Bicep Tenodesis Recovery?

Hey all,
I had a SLAP repair 10 years ago with a full recovery on my left shoulder, but I have developed some problems again.  I can still climb and climb up to the mid 12 range, but once I start pushing further the shoulder really gets pissed off.  I don't feel like I can train properly as well.  After MRI's, PT over the last 4-5-6 months, etc., the plan is to do a tenodesis to get the pull off the Labrum.  To be brief, has anyone had a straight forward tenodesis without any other major issues, i.e., RC repair, labrum anchors, etc?  If so, what was your timeline for recovery?  I have been given differing opinions from docs.
Thanks for the help

Not a pro, but I have the same problem, and surgery is the last option. I was told by med pro's that you should not be smoking, using NSAIDS or over training. Tendon's are poorly vascularized, and take a long time to heal if ever.

Ronnie Miller wrote: Hey all,
I had a SLAP repair 10 years ago with a full recovery on my left shoulder, but I have developed some problems again.  I can still climb and climb up to the mid 12 range, but once I start pushing further the shoulder really gets pissed off.  I don't feel like I can train properly as well.  After MRI's, PT over the last 4-5-6 months, etc., the plan is to do a tenodesis to get the pull off the Labrum.  To be brief, has anyone had a straight forward tenodesis without any other major issues, i.e., RC repair, labrum anchors, etc?  If so, what was your timeline for recovery?  I have been given differing opinions from docs.
Thanks for the help

I received bicep tenodesis as part of my torn rotator cup surgery. My left shoulder was pretty messed up so the doctor recommended and gave me surgery within days of MRI/CAT scan.

I was in shoulder harness for about a month. Started PT as soon as possible, (I think it was week 3 after incision sites healed). I was doing PT 3 times a week for 2 1/2 months.

I was cleared for full activity at 5 months. The doctor was happy to clear me earlier, but because I want to participate in various sports (skiing, climbing, etc), he went the conservative route. My therapist cleared me at 3 months.

My full body fitness came back around 6 months. My climbing was back around 12 months because I took it easy (both mentally and physically).

Edit: surgery was done at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Doctor was Dr Frank Cordasco. His office recommended a therapist with great result. I followed my therapist guideline closely.

Ronnie Miller wrote: Hey all,
I had a SLAP repair 10 years ago with a full recovery on my left shoulder, but I have developed some problems again.  I can still climb and climb up to the mid 12 range, but once I start pushing further the shoulder really gets pissed off.  I don't feel like I can train properly as well.  After MRI's, PT over the last 4-5-6 months, etc., the plan is to do a tenodesis to get the pull off the Labrum.  To be brief, has anyone had a straight forward tenodesis without any other major issues, i.e., RC repair, labrum anchors, etc?  If so, what was your timeline for recovery?  I have been given differing opinions from docs.
Thanks for the help

I had the exact operation you are referring to. It’s rough to be honest. The recovery sucks. At times I regretted getting the surgery during recovery. What stuck with me was when complaining to my ortho about the recovery and lingering pain he said, “remember when we fix a shoulder we generally do the most bad to do good.” After 5ish months I was lifting again very lightly, but still some discomfort at times. Honestly, I did not feel 100 percent better until literally almost 11 months on the dot. Your biggest enemy during recovery is going to be allowing scar tissue to build up. I think that may have happened with me and led to setbacks. As with any surgery, do the PT follow their orders and don’t deviate. I think it took until almost five months to get the 5lb limitation at a 90 degree angle lifted. Scary to think that lifting five pounds wrong (basically a gallon of milk) could re tear it up to 4-5 months out. Also, I was told once repaired another tear would not be fixed and I would have a “popeye” effect in my arm permanently. But the good news is...I now coach wrestling again with zero limitations, I lift heavy again with zero limitations, can do pull ups all day again and climb with no pain and full strength...you can DM as you near surgery and during recovery for more insight etc..long story short, surgery was worth it for me, but not without some struggles along the way...

