OUCH! YOU’RE HAVING ROTATOR CUFF SURGERY - BLOG #4

Planning what to wear.

Do some online and YouTube searching for videos on how to dress and undress. There are a lot of sites by doctors with great advice. Wait… I know this sounds boring, but they use a lot of well-toned guys for their demos, and the videos aren’t long.

Practice some of those on and off maneuvers with your shirts and pants to test out the theory of "will they work," before surgery comes. Even getting a sock on with one hand can be a bit of a challenge until you have some practice. Plan your wardrobe with things to wear to make your life simpler.

When you wake up from surgery, you’ll already be in your sling and won’t be allowed to remove it before dressing. So be sure you are wearing a very large shirt that can be easily pulled over you and the width of the sling. It should be very stretchy and comfortable, as you might choose to wear it for a day or two.

You’ll also want easy-to-put-on shoes that you can slide in and out of, and probably without shoestrings. Love your tennis shoes? If you keep your shoes tied loosely, you could slip in and out of them. If one becomes untied, just plan on picking it up, putting it in your lap, and then attempting to tie it, or pick a good friend who won’t tease you about being a little kid again.

Stretchy pants, sweat pants, or shorts that are easy to pull up or down are also helpful. Buttons and zippers usually take two hands and, therefore, are a more difficult part of your wardrobe inventory for this surgery.

For all those bra lovers out there. Yes, you can go without a bra for a bit in your life. I’m most comfortable in my bra, keeping that extra layer of insulation because I get cold all the time. But even I stopped wearing a bra on surgery day and don’t plan to put it back on until I have two hands and can do it comfortably. Wearing loose-fitting shirts and even tank tops will allow you to get through the time comfortably without your bra. And for you people who love to hate your bras. This is a great excuse to go braless for a while.