What is the Shoulder Replacement Protocol?

A shoulder replacement protocol is a plan for physical therapy to regain the use of a damaged or diseased shoulder joint that has been replaced with a man-made ball-and-socket prosthesis. This is similar to a hip replacement, but is performed less often. The rehabilitation protocol involves postoperative, inpatient and outpatient care, and ongoing self-therapy with home exercises.

Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

• In a classic total shoulder arthroplasty, your damaged and painful shoulder joint is removed and replaced by a plastic socket in the upper part of the joint and a metal ball in the lower part (the upper end of the humerus). You must then learn how to use the new joint under the supervision of a physical therapist while your shoulder heals.

Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

• Since 2004, a variation called a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty has come into use for special conditions in which a TSA is not helpful or has already failed. rTSA involves reversing the placement of the ball and the socket, and you must then learn to use different muscles to move the joint. For this reason, a different rehabilitation protocol is required.

Rehabilitation

• Completing a rehabilitation protocol for your shoulder joint replacement can take as long as six months, and even then you may not be able to do everything you used to do. You may have to modify some activities -- if you play tennis, you may be limited to doubles instead of singles -- to avoid too much stress on your new shoulder.