I had a biceps tenodesis done about 9 months ago. I had fully ruptured the transverse ligament doing a hard move while bouldering. I also had some damage to the rotator cuff and labrum. I kind of had to have the surgery done because every time my arm moved in a certain way, I would get very sharp pains as the biceps slipped out of the bicipital groove and rubbed over the bone. I had my surgery done by Dr. Peter Hackett (out of the Steadman Clinic in Vail). He's done this surgery on many climbers. He's also a climber himself, so he understands the demands of the sport and can be very specific about the types of movements you need to be wary of post surgery. He's also done several studies on the shoulders of climbers, demonstrating that almost all of them have labral tears, but that many people are asymptomatic. I had a biceps tenodesis done, as well as some clean up work on the rotator cuff and labrum.

I followed a rehab program and started climbing again at about 3 months post surgery. I started off climbing v0-v2 and 5.10-5.11ish climbs in the gym. I definitely felt a bit weak in that shoulder and bicep. It was hard to pull up into locked off positions on that arm. I was very careful about not having to weight that arm unexpectedly in an uncontrolled manner during the first couple of months of climbing. By about 4 months out, I was climbing more in the v5-v7 range and mid 5.12. At 6 months, I felt pretty close to full strength again. By 8 months, I had climbed 5.13c and v10 again, which is just about my normal climbing range. I honestly don't think about it all that much these days. I do big dynos onto that shoulder and other powerful moves, like biceps heavy undercling moves. There are occasionally moves where I feel some weakness or where the move feels hard/tweaky on my bicep and shoulder. One such move is when you're pressing into your shoulder with your hand behind you, as you would do in a stemming corner. Dr. Hackett said those kinds of moves would be hard because in that position you are pulling hard on the new anchor point. So, I avoid those moves or just limit the number of attempts I would do on such a move. Having climbed on things that were long term projects for me pre-surgery, I didn't find myself limited in any way post surgery. And in fact, I actually was able to send a few of them post surgery.

So, my recovery has been pretty good overall and I'm happy with the decision I made. But, my case was a bit different. I think each individual's recovery/outcome will likely depend on the skill of the surgeon, effort made during the rehab stage, age, eating and lifestyle habits, as well as what your pre-surgery climbing level was. If you are someone who overly relies on the biceps/shoulders in your climbing, then you may have some more difficulties post surgery. If you are a relatively well rounded climber from a technical standpoint, then you will probably only notice it here and there. And it's likely that it would be more noticeable on steeper climbs/roofs than vertical to more gently overhung terrain. Your recovery timeline will also vary greatly if you are also having some sewing/anchoring done on the labrum/rotator cuff in addition to the tenodesis. I was fortunate to not have those pieces done. I still have some clicking in my shoulder, when I move it through it's full ranges and my bicep is probably not quite as big now as it used to be. I haven't really compared how much weight I can lift now to in the past, but that's because I don't do a whole lot of weight lifting.

Hope this helps. I would highly recommend Dr. Hackett for the surgery if you can make it happen.

Christian Prellwitz wrote: I had a biceps tenodesis done about 9 months ago. I had fully ruptured the transverse ligament doing a hard move while bouldering. I also had some damage to the rotator cuff and labrum. I kind of had to have the surgery done because every time my arm moved in a certain way, I would get very sharp pains as the biceps slipped out of the bicipital groove and rubbed over the bone. I had my surgery done by Dr. Peter Hackett (out of the Steadman Clinic in Vail). He's done this surgery on many climbers. He's also a climber himself, so he understands the demands of the sport and can be very specific about the types of movements you need to be wary of post surgery. He's also done several studies on the shoulders of climbers, demonstrating that almost all of them have labral tears, but that many people are asymptomatic. I had a biceps tenodesis done, as well as some clean up work on the rotator cuff and labrum.

