The Striper That Got Even

[Tony Buzolich]

A few weeks ago I wrote a report about having a great day on the water. Fishing by myself I'd taken several fish already but suddenly hooked into one that was immediately much stronger and larger, 17 pounds to be exact.

She hit the fly hard right at the surface in shallow water and jerked the line from my left hand as I was setting the strip. Surprised, I quickly grabbed the loose line high on my rod and set again and continued the fight until she came aboard for weighing and a quick picture.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/005_zpsef3807fa.jpg (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/buzolich/media/005_zpsef3807fa.jpg.html)


I didn't think about what had happened until the next day or so when my shoulder started to hurt. A few Tylenol and I'm back on the water again with several more clients and 'no big deal'. Well, the pain hasn't gone away and it may even be getting a bit worse. More Tylenol doesn't seem to be doing much and I attribute it to just getting old.

It's been three weeks now and my wife finally nagged enough for me to go to the doctor and get it looked at. "Aha, what have I been doing she asks" and I tell her about fishing and casting and all that kind of stuff. And she quickly comes back with "It looks like you've either torn or ruptured a tendon in my rotator cuff". :( Damn! Not what I wanted to hear!

So she sends me off to X-ray and confirms her diagnosis. The next thing I know I've got an appointment Tuesday with a surgeon in orthopedics in Roseville. Geez, don't waste any time and let me digest this will she?

So how many of you old farts out there have had rotator cuff surgery? And what did you do in the meantime while healing? Get a 4 weight and chase bluegills? I'm supposed to be getting ready for Kona and chasing mahi-mahi and yellowfin.

It's tough getting old :) Tony

[Alosa]

Sorry about your rotator-cuff, but what a great opportunity to become ambidextrous in your casting...perhaps not the silver lining you were looking for?

[Randy Lee]

Tony,
I to have a shoulder problem. Sadly, I just try and stay away from the big fish. Bam, problem solved. Albeit not much fun.
Hope the best for you.
Randy

[Loomis 1]

Buzo,

I've been after you for a year to start casting left handed. Guess it's time for us to go to the park. Thank goodness we have a couple of "left handed shot glasses" in your cabinet. I'll come see you in the morning.

Bill

My profile pic was taken by Tony. He not only catches big fish he puts his buddies on a few nice ones too!

[Darian]

Tony,.... Sorry to hear about this. Not a fun injury. Rotator cuff tears can be difficult to heal even with surgery.

About 10 years ago I hit a small obstruction in the roadway while on my bike. The result was a torn rotator cuff and multiple breaks in my collar bone. After visiting an orthopedist, much discussion an MRI, etc., I was told my collar bone was not broken (even tho I was able to move parts of it and hear the ends of the bone grinding on each other). I went ahead and scheduled a surgery for repair of the rotator cuff with some minor misgivings. During the pre-op conference, the surgeon physically examined my shoulder and asked if I knew that my collar bone was broken??? Well, that did it for me, I cancelled the surgery, took over treatment of both injuries. The collar bone completely healed in a couple of months and the rotator cuff took a bit longer. Both are now healed without any major consequences. The other part of this story is that I've been told every time I have my knees X-rayed (for the last 20 years), that I need to have them replaced. I'm still physically active, still playing racquetball, etc.

The point of all of this is that if you're in doubt about the diagnosis or the surgery, get a second opinion. There may be another, viable alternative. The recovery period is lengthy and limiting for rotator cuff surgery.

If you decide to go ahead, wishing you a successful surgery and speedy recovery.... :cool:

[TonyMuljat]

From one Tony to another: You must be getting old if you need a 4 weight to chase bluegills.

[Darian]

Have you seen the size of those Bluegill??? ;)

[Larry S]

My brother has had the rotator cuff surgery on one arm and needed it for the other. When the surgeon
took a look, he said there was too much damage and that he would need a reverse shoulder replacement.
My brother's biggest worry was playing golf again. He had the replacement and after rehab and therapy
he is back on the course. Hope this doesn't put you out of commission too long.
Best,
Larry S

[retirednavy]

Hi,

I have a mild case, and my doc. has me on anti-inflammatories, Tylenol, and NO SURGERY. It has worked. I still manage to do two good bodyweight routines per week, but I no longer lift heavy stuff. I am carefully when I lift my right arm over my head. The doc told me that my collegiate wrestling career pretty much gave me the shoulders of an 80 year old at the age of 22.

Some folks do pain management and physical therapy. My doc put me on that. Thank God. The pain is not gone, but when it kicks up I take some Tylenol. My wife says it provides an excuse for my periodic mean streak.

I am 58 years old and my doc. told me that if I had the surgery I would be out of physical commission for three months. At my age that is not healthy.

[Mr T]

I tore the labrum on my casting arm as a work injury, felt it pop when it happened- lots of diagnoses and scrips before it was found. Got a great surgeon from Sutter and had it repaired, doc said 12 months to be back at 90-95% maybe never more than that. A lot of rehab and PT but limited range of motion that really killed my ability to cast a fly- long story short, at 2 years later I finally have the range and power I once had and can cast a fly rod and play golf now.
These things take time and at an older age (I’m 49 now), it is is imperative you follow the rehab instructions to the letter- DON’t force it or you will increase your recovery time and possible cause permanent damage.

[JasonB]

Not an old fart (yet!), but I have had some major shoulder problems in my younger years. It sucks, and trying to hobble along and make due with painkillers doesn't work. I will say just a few things from my own experiences, and those of the many friends and aquaintences:

-PT is critical, surgery or not. I would want to talk with the Doctor about this before getting too far into discussions of surgery. Totally depends on the circumstances but often it's advisable to rehab without surgery if possible, might be worth asking a few other opinions

-with good PT you should be able to be casting fine with that arm again, although you may well change a few things about how you cast (and likely how you do a lot of things)

-do NOT try to skip ahead in your PT, or go out when things are feeling "pretty good". be sure to take your time and allow things to fully heal and rebuild/strengthen your rotator cuff muscles before trying to go do any of the "fun stuff" again. (learned this painful lesson the hard way, 3 times!)

-ICE is your friend :-)

Best of luck on your recovery, shouldn't take too long and you'll be back at it
JB

[Katz]

You cannot diagnose a rotator cuff tear with an X-ray. I would definitely get an MRI before making any decisions regarding surgery.