Post-Rotator Cuff Repair Physiotherapy in Johor
Rotator cuff repair is a slow operation to rehabilitate well.
The tendon-to-bone healing takes around 12 weeks, but the strength and functional return takes a further 3–4 months.
Push too hard in the first six weeks and you can re-tear the repair; protect the shoulder too long and you end up with a stiff one that needs more work than the cuff itself.
The middle path is a strictly staged protocol - and it is never one-size-fits-all.
Tear size and repair type change everything
A small, single-tendon repair in a 50-year-old is a completely different rehab curve from a large two-tendon tear with a tenodesis in a 68-year-old.
Surgeons in Johor vary in their protocols.
Some use a four-phase pathway with a sling for four weeks; others immobilise for six and start passive range on day one.
We follow the surgeon, not a textbook.
Typical phases
Phase 1 (weeks 0–6): protection. Sling on. Passive range only, well within pain-free limits.
Pendulum exercises, supine external rotation to neutral, scapular setting.
No active lifting of the arm. Phase 2 (weeks 6–12): active motion. Sling comes off.
Active-assisted range progresses to active. Isometric cuff activation starts.
Scapular stabilisers begin loading. Phase 3 (weeks 12–20): strengthening. Real cuff loading begins - banded external and internal rotation, rows, proprioception.
Open-chain overhead work still limited. Phase 4 (month 5–6 onward): return to function. Overhead strength, sport-specific mechanics, heavy lifting if the job demands it.
Cost and timeline
RM120-250 per session. Total: 20–30 sessions across 5–6 months. Most patients start with twice-weekly frequency for the first 6 weeks, then weekly, then fortnightly check-ins.
Watch-outs
- Stiffness creeping in despite the programme - this is the most common complication, and it's why a phase 2 patient still needs to see us weekly.
- Pain at rest or night pain escalating - possible re-tear, needs surgeon review.
- Fever, wound issues - infection, urgent.
Johor context
We work closely with shoulder surgeons at Gleneagles Medini, Regency Specialist, KPJ Johor Specialist and Columbia Asia Iskandar.
Many of our patients are Singapore-side workers who had surgery at HSA or in Singapore and then cross over to rehab here - we receive the operative note on WhatsApp, confirm precautions, and build the plan from there.
How PhysioJohor matches you
WhatsApp us: surgeon and hospital, date of surgery, tear size if known, whether the repair was arthroscopic or open, and what your sling status is.