I followed a rehab program and started climbing again at about 3 months post surgery. I started off climbing v0-v2 and 5.10-5.11ish climbs in the gym. I definitely felt a bit weak in that shoulder and bicep. It was hard to pull up into locked off positions on that arm. I was very careful about not having to weight that arm unexpectedly in an uncontrolled manner during the first couple of months of climbing. By about 4 months out, I was climbing more in the v5-v7 range and mid 5.12. At 6 months, I felt pretty close to full strength again. By 8 months, I had climbed 5.13c and v10 again, which is just about my normal climbing range. I honestly don't think about it all that much these days. I do big dynos onto that shoulder and other powerful moves, like biceps heavy undercling moves. There are occasionally moves where I feel some weakness or where the move feels hard/tweaky on my bicep and shoulder. One such move is when you're pressing into your shoulder with your hand behind you, as you would do in a stemming corner. Dr. Hackett said those kinds of moves would be hard because in that position you are pulling hard on the new anchor point. So, I avoid those moves or just limit the number of attempts I would do on such a move. Having climbed on things that were long term projects for me pre-surgery, I didn't find myself limited in any way post surgery. And in fact, I actually was able to send a few of them post surgery.

So, my recovery has been pretty good overall and I'm happy with the decision I made. But, my case was a bit different. I think each individual's recovery/outcome will likely depend on the skill of the surgeon, effort made during the rehab stage, age, eating and lifestyle habits, as well as what your pre-surgery climbing level was. If you are someone who overly relies on the biceps/shoulders in your climbing, then you may have some more difficulties post surgery. If you are a relatively well rounded climber from a technical standpoint, then you will probably only notice it here and there. And it's likely that it would be more noticeable on steeper climbs/roofs than vertical to more gently overhung terrain. Your recovery timeline will also vary greatly if you are also having some sewing/anchoring done on the labrum/rotator cuff in addition to the tenodesis. I was fortunate to not have those pieces done. I still have some clicking in my shoulder, when I move it through it's full ranges and my bicep is probably not quite as big now as it used to be. I haven't really compared how much weight I can lift now to in the past, but that's because I don't do a whole lot of weight lifting.

Hope this helps. I would highly recommend Dr. Hackett for the surgery if you can make it happen.

Thanks Christian.  This is super helpful.  I actually had a 2nd opinion/MRI consult with Dr. Hackett. Ultimately, I decided to do the surgery here in Phoenix due to cost, time/work issues, etc. The surgeon here is in the same skill tier as Dr. Hackett, so I am not worried about that issue.  Do you recall how early you began your PT?  As of right now, and per the MRI, I have no labral or RC tears outside of the old one that was repaired in 2010.   

Christian, do you do any HIT strip or hang board training?  If so, when did you resume it?

Ronnie, I began PT literally the day after the surgery. I had a 'pain pump' in so I still couldn't move my voluntarily move my arm, but the PT moved it around a bit and taught my girlfriend how to move it through a range of motion. I don't remember the milestones of PT exactly, though there are definitely restrictions on lifting weight above a certain threshold for a while. But, I was able to get back to most daily activities in around a month or less.

The way that I tried to stay in shape for climbing, was mostly finger training. From pretty early on post surgery, I was still training my left arm (non surgical), by using The Block from Tension Climbing. I would just hang it at my side. I also discussed with my surgeon and PT at what point they would start letting me use The Block on my right side. The advantage of The Block (if you're unfamiliar with it) is that you are not hanging off the shoulder, but rather keeping the shoulder in a neutral and strong postion, and mostly engaging the fingers and forearms. When you're done with a rep, you can just lower the weight or drop it to the ground. I started off slowly, but quickly built it up to being stronger than my non surgical arm again (which is not surprising, since I'm dominant on my surgical arm side). But, it seemed like a really controlled way to maintain/build up finger strength, without the heavy loading of the shoulder/arm that comes with normal hangboarding. Even before the surgery, I used The Block a lot anyway because I prefer it for certain strength focuses and it is definitely much easier on your shoulders then hanging with 100lbs plus your body weight. I ended up doing more of a repeater protocol at first, because I could achieve fatigue/stimuli with lower weight.

