Recovery after shoulder stabilization surgery, either a Bankart repair or a Latarjet procedure, usually runs in stages. Most people wear a sling for about 3 to 6 weeks, regain everyday movement by about 3 months, and build strength from there. Return to non-contact sport is often around 4 to 6 months. Return to contact or collision sport is often 6 to 9 months.
The timings on this page are typical ranges. Your surgeon’s protocol comes first. It depends on what was repaired, how secure the repair is, and the sport or work you are going back to.
Both operations aim to stop the ball of the shoulder slipping out of the socket. A Bankart repair reattaches the torn rim of cartilage (labrum) and the joint lining to the front of the socket, usually through keyhole surgery. A Latarjet moves a small piece of bone, with a tendon attached, to the front of the socket to add a bony buttress. It is often chosen when bone has been lost from the socket or after a Bankart repair has not held.
Key takeaways
- Sling: usually 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the operation and your surgeon.
- Turning the arm out: this movement is usually limited early to protect the repair.
- Everyday movement: often close to full by about 3 months.
- Contact sport: often 6 to 9 months, after strength and control testing.
- Surgeon’s protocol: your surgeon’s timings come before any general guide.
Where are you right now?
- The first 2 weeks: read weeks 0 to 2 and “Is this normal?”. Sleep and the sling are the main jobs.
- Weeks 2 to 6: read weeks 2 to 6. Movement is guided and limited on purpose.
- 6 to 12 weeks: out of the sling. Read weeks 6 to 12 and “If it isn’t going to plan”.
- 3 months on: strength and return to sport. Read months 3 to 9 and the “When can I” table.
Week by week, then month by month
- Weeks 0 to 2: the arm stays in the sling most of the time. You come out of it for washing, dressing and the gentle exercises your surgeon allows, often elbow, wrist and hand movement and shoulder blade setting. Pain is usually highest in the first few nights.
- Weeks 2 to 6: gentle shoulder movement within set limits, often lifting the arm forward with help. Turning the arm outward is usually kept within a small range, because that position stresses a Bankart repair. Latarjet protocols are sometimes a little faster here, as the bone block takes load sooner.
- Weeks 6 to 12: the sling usually comes off. Movement builds toward full, and light strengthening starts with the elbow by the side. Many people return to desk work and driving in this window if not before.
- Months 3 to 4: strengthening progresses with heavier loads and the arm moving further from the body. Running and lower-body gym work are often allowed.
- Months 4 to 6: sport-specific drills, throwing programs and controlled overhead work. Non-contact sport often returns here.
- Months 6 to 9: contact and collision sport, once strength, range and confidence meet the targets your surgeon and physical therapist set.
Is this normal?
- Night pain: common for the first few weeks. Sleeping propped up on pillows, or in a reclining chair, helps many people.
- Swelling and bruising: bruising can track down the arm toward the elbow in the first week or two. It usually fades without treatment.
- Stiffness turning the arm out: expected for weeks, because that range is protected on purpose. It usually returns gradually after the sling comes off.
- Clicking: painless clicking is common while the muscles rebuild. Clicking with pain, or a feeling of slipping, is worth reporting.
- Numbness near the scars: small patches of numb skin around the incisions are common and often shrink over months.
- Low mood: weeks one-handed, poor sleep and time away from sport wear many people down. It is common, and worth telling your doctor about if it lasts.
A stabilization repair is protected first and strengthened second, and the order matters.
If it isn’t going to plan
It is week ten. The sling has been off for a month, and you still cannot reach behind your head to wash your hair without the shoulder pulling tight. The thought in your head is that you should hold back a little longer so you do not stretch the repair loose.
Caution was right in the first six weeks. After that, the repair has usually healed enough for movement to be built on purpose, and holding back can leave the shoulder stiff and the muscles weak. Weak muscles around the shoulder blade and rotator cuff give the joint less support, which works against the stability the operation was meant to give.
Get assessed by your surgeon or physical therapist if stiffness stops improving between weeks 6 and 12, if pain is rising rather than settling after week 6, if the arm feels weak in ways that are not getting better, or if the shoulder feels like it is slipping. Useful questions to ask:
- Range: which movements am I now allowed to push, and how far?
- Strength: what strength targets do I need to meet before the next stage?
- Sport: what tests will decide when I can return to contact?
- Warning signs: what would you want me to report straight away?
When can I…
| Activity | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Shower | Usually within a few days, with the wound kept covered as your surgeon advises |
| Sleep in bed | Often 2 to 6 weeks, propped on pillows and in the sling at first |
| Drive | Usually 6 to 8 weeks, once out of the sling and able to control the car safely |
| Desk work | Often 1 to 3 weeks with the arm supported, longer if typing needs both hands |
| Lift | Light loads close to the body from about 6 to 8 weeks; heavier lifting often 3 to 4 months |
| Reach overhead | Usually gradually from about 6 to 12 weeks |
| Manual work or sport | Non-contact sport often 4 to 6 months; contact sport often 6 to 9 months, and heavy manual work often 4 to 6 months |
Your surgeon’s protocol comes first.
Call your local emergency number or go to the emergency department if
- Breathing or chest: you have sudden breathlessness, chest pain, or cough up blood.
- Hand circulation: the hand on the operated side turns cold, pale or blue.
- New dislocation: the shoulder slips out and does not go back, or looks out of shape.
See a doctor today if
- Wound changes: the wound is red, hot, spreading, leaking fluid or pus, or opening.
- Fever: you have a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or chills, or feel generally unwell.
- Calf swelling: one calf is swollen, warm or painful.
- Spreading numbness or weakness: numbness or weakness in the arm or hand is spreading or getting worse, rather than limited to small patches near the scars.
- Uncontrolled pain: pain is not controlled by the medicine you were given.
Get it checked soon if
- Slipping feeling: the shoulder feels loose, or you feel it shift and go back.
- Stalled range: movement has not improved for 3 to 4 weeks after the sling comes off.
- Rising pain: pain is getting worse after week 6 rather than easing.
- Numb patch on the outer arm: a numb area on the outer upper arm, or weakness lifting the arm out to the side, that is not improving.
More on this area: surgery recovery guides.
A stable shoulder is built in stages, and the later stages count as much as the operation.
Written by Louise Yow, Neck & Shoulder Physio.