Total Shoulder Arthroplasty — (TSA)

Boston Shoulder Institute / Massachusetts General Hospital · MGH Boston Shoulder Institute

Weight-Bearing

Sling continuously 3-4 wks; abduction brace/pillow vs sling per surgeon intraoperative findings and patient body habitus

Key Restrictions

No shoulder AROM Phase I; no motion behind back; no excessive ER or sudden movements; no lifting; no supporting body weight; keep incision clean/dry; no soaking x 2 wks; no driving x 4 wks (until out of sling); pillow behind elbow in supine x 4 wks; ER PROM limited per operative report; Phase I-IV timing defined individually by surgeon in operative report — always refer to operative report

Timeline & Phases

Phase I (wks 1-4, PROM per op report), Phase II (wks 4-8, AAROM/AROM, RC activation), Phase III (wks 8-12, strengthening), Phase IV (12+ wks, return to function); subscapularis repair and RC tear variants: progress by criteria; big RC tears: strengthening starts Phase III

Notes

2020; key differentiator: operative report determines Phase I ROM and PROM timing for each patient; subscapularis repair sub-protocol; minor RC tears: strengthening occasionally Phase II; big RC tears: strengthening Phase III only; same protocol also published by BWH (pages combined in one PDF); MGH Boston Shoulder Institute is a dedicated shoulder specialty center

Surgeon / Author

MGH Boston Shoulder Institute

Published

2020