You won't really get a chance to start hanging body weight off a hangboard/climbing until you get more around the 3 month point. Bicep curls or similar things are probably the types of exercises that you will have to hold off on the longest, mostly because they pull on the anchor point the most. When I returned to climbing, I started off climbing in a gym because the holds are bigger and so I felt like I could control my movement much better without having to worry about an unexpected foot pop. I returned to climbing outside at closer to 4 months. Once I started climbing outside, I stopped doing the finger training/other stuff that I was doing because I didn't want to overdo it. Fortunately, I climb in places where I can climb outside year round, so I haven't started a training cycle again since the surgery. Pre-surgery, I tended to do around 3-4 training cycles per year that consisted of hangboarding, campusing, some weight training (not much) and usually lots of Moonboarding. I haven't done a cycle since the surgery mostly because of other life related things. Though I am curious what it will feel like when I return to those specific types of activities.

Additionally, once the 'pain pump' stopped, I didn't take any prescription pain medication at all. Just tylenol. I wasn't being heroic or anything. My pain was honestly not that bad and I knew I would get back to feeling more like myself faster if I didn't take pain medication. I also used one of those commercial ice machines to help with the swelling. Other than that, I focused on eating healthy, getting lots of protein and giving myself time to relax and recover initially. I don't drink or smoke (anything) already, so that wasn't an issue. I did continue drinking coffee though. :) Having had other surgeries, I thought this surgery was one of the less painful that I've had. It certainly is funny at first when it's a struggle to get your bicep to flex and raise your hand to you, but you should move past that stage quickly.

And both Dr. Hackett and my PT told me that I could be out of the sling as soon as I was able to, which was pretty quickly. I did still wear it when I went out in public for the first week or so to protect it in the event that I fell or that someone knocked in to it (advice of my PT).

Christian Prellwitz wrote: And both Dr. Hackett and my PT told me that I could be out of the sling as soon as I was able to, which was pretty quickly. I did still wear it when I went out in public for the first week or so to protect it in the event that I fell or that someone knocked in to it (advice of my PT).

Thank you again!  My surgeon wants me in the sling for about 3 weeks. I think he is conservative to prevent failure, but he also does a slightly different technique than Dr. Hackett. So, maybe that is the difference?  Obviously I will be out of it during PT.  It sounds like my guy wants me to start PT a bit later too.  Of course, I already have a PT session scheduled earlier.  

Too funny...I bought The Block yesterday to do the same thing you described!  It was recommended to me by Jared Vagy (I did a movement/PT consult with him).

I hate pain meds as well and have the ice/water pump ready to go.  My hope is to either take no meds or maybe just a day or two.  I can't stand them!  

Thanks you again for telling me you experience.  It has been very helpful.

   

I had biceps tenodesis about 4 years ago. ( as well as bone spur removal and fixing rotator cuff tendon fraying). Recovery-wise same experience as a Christian. I was back to before-surgery climbing grade around 7-8 months after surgery.

Don’t remember using painkillers much. When the nerve block wears off, it is rough couple days. But Alleve PM was adequate to get me to sleep at night, and the pain didn’t seem bad during the day.

I had PT appointment 3 days after surgery. But really, the first few weeks you are only doing range-of-motion and managing the swelling. The strengthening PT starts in earnest once your scar tissue is fully formed. So if you have a limited number if PT/OT sessions that your insurance pays for, better to ration them for later . 

as far as a sling goes, yes, my dr also told me going in to expect the sling for 3 weeks, but i didn’t need it for that long. it is really all about managing expectations. If they tell you sling for a week, and you plan something at work for day 8, that requires you to be out of sling, and can’t do it, you’d be pissed. But if they tell you to make PLANS for being in the sling for 3 weeks, and at your post-op appointment a few days after the surgery the dr tells you that you should only sling as needed, you’d be quite happy. That was my experience. The dr told me to sling “as needed” once the dressings came off. And I didn’t need it. 

