Golfing and Snowboarding After Successful SLAP Repair Surgery
My name is John Mele. I have been very active in sports and weight lifting my entire life. I played football through college, baseball for 12 years, I wrestled and even boxed. Now at 35, I focus on golf and snowboarding. I’ve had the makings of a SLAP tear (torn labrum) for roughly six years. I did physical therapy twice, which successfully made the pain go away for about a year or two, but each time it came back. When the pain came back a third time I decided to just fix it. At this point, I could no longer lift weights and couldn’t even lift a gallon of milk! Dr. Cole came highly recommended from a trusted source. Upon consulting with Dr. Cole and his physician’s assistant, Natalie, I immediately felt very comfortable with them. The surgery itself was a piece of cake. I really felt very well taken care of by not only Dr. Cole and Natalie, but the anesthesiologist, the nurses and just about everyone I dealt with at the hospital.
After the surgery I took physical therapy very seriously since I had a driving motivation – my annual golf trip! I’m happy to say that 12 weeks to the day of the surgery I played two rounds of pain-free golf! And if it weren’t for one really bad hole, I would have scored my best round ever. After the golf trip, I resumed snowboarding and lifting weights and am currently (at 15 weeks) about 95% pain-free, with the rest just a matter of regaining full strength.
Shoulder instability and dislocation occur when the shoulder capsule is stretched or torn, and/or when the labrum is detached from the glenoid.
Improve your understanding with 3D Animation of the surgical procedure.
This article is for general information and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace an evaluation by a qualified clinician who knows your history.
