An interesting survey addressed the question regarding going back to work, when, if ever. Of 365 patients who underwent rotator cuff repair, not rTSA, 305 were able to return to work by 6 months post procedure and 60 were not, or did not.
Two issues arise.
On the surface rotator cuff repair seems a less major surgery than TSA ot rTSA. But I did read that cuff repair often took longer to recover from than from TSA (total shoulder arthroplasty). And I have a friend who had a cuff repair shortly before my own surgery and she has had at least as rough a recovery as I, if not worse. It's hard to compare your own medical situation to someone else's.
Second, Motivation is a huge part of going back to work and it may have little to do with one's post op situation and more to do with liking your job.
A surgery may be the incentive one needs to take an early retirement. It might be the perfect opportunity to become that full time mom or wife you've been imagining yourself. If your job is too physical, like lifting heavy weight or making repetitive movements, you may see this time as an opportunity to look for a new job.
Could I do my old job at 173 days post rTSA? I think I could. Would I want to have to? Definitely, no. Is that a fair answer? Would "work" allow me a little lay-me-down in mid afternoon? Could I take a little longer to get a job done? Could I set aside more difficult tasks to another day when I felt more like tackling them? That's what I do at home. I say I can do anything if given enough time.
"Work" makes demands on our time and energy that are tolerable because we have gotten used to the inconvenience of it. The discipline of getting up and going to work everyday is learned as teenagers in our first summer job. If we make it to 65 and social security we have earned an honorary PhD in how to make a living and meet the requirements of a job. It's not that we quit working in retirement. Far from it. But we do it on our own terms, what we want to do when we want to do it.
So, if I am honest with myself, would I be back at work now, almost six months post op? If I weren't retirement age already? No. Could I do the job physically? Yes. But I have experienced the freedom of not working and I am spoiled. I don't think it would have taken six months off for me to unlearn the discipline of the forty hour a week job.
Two issues arise.
On the surface rotator cuff repair seems a less major surgery than TSA ot rTSA. But I did read that cuff repair often took longer to recover from than from TSA (total shoulder arthroplasty). And I have a friend who had a cuff repair shortly before my own surgery and she has had at least as rough a recovery as I, if not worse. It's hard to compare your own medical situation to someone else's.
Second, Motivation is a huge part of going back to work and it may have little to do with one's post op situation and more to do with liking your job.
A surgery may be the incentive one needs to take an early retirement. It might be the perfect opportunity to become that full time mom or wife you've been imagining yourself. If your job is too physical, like lifting heavy weight or making repetitive movements, you may see this time as an opportunity to look for a new job.
Could I do my old job at 173 days post rTSA? I think I could. Would I want to have to? Definitely, no. Is that a fair answer? Would "work" allow me a little lay-me-down in mid afternoon? Could I take a little longer to get a job done? Could I set aside more difficult tasks to another day when I felt more like tackling them? That's what I do at home. I say I can do anything if given enough time.
"Work" makes demands on our time and energy that are tolerable because we have gotten used to the inconvenience of it. The discipline of getting up and going to work everyday is learned as teenagers in our first summer job. If we make it to 65 and social security we have earned an honorary PhD in how to make a living and meet the requirements of a job. It's not that we quit working in retirement. Far from it. But we do it on our own terms, what we want to do when we want to do it.
So, if I am honest with myself, would I be back at work now, almost six months post op? If I weren't retirement age already? No. Could I do the job physically? Yes. But I have experienced the freedom of not working and I am spoiled. I don't think it would have taken six months off for me to unlearn the discipline of the forty hour a week job.
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