Post-operative rehabilitation program for rotator cuff tears

  1.Wear the brace for 10-12 weeks, 24 hours within 10 weeks, intermittently wear the brace after 10 weeks, and remove the brace after 12 weeks in good condition.  2.Functional exercise: 1)The first day after surgery: open hand and fist: take the initiative to slowly clench the fist to the limit, slowly and forcefully open the five fingers, do it as much as possible every day, accumulate a total of 500 times, after 6 weeks, you can stop the exercise.  2) Starting 2-3 days after surgery: Elbow joint activity: Remove the brace, lie on your back in bed, raise the back side of the upper arm and use the healthy side to drive the forearm to perform elbow joint flexion, extension and rotation exercises. (Remember: the shoulder joint and upper arm cannot produce any movement) 3) Two weeks after surgery: swinging exercise: remove the brace, support the affected arm with the hand on the healthy side, bend at 90 degrees with the back parallel to the ground, relax the affected arm, swing in the front, back, left and right four directions driven by the healthy side, each direction of activity to a slightly painful angle can change direction (do less in the medial direction, the angle should not be too large). Two weeks after surgery, swing once a day for 1 minute each time. Four to six weeks after surgery, swing both sides for two minutes each time every day.  4) From 3-4 weeks after surgery: Passive joint activities: (steps: remove brace → practice → wear brace → ice) Shoulder forward flexion: Sitting on the table exercise: Within 4 weeks: Hold the affected forearm by the healthy hand, slide the affected elbow forward under the driving of the healthy side, as much as the pain tolerates, once a day, one minute each time.  After 4 weeks: gradually increase the elbow sliding distance to twice a day as the angle allows.  Internal rotation of the shoulder: supine position, in the plane of the scapula, with the elbow fixed and the healthy hand assisting the affected hand to move towards the navel.  External rotation of the shoulder joint: supine position, in the scapular plane, elbow joint fixed, the healthy hand assisted the affected hand to move in the direction of the external upper.  5) Active activities with fixed elbow support can be performed from 8-10 weeks postoperatively.  6) Active non-weight-bearing activities can be performed after 12 weeks postoperatively.  3. Contraindicated movements: Active shoulder joint force is prohibited within 6 weeks after surgery; posterior extension, forceful shrugging, throwing, excessive internal retraction, external booth external rotation are prohibited within 3 months after surgery; lifting heavy objects is prohibited within 6 months after surgery.