Shoulder replacement, from a joint that stole your sleep to an arm that works again

For two years I blamed my mattress, then my age, then my golf swing, before a surgeon put an X-ray on the screen and showed me a shoulder joint that had simply worn through. What I could not find anywhere was the plain account: whether I needed a total, a reverse, or a partial replacement, why the state of my rotator cuff decided that and not my age, how long the arm would sit in a sling, and how many years an artificial shoulder actually holds before it needs redoing. So I wrote it down, from my own reverse replacement outward. A consultant shoulder surgeon vets every clinical line.

Latest articles

• The First Time I Reached a High Shelf Again After a Shoulder Replacement

  The milestone that told me my reverse shoulder replacement had worked: reaching a high shelf without bracing for pain, and when that forward reach came back.

• Shoulder Replacement Myths and Facts: What Patients Get Told and What Is True

  Common shoulder replacement myths sorted from fact: it does not last forever, you can still lift, and a reverse replacement is not the lesser operation.

• Shoulder Replacement Abroad: What to Consider Before You Fly

  Judge the surgeon, not the country. What travelling abroad for a shoulder replacement costs you in follow-up, physiotherapy and revision once you fly home.

• Range of Motion After Shoulder Replacement: Realistic Reach and Rotation

  How much movement comes back after a shoulder replacement: realistic reach and rotation, and why the cuff and the type of replacement set the ceiling.

• Going Back to Work After Shoulder Replacement: Driving, the Desk and the Lifting Question

  When you can go back to work after shoulder replacement: desk work from 2 to 6 weeks, driving around 6 weeks, and heavier or overhead jobs at 3 to 6 months.

• Choosing a Shoulder Replacement Surgeon: Specialist Training, Volume and Track Record

  How to choose a shoulder replacement surgeon: specialist training, the volume of shoulders they do, registry outcomes, and an honest revision policy.

• Stemless Shoulder Replacement: Bone Stock, Candidacy and How It Compares to a Stemmed Implant

  How a stemless shoulder replacement fixes the ball to the bone surface rather than a stem, who it suits, and the bone it saves versus a stemmed implant.

• The Shoulder Pain That Stopped Me Sleeping: How I Knew It Was Time

  Shoulder pain bad enough to wreck sleep is the commonest reason people reach a replacement. What the night pain meant, what I tried first, and how I decided.

• Shoulder Replacement vs Rotator Cuff Repair: Repairing the Tendon or Replacing the Joint

  Shoulder replacement versus rotator cuff repair: why one fixes a torn tendon and the other replaces a worn joint, and which problem each actually treats.

• Shoulder Replacement vs Resurfacing: Capping the Ball or Replacing It, and Who Each Suits

  How shoulder resurfacing and replacement differ: capping the ball vs replacing it, the bone-stock case, the socket catch, and which suits a younger shoulder.

• Shoulder Replacement at What Age: Timing, Waiting, and the Revision Maths

  Is there a right age for a shoulder replacement? Why the pain and the rotator cuff decide the timing, not your birthday, and how age shapes the revision maths.

• Shoulder Arthritis and Replacement: Types, When Surgery Is Needed, and Which Operation

  How shoulder arthritis leads to replacement: the types, when surgery earns its place after injections and physio fail, and which operation the cuff decides.

• Rotator Cuff Tear Arthropathy and Reverse Shoulder Replacement: Why the Cuff Decides

  Rotator cuff tear arthropathy explained: why an irreparable cuff plus arthritis points to a reverse shoulder replacement rather than an anatomic total.

• My Shoulder Replacement Recovery, Honestly: The Sling Weeks Nobody Describes

  The sling weeks are the hard part. Here is what my reverse shoulder replacement recovery actually felt like, week by week and honestly.

• Is a Shoulder Replacement Worth It? Weighing the Pros and Cons

  Is a shoulder replacement worth it? A patient's weigh-up from the other side: the pain relief and movement you gain, what you give up, and who it suits.

• Am I a Candidate for Shoulder Replacement? Pain, Imaging, Health and the Rotator Cuff

  Good shoulder replacement candidates have pain that limits sleep and daily life, imaging that matches it, and a rotator cuff that decides the operation.

• What Shoulder Replacement Will Not Fix: Overhead Range, Loading, the Other Shoulder

  What shoulder replacement will not fix: full overhead range, heavy loading, the other shoulder, or the underlying disease, and why it is not a joint for life.

• Shoulder Replacement Implants and Materials: Metals, Polyethylene, Fixation and Wear

  What a shoulder replacement is made of: the metal ball, the polyethylene socket, stemmed and stemless designs, fixation, and how the parts wear.

• Shoulder Replacement Risks and Complications: What Can Go Wrong and How Likely

  Shoulder replacement risks named plainly: infection, nerve injury, dislocation, loosening, and fracture, how likely each is, and why reverse carries more.

• Questions to Ask Before a Shoulder Replacement

  The questions worth asking before a shoulder replacement: which operation your cuff points to, the surgeon's results, the risks, and a realistic recovery.

• How Much Does a Shoulder Replacement Cost? US and UK Prices, and Funding

  What a shoulder replacement costs: the small US surgeon fee against the $15,000 to $30,000 all-in, UK private prices, going abroad, and how funding works.

• Anatomic vs Reverse Shoulder Replacement: The Cuff Decides, Movement and Durability Compared

  Anatomic versus reverse shoulder replacement compared: why the rotator cuff decides, how movement and durability differ, and which suits which shoulder.

• Shoulder Replacement Infection: How Likely It Is, the Signs, and What It Means

  How common infection is after shoulder replacement: the roughly 1 in 100 risk, why reverse and men carry more, the quiet signs, and what treatment involves.

• How Long Does a Shoulder Replacement Last? Survival at 10 Years and Revision

  How long a shoulder replacement lasts: around 90% still in place at 10 years, why age changes the revision maths, and what eventually wears one out.

• Physiotherapy After Shoulder Replacement: The Rehab That Makes the Result

  Physiotherapy after shoulder replacement: the passive, active, and strengthening phases, why the rehab makes the result, and the realistic timeline.

• Shoulder Replacement: Total, Reverse and Partial, Recovery, Risks and Cost

  What shoulder replacement does: how total, reverse and partial differ, what the rotator cuff decides, the recovery, the risks, and how long the joint holds.

• The Shoulder Replacement Procedure: Anaesthetic, Incision, Duration and Hospital Stay

  What happens on the day of a shoulder replacement: the anaesthetic and nerve block, the front-of-shoulder incision, how long it takes, and the hospital stay.

• Shoulder Hemiarthroplasty (Partial Replacement): Uses, Recovery, Risks and Limits

  A hemiarthroplasty replaces only