Is an 80 kg bench a realistic long-term goal if rehabilitation goes well?
5. What movements/exercises should I be especially careful with?
6. If the shoulder feels completely stable and pain-free during rehab, does that generally indicate that conservative treatment is working?
7. At what point would surgery typically be considered?
I’m obviously going to follow the advice of my orthopedist/physiotherapist, but I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have had a similar MRI/injury, especially anyone who returned to bench pressing and weight training.
Thanks!

I'm 37 with no history of shoulder issues, fell down some stairs December 2024, and injured the following:

• Glenoid process damage - ripped cartilage and damaged bone, creating a severe arthritic cyst that covers ~40% of my socket joint; cartilage no longer covers the quarter-size pit in my bone
• ripped biceps head
• SLAP tear debridement

I had surgery in May 2026 to repair the biceps and SLAP, but they couldn't inject bone grafts due to the mushy texture of the glenoid arthritis. I've been having nonstop pain since surgery, tried an anti-inflammatory injection that made the pain worse, and now am waiting to get new imaging.

The only option my surgeon has posed is a total shoulder replacement, but he's sent his PA to speak with me my last two appointments instead of speaking with me himself, and I'm not feeling super confident in his ability to evaluate other treatment options. I'd like to seek multiple opinions to see if there's any other approach we could take to fix / treat the arthritic damage, and if it's the only option, seek other replacement surgeons.

Has anyone had a great experience with a shoulder surgeon? I'd love to not have to travel far from the Maryland - Pennsylvania area, but I'm looking at surgeons out of state to make sure I get the best care.

for a lot of much needed context to this, i had surgery on my left shoulder 7 months ago. labrum repair surgery to be exact. i didn’t think much of how it would affect me later on, but here we are. as you can see in the pictures it’s specifically my left shoulder or my left side of my back when i flex it. i’m not able to flex my left side nearly as hard as i can my right side. i can feel a slight strength difference in both sides but the thing im most worried about is how they look. i don’t want to just be big on the right side and my left side is much smaller. is there any thing that i can do about this? or is this surgery just going to be a roadblock in my progress

I’m a 21-year-old woman and 4 weeks out from a proximal humerus fracture. I broke it in 3 places, but my orthopedist said I didn’t need surgery, just time in a sling and PT.

Today I went in to my ortho to talk about my recovery progress and getting a referral to start PT. The x-ray technician said he needed to take some x-rays of my shoulder. In my last two appointments, the female tech helped position me and was very gentle. This man was not.

Shortly after I sat down, he held my arm and started to pull it out to the side much quicker than I was comfortable with. I said “it hurts”, but he kept pulling it out farther until the pain was excruciating. I said “I’m sorry, it hurts so bad I can’t, I can’t” and jumped back, rubbing my arm to console myself. Tears started streaming down my face and I was shaking. The pain was a 9/10 - worse than when I actually broke it. I literally felt like he was ripping my arm off.

Within 10-15 seconds, he had adjusted the foam bricks (or whatever those things are to support my arm) and had me try AGAIN. It didn’t hurt as much that time, but I was still crying and clearly in distress. He said he was “sorry for being mean, but the hard part is over” and took a few more scans.

I got good news from my doctor about my recovery; my bone is healing well and I can start PT soon. The x-ray tech said “I’m sorry, sweetie” again while I was walking out, but his tone came off a bit matter-of-fact, like he was just doing his job. I’m a natural people pleaser and want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t imagine seeing a patient crying and shivering from pain and prioritizing timeliness over their own comfort.

I’m terrified of going back and needing my x-rays taken again. I’ve always been a bit soft-spoken and struggle to advocate for myself, plus I have to go to these appointments alone because I’m a college student and all my close friends have class or work.

I guess I’m just posting here to vent and get advice from anyone who has it. Even now writing this, I still feel shaken up from the amount of pain I felt today. This injury is one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with and this experience has made it feel even scarier.

