Surgical repairs can be compromised when post-operative instructions are not followed, so if you have surgery make sure you know exactly what you should and should not do! I checked into my local VA hospital and initiated my disability claim. @DrMikeM: Dr Mike - as you rightly say I must wait to learn the actual facts of my case - and I have an appointment soon so I will learn then I hope. Supraspinatus Tear - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Rehabilitation It sounds like you are not following your surgeons instructions! Sleeping on my right side became impossible. the defect measures approximately 1cm anterior to posterior and medial to lateral. Usually getting a second opinion is not a bad option if you are not confident that the first opinion is going to lead to the best outcome for you, but I expect that may well be impossible while you are still on deployment? For this reason, many doctors first recommend management of rotator cuff tears with physical therapy and other nonsurgical treatments. There is a delaminating tear of the supraspinatus myotendinous junction, measuring a thickness of about 2mm. I don't think there is a clear answer to this one. The pain and weakness in the shoulder may make routine activities, such as combing your hair or reaching behind your back, more difficult. I had surgery last Thursday for a complete tear of the supraspinatus tendon due to a car accident and was told the tendon was repaired with titanium staples.My concern is of the staples coming out ,I wear a sling whenever outside but have been taking it off when sleeping in my recliner which I've found the best since the accident.If I am just walking around the house I've let it hang down and do not feel pain at the shoulder so figure there is no risk of them pulling out by doing this,am I correct? while that helped in the short term and improved my left arm motion range, after i stopped the therapy the pain came back and reduced the range. Hope that helps. Good luck with your decision! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. The supraspinatus is one of the four muscles that make up the rotator cuff group of muscles. Getting a second opinion when you are not sure about your first is also often a good idea. Patients 55 years and over have recently been found to be receiving surgical treatment for rotator cuff tears, indicating a rising trend towards surgical repair of rotator cuff tears.24 While surgery is considered an effective treatment, recurrent tears are common, especially degenerative tears, which are frequent in the older population.1 Studies on non-surgical treatments have also demonstrated positive results for full thickness rotator cuff tears.2 Exercise therapy may improve joint stability and reduce translation of the glenoid humeral joint, but has difficulty restoring kinematics to that of an intact rotator cuff.16.