Lena chita wrote: I had biceps tenodesis about 4 years ago. ( as well as bone spur removal and fixing rotator cuff tendon fraying). Recovery-wise same experience as a Christian. I was back to before-surgery climbing grade around 7-8 months after surgery.

Don’t remember using painkillers much. When the nerve block wears off, it is rough couple days. But Alleve PM was adequate to get me to sleep at night, and the pain didn’t seem bad during the day.

I had PT appointment 3 days after surgery. But really, the first few weeks you are only doing range-of-motion and managing the swelling. The strengthening PT starts in earnest once your scar tissue is fully formed. So if you have a limited number if PT/OT sessions that your insurance pays for, better to ration them for later . 

as far as a sling goes, yes, my dr also told me going in to expect the sling for 3 weeks, but i didn’t need it for that long. it is really all about managing expectations. If they tell you sling for a week, and you plan something at work for day 8, that requires you to be out of sling, and can’t do it, you’d be pissed. But if they tell you to make PLANS for being in the sling for 3 weeks, and at your post-op appointment a few days after the surgery the dr tells you that you should only sling as needed, you’d be quite happy. That was my experience. The dr told me to sling “as needed” once the dressings came off. And I didn’t need it. 

Thanks Lena, that makes a lot of sense and I hope it is my experience too.  

Ronnie Miller wrote:

Thanks Lena, that makes a lot of sense and I hope it is my experience too.  

I am very envious of both those recovery stories myself. Those short of healing time tables were never even remotely discussed as possibilities by my surgeon. I was out of a sling after 18 days, but didn’t even think it was possible to have clearance for some of the activities they were doing after such a short period. I did backpack on it about a month out, but honestly didn’t think some of those things they mentioned were even possible. I went through the Core Institute in Phoenix and I know they have a unique philosophy, so maybe they were just super conservative. I also had a cap on PT and had to do a lot of PT on my own, so maybe that created some snags in my recovery. I also waited way too long to get surgery and had spent about a year and a half living off cortisone shots, so maybe I was just starting from a very deep hole to begin with in terms of recovery..

Lee Chandler wrote:

I am very envious of both those recovery stories myself. Those short of healing time tables were never even remotely discussed as possibilities by my surgeon. I was out of a sling after 18 days, but didn’t even think it was possible to have clearance for some of the activities they were doing after such a short period. I did backpack on it about a month out, but honestly didn’t think some of those things they mentioned were even possible. I went through the Core Institute in Phoenix and I know they have a unique philosophy, so maybe they were just super conservative. I also had a cap on PT and had to do a lot of PT on my own, so maybe that created some snags in my recovery. I also waited way too long to get surgery and had spent about a year and a half living off cortisone shots, so maybe I was just starting from a very deep hole to begin with in terms of recovery..

Every surgery is different, and the drs are different, too. Going in, I was told to expect no climbing for 6 months. But at 3 months post-op appointment the dr said that the strength looks good, the scar tissue is fully formed, and he would be ok with me resuming climbing carefully. 

And my understanding is that yes, cortisone shots do affect the recovery. I waited for about 6 months after the initial injury to have surgery, had a cortisone shot initially, and was doing PT to see if I could live with it. I almost could... PT got me pretty far. I was climbing the weekend before I had surgery. But one think that my PT was very adamant about was not getting any cortisone shots for at least 3 months before surgery, if I were thinking about surgery, because in her experience people who were on cortisone had a lot slower recovery. I asked the surgeon about it, and he kinda hedged it a bit, along the lines of “well, one shot won’t make that much difference in the long term...” but I still opted not to have one in the 4months before surgery. 

