shoulder surgery recovery

bassoonmom
Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:54:15 +0000

My S needs to have arthroscopic surgery for a labral tear in his shoulder (basically a rotator cuff injury). Do any of you have any knowledge/experience about recovery time in regards to getting back into instrument (bassoon) practice? His surgeon says in a week or two he would be able to do a little playing if he holds his instrument in a totally vertical position, perpendicular to the ground. (A good surgeon, but obviously not a bassoon player.) After a month he would be able to do more with the bassoon in a regular playing position. It will take about four months for full recovery, so we are looking at doing it this spring, in order to have most of the recovery, physical therapy, etc. done before he leaves for college. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks for all of the great advice and sharing that helped us get through auditions this year even though we got a late start on the whole college selection/audition preparation thing. What learned here really helped a lot!