Would you visit Disney wearing an arm sling?

[North of Mouse]

I've been living with a torn rotator cuff for a few years.
I have not had surgery on it as of yet.
I've also broken my arm and wore a sling to the parks at a younger age.
I didn't think walking around in the sling was a big deal just that I was not able to go on a few attractions.

Well, not knowing you, or your situation, cannot comment further on that, just know that, for me, the pain was such that just trying to do what I absolutely had to do was almost more than I could handle, before, and after surgery.
Mine was not rotator cuff issues.

 

[Lost Yeti]

Your answer pretty much lies in Hootch's advice.

I would discuss it with your doctor.

Speaking as a physical therapist, no one knows your situation better than yourself and your doctor.

That being said, you WILL get bumped by people and/or in attractions and (IMHO) it's just not worth compromising the integrity of the surgical repair.

 

[cgattis]

Your answer pretty much lies in Hootch's advice.



Speaking as a physical therapist, no one knows your situation better than yourself and your doctor.

That being said, you WILL get bumped by people and/or in attractions and (IMHO) it's just not worth compromising the integrity of the surgical repair.

That's definitely good advice, because the answer may lie in the amount and kind of damage, which may dictate the "goodness" of the repair. My mom had this surgery too, and she was in so much pain BEFORE the surgery (multiple Lortab a day), that she said the recovery was a breeze. She went home with just Tylenol, and had no warnings from the doctor about gentle jostling (like a crowd situation).

Good luck with your surgery and recovery!

 

[luvgoing2disney]

That's definitely good advice, because the answer may lie in the amount and kind of damage, which may dictate the "goodness" of the repair. My mom had this surgery too, and she was in so much pain BEFORE the surgery (multiple Lortab a day), that she said the recovery was a breeze. She went home with just Tylenol, and had no warnings from the doctor about gentle jostling (like a crowd situation).

Good luck with your surgery and recovery!

Luckily my day to day pain has not been too bad unless I am reaching and sometimes I just experience a "catch" or sharp pinching pain. Not sure why it was so bad this weekend. It is better today, so I am probably going to try to ride this thing out, unless the pain returns.

From everything that I have read and in talking with others, the days after the surgery are not much fun, as you can imagine. I never considered going in the first two weeks following the operation, and mainly thought that IF I went wearing the sling, the earliest would be the last of the 4 week period.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I had that surgery. Oh no no no, I wouldn't have wanted to do WDW for probably three months after it. Six months even better. Lots of PT to get full function back. And you wouldn't want to re-injure it.

 

[leebee]

If you have to fly to get to Disney, that might be an answer in itself. I was scheduled for elective surgery last summer when we learned that my MIL was having open heart surgery 3 weeks after my surgery was planned. My surgeon said absolutely no flying for 6-8 weeks post-surgery, due to the risk of blood clots. I postponed my own surgery so we could fly to Cleveland to be there for my MIL.

 

[ironz]

First let's clarify the original post-- I'm reading it as WDW in November, and surgery in December-- after the trip. With a question about wearing the sling to protect her arm/for comfort PRIOR to the surgery.

If that is true, then why not go, then wear the sling as needed, and maybe avoid some jostling if possible.
(unless your shoulder is in such a tenuous position that any further injury would affect the upcoming surgery, though if that were the case, they'd likely have scheduled you already).

Post-op-- I'd definitely wait at least a few months. Have had both rotator cuffs repaired.

 

[richkaryn]

DH just had shoulder surgery for removal a large bone spur last Monday (no torn labrum though-- although she said as big as the spur was, it wouldn't have taken much longer to cause a tear) after dealing with the pain off and on for a year, (the past 4 months was constant --we tried to have surgery sooner but they didn't have an opening until last week. ) He is recovering quite well, has took hardly any of the rx pain medication, and the therapist was impressed at how good his range of motion was. But, everyone heals differently, and yours is a more extensive surgery. I definitely wouldn't be comfortable with him riding RNR, Dinosaur, and the likes right now though.