ETA: the PT you see is almost more important than the surgeon, IMO. I had a knee surgery a few years back, when my insurance was crap, and only covered PT at a specific clinic (HMO). After going to that PT a few times I bit the bullet and paid out of pocket for the rest of the year, until I changed insurance. The in-network PT thought that doing dishes and vacuuming the floor was the extent of full recovery. I’m not kidding. 

Ronnie Miller wrote: Hey all,
I had a SLAP repair 10 years ago with a full recovery on my left shoulder, but I have developed some problems again.  I can still climb and climb up to the mid 12 range, but once I start pushing further the shoulder really gets pissed off.  I don't feel like I can train properly as well.  After MRI's, PT over the last 4-5-6 months, etc., the plan is to do a tenodesis to get the pull off the Labrum.  To be brief, has anyone had a straight forward tenodesis without any other major issues, i.e., RC repair, labrum anchors, etc?  If so, what was your timeline for recovery?  I have been given differing opinions from docs.
Thanks for the help

Ronnie - some good info above and I'm sure you are fit, etc.  But how old are you??  I think you should be hearing from climbers at least your age (or older).  If you're in your 40-50's and hearing about the recovery time of a 28 year old climber, good luck...

Lena chita wrote:

Every surgery is different, and the drs are different, too. Going in, I was told to expect no climbing for 6 months. But at 3 months post-op appointment the dr said that the strength looks good, the scar tissue is fully formed, and he would be ok with me resuming climbing carefully. 

And my understanding is that yes, cortisone shots do affect the recovery. I waited for about 6 months after the initial injury to have surgery, had a cortisone shot initially, and was doing PT to see if I could live with it. I almost could... PT got me pretty far. I was climbing the weekend before I had surgery. But one think that my PT was very adamant about was not getting any cortisone shots for at least 3 months before surgery, if I were thinking about surgery, because in her experience people who were on cortisone had a lot slower recovery. I asked the surgeon about it, and he kinda hedged it a bit, along the lines of “well, one shot won’t make that much difference in the long term...” but I still opted not to have one in the 4months before surgery. 

ETA: the PT you see is almost more important than the surgeon, IMO. I had a knee surgery a few years back, when my insurance was crap, and only covered PT at a specific clinic (HMO). After going to that PT a few times I bit the bullet and paid out of pocket for the rest of the year, until I changed insurance. The in-network PT thought that doing dishes and vacuuming the floor was the extent of full recovery. I’m not kidding. 

Ya I am happy for you and Christian to hear such great recovery stories, but now kind of bummed with my own recovery tbh, lol. I agree on the PT statement you made. That or the lack of supervised PT I should say was key for me I think. Just when I started to feel good, I got a letter saying I had met my cap. My ortho and PT fought for me with insurance, but they wouldn’t budge. Got a two sentence denial. “Your request for additional PT had been denied. Please continue PT at home.” lol And I had to wait a year as it was after discovering I needed the surgery because I had to wait for a new enrollment period because I had been living on the edge with a high deductible plan for years and there was no way I could eat a 5k deductible. Even the ice machine Christian talked of was denied for me and deemed out of network. Fast forward to today and I am 15 days in recovery from a knee surgery. When my ortho found out that the ice machine was out of network, he said BS and personally had someone deliver one to my home for a $25.00 deposit. My bicep T was my first surgery and really my first injury and I guess in hindsight I now wish I had did some thing differently or maybe bit the bullet on PT as you did. But sadly for me some of my decisions were made in the interest of costs. School teacher in Az struggles, lol...

As to the above comments about age, I do think that certainly can help/hinder recovery, as well as overall health. For reference, I had just turned 39 at the time of surgery.

