Do you have a shoulder surgery coming up? Maybe you’ve had a recent shoulder surgery?

The recovery process can be pretty grueling, and, for obvious reasons, the shoulder is the main focus after a shoulder surgery; however, we can’t forget the rest of the arm!

Picture This

Picture this scenario…

Our mock patient, Sheila Shoulder, has just had a major shoulder surgery. Sheila has been told that she must remain in a sling for up to 6 weeks…That’s a long time!

Sheila wants to make sure she recovers the right way, so she does as she’s told and stays in her sling for 6 weeks. After her doctor clears her, she can finally remove her sling and start her rehab journey.

One thing Sheila is noticing though since removing her sling…The rest of her arm is very stiff and weak! She is even feeling a little aching along her entire arm too! Why??

Well folks, the old saying “use it or lose it,” has a lot of merit in this situation. While Sheila was a good patient and remained in her arm sling for the prescribed duration, the rest of the arm went to the wayside!

Fortunately, most surgeons and, of course, rehab specialists are very aware of this potential issue. As a result, early mobilization of the regions along the remainder of the arm are highly encouraged.

Depending on the exact surgery performed and precautions needing to be taken post-operatively, your surgeon and rehab specialist will guide you with the motions and exercise allowed and encouraged along the arm, outside of the shoulder.

Areas to Consider

Besides the shoulder, the remaining areas in the arm to consider during recover include the following:

• Elbow

• Forearm

• Wrist

• Hand

• Fingers

If we want a completely healthy and functioning arm after shoulder surgery, then we can’t forget about the above areas.

The regions furthest from the shoulder, such as the forearm, wrist, hand and fingers, are all usually safe to move after a shoulder surgery.

There are some situations in which your ability to actively move the elbow after shoulder surgery may be limited. The primary reason would be if the biceps were repaired during surgery. In this situation, you typically have to limit active elbow bending, or flexion, in order to allow proper healing of this muscle group.

So, unless any specific restrictions have been given, such as the biceps scenario, we want to make sure to begin moving these areas after surgery, without disrupting the healing shoulder.

How to Keep the Arm Healthy

While the shoulder is in the early phases of healing, keeping the rest of the arm mobile is pretty straightforward.

You can achieve this via passive, assisted, or active range of motion at the elbow, forearm, wrist, hand and fingers. Passive and assisted motions in these regions can be performed by yourself, a loved one, or your rehab specialist. Your rehab specialist will typically guide you through what exact motions and directions can be performed in each of these areas.

Your surgeon and rehab specialist will also let you know if you have any restrictions with regards to these regions. Certain shoulder surgeries may require you to be gentle even with the areas further down the arm. This could mean limiting active motion in these regions. Other surgeries may not require you to be as cautious, and may even allow you to begin gentle strengthening exercises in the more distal regions of the arm, such as with grip strengthening and light resistance training at the wrist and forearm. It all depends on your exact surgery and surgeon guidelines.

Keeping a proactive approach with maintaining healthy movement in the remainder of the arm after a shoulder surgery will allow your entire limb to make the best and fullest recovery. This will then allow you to begin using the arm more normally sooner rather than later.

If these areas are neglected, there is potential for disuse atrophy (i.e., the muscles waste away and get smaller), development of weakness, and difficulty with daily tasks, such as holding objects, writing, typing, grooming, dressing, etc.

If you’ve had a recent shoulder or have an upcoming one, make sure to speak with your surgeon and rehab specialist about how you can keep the entire arm healthy and mobile throughout your recovery.

Just keep moving!