3 months ago my 16 year old son had surgery to re-attach his labrum (not a throwing injury). He has followed PT religiously with periodic follow-up visits to the doctor. We had a 3 month visit with the doctor last week and it was very positive - son is progressing very well and is "ahead of schedule." Doctor gave the green light to move forward with "controlled" physical activity - hitting off a tee, swimming, etc. but no throwing yet. My question has to do with pain that results from such activities - he experiences pain occasionally during PT sessions but when now goes off and hits off a tee for example, should he stop at the first sign of pain or is some pain normal and to be expected (and to some extent pushed through)? In other words, is it fair to say that some pain should be a "stop" sign, other pain a "slow down" and yet other pain a "part of the process?" I hope that makes sense. Thanks.

Terk: I had labrum/rotator cuff surgery from diving. I experienced some pain from hitting/lifting weights, etc. but the doctor said that was normal. I also experienced pain with the pt as well. I pushed through it to some extent. When it began to hurt, I dialed the intensity down for a few reps and then dialed it back up when the pain went away.

I would say any sharp pains would probably be a stop sign. Sharp, shooting or burning pain, in my experiencing of tearing up my shoulder twice, signaled to me that something was really wrong.

A lot of the pain I experienced is dull pain although occasionally I would get a quick, sharp pinch that went away immediately. Soreness and stiffness is also to be expected. That may feel like pain, but it does go away usually as you warm up.

I hope this helps. Shoulder rehab is no fun and I would suggest to your son to take it very slowly. It was well over a year before I was truly anywhere near 100% throwing.

Thanks In. Sounds pretty sensible and consistent with what the physical therapist is saying.

Terk: No problem. As he gets further and further along with rehab and begins doing more baseball activity, I think he will be able to better judge what is "bad" pain vs. just soreness and tightness.