I had a biceps tenodesis for an otherwise uncomplicated SLAP tear on my right shoulder in 2014. I remember hearing that I could climb within 3-4 months but I didn't feel ready and waited longer. (I had been doing all the recommended PT including the very early start after surgery.) I remember doing some 4th class/scrambling around that time and taking another couple of months to really climb on it. And then as I tried to ramp back up to full pre-surgery strength I had lots of tiny setbacks, like finger pain, elbow pain, and I had to carefully manage my ramp-up with a lot of pauses. It kind of sucked, but it all worked out eventually and the shoulder's great. I don't think I really climbed at pre-surgery level until about 1.5 years later. I was 33-34 yo at the time.

But it's really great to hear stories of faster recovery and return to pre-surgery climbing level well within a year. I'm going back under the knife for a biceps tenodesis on the left side (could be a more complicated case though, really hoping not) in 3 weeks from tomorrow, and also hoping for a speedier return to full climbing strength than last time. Good luck Ronnie.

Lee Chandler wrote:

Ya I am happy for you and Christian to hear such great recovery stories, but now kind of bummed with my own recovery tbh, lol. I agree on the PT statement you made. That or the lack of supervised PT I should say was key for me I think. Just when I started to feel good, I got a letter saying I had met my cap. My ortho and PT fought for me with insurance, but they wouldn’t budge. Got a two sentence denial. “Your request for additional PT had been denied. Please continue PT at home.” lol And I had to wait a year as it was after discovering I needed the surgery because I had to wait for a new enrollment period because I had been living on the edge with a high deductible plan for years and there was no way I could eat a 5k deductible. Even the ice machine Christian talked of was denied for me and deemed out of network. Fast forward to today and I am 15 days in recovery from a knee surgery. When my ortho found out that the ice machine was out of network, he said BS and personally had someone deliver one to my home for a $25.00 deposit. My bicep T was my first surgery and really my first injury and I guess in hindsight I now wish I had did some thing differently or maybe bit the bullet on PT as you did. But sadly for me some of my decisions were made in the interest of costs. School teacher in Az struggles, lol...

I don’t think your recovery from shoulder surgery was that much different, in the end. To be sure, when you are in the thick of it, the difference between 8 months and a year seems huge. But in the grand scheme of things? It sounds like you are happy with the results long-term, so did those 4 months really matter? 

my husband likes to remind me that after both surgeries I was convinced that I had made the mistake of my life, everything was ruined, things were going poorly, and I would never climb again (usually a few days to weeks post-surgery, LOL). 

Looking back, the knee recovery was much longer and bumpier. I was non-weightbearing for 2 months after surgery, gradually weighting the leg and learning to walk after that, barely hack to normal walking at 3months. I was toproping at 4 months, and leading at 6, but didn’t feel like I made a full recovery until 1 year mark, working with PT the entire time. 

But again, several years down the road... full recovery on both, and no limitations, seems pretty good, and the difference of a few months not that big a deal. 
I hope your recovery goes well! 

Lena chita wrote:

I don’t think your recovery from shoulder surgery was that much different, in the end. To be sure, when you are in the thick of it, the difference between 8 months and a year seems huge. But in the grand scheme of things? It sounds like you are happy with the results long-term, so did those 4 months really matter? 

my husband likes to remind me that after both surgeries I was convinced that I had made the mistake of my life, everything was ruined, things were going poorly, and I would never climb again (usually a few days to weeks post-surgery, LOL). 

Looking back, the knee recovery was much longer and bumpier. I was non-weightbearing for 2 months after surgery, gradually weighting the leg and learning to walk after that, barely hack to normal walking at 3months. I was toproping at 4 months, and leading at 6, but didn’t feel like I made a full recovery until 1 year mark, working with PT the entire time. 

But again, several years down the road... full recovery on both, and no limitations, seems pretty good, and the difference of a few months not that big a deal. 
I hope your recovery goes well! 

I think you nailed it with that. I think for anyone who is active and in recovery it can be a tad bit disheartening at times. But I do agree, worth it. Luckily, this one is a minor one by knee surgery standards, torn meniscus and a little cartilage damage. Already weight bearing and rehabbing, much better experience overall, "so far." lol