quote:It is interesting to see the various thoughts on when to start therapy
This is very true. While I can't (thankfully) speak with experience about shoulder rehabs, both my son and wife's cousin's husband (he pitched briefly with Tampa and Detroit) have had Tommy John surgery. They had completely different rehab guidelines. Cousin's husband, we'll call him JJ, was operated on by the surgeon his MLB club sent him to. After surgery, he went home to California with instructions to stay in his bandages and splint for 4 weeks. My son was operated on close to home, in San Francisco by Dr. Ken Akizuki, and he was told to begin moving his arm to the degree he could without any pain or strain, 48 hours after surgery. My son was in to the Physical Therapist within 10 days of surgery, and moving his arm quite a lot within 4 weeks. At the same point post-surgery, JJ was still in his splint. My son had a relatively effortless and very successful rehab, while JJ had more difficulty and his pro career ended at 28 years old. Looking back, he has wondered if having his arm imobilized for so long made the initial part of rehab slow and somewhat painful.
While I in no way am suggesting that one method is better than the other, I will suggest you ask which protocol is right for you. When you're having your surgery done far from home, it is tough for the surgeon to do much for you post-op. We were able to drive to my son's surgeon every couple weeks for follow up checks. That might be something to consider for people faced with arm injuries. Another thing I'd suggest is finding a PT who is very familiar with rehabbing arm injuries for baseball players. I am convinced that will make a difference.