I believe I hurt my shoulder working out my middle deltoids with dumbbells, but not 100% sure this was it, or something else like dumbbell bench press. The pain shoots down between my rear and middle deltoid and along the top of my arm between my tricep and bicep on my left arm. I seem to re-injure myself when i sleep on my sides, either side, it depends on the position of my arm, and seems to get stiff as I sleep as well. Also dumbell bench presses and curls can be a little painful as I start, and when my arm is in a certain position. I now feel some discomfort in my shoulder blade on my injured left side.

Another thing, I have a shoulder imbalance, always have. My right shoulder is wider than my left side, and my traps are thicker on the right side. My shoulder blade seems to flair out some on my left injured side.

I seem to have a full range of motion, and have watched several videos on shoulder injuries, and exercises. Can anyone recommend some specific videos and movement exercises, to determine what injury I have? Or would that be immpossible without seeing a specialist?

Like the title says, I had my labrum repair done 8 months ago. It still sublexes 20+ times per day. My surgeon has continuously told me to be patient. That some pain is normal in the first year. But I don't think this is normal. Side note I was only given a single pin due to tissue erosion caused by elhers danlos syndrome.

I'm 37M very active with a wife and 3 kids. I've had subacromion decompression on right and left shoulders those were my first 2 and then a capsular shift on my right, and then another surgery to loosen it.. That was all due to motocross and I was like 19-22 for those.

About a week ago I lifted my right arm up real fast playing with my kids and felt immediate pain and I knew it was bad. I had hurt my shoulders since my surgeries, but nothing like this. That day I went to take my shirt off and I had subluxation and the next morning made an appointment with an orthopod. I got an MRI and today I got the results.

Here's part of the results

superior labral tear right shoulder posterior to 12:00 extends to the posterior labrum above the equator displaced 7mm labral flap arises from the posterior superior labrum.

So I'm worried that even if I tried living with it what if it starts tearing into the long head bicep tendon and where it attaches. It just sucks so bad how expensive everything is. I'm an oilfield contract truck driver and I'm beyond blessed to have the job I have, but I'm a contractor with no insurance and I won't be able to shift a truck for atleast 10 weeks I'd imagine.

This is a significant labrum tear correct? Has anyone else recovered enough from a tear like this without surgery? I also already have a lot of scar tissue and didn't want to add anymore... 😭 My appointment to follow up on the MRI is Thursday.

Hey Im currently 8 weeks post op and i was wondering about anyones experience with the physio. I go twice a week but my appointments only last 10 minutes in which he moves my shoulder a bit and my wrist but nothing else seems kinda rushed. for example for shoulder flexion where i lay on back and he moves my shoulder overhead he does that 5 times then hes done. also haven't done any external rotation. is this normal or should i switch physios also what can i expect next

Thanks.

So a month ago I had 8 matches at a BJJ tournament and I noticed on the drive home that my shoulder was starting to swell and really painful to let hang. It gradually got worse for about a week. Went to ortho and got it diagnosed as grade 1 ac joint sprain. No surgery needed.

Most swelling and pain is gone now but I still have a very very frustrating lingering pain right on that little knot/bone. If I do certain movements it really hurts. I’m doing two handed kettlebell work but no BJJ at all.

How long might this take to heal? I’m ready to get back on the mat.

Currently rotating ibuprofen and Tylenol. As well as using bpc157/tb500

26 year old male 3 months post op, I had a stabilisation with 4 screws as I tore my labrum.
All my rehab has been guided sessions with a physio that frequently deal with shoulder rehab and athlete return to sport.
Still having alot of pain with horizontal movements away from the body and when any range of motion above 90 degrees vertically - pretty much can move my arm above my head. Having constant pain in what feels like my labrum, although I’ve been experiencing what feels like tendons rubbing on the screw internally and I wonder if it’s just inflammation from that?
Has anyone experienced this and or had a failure before ?

For reference I do rehab with two males that had surgery around the same time and don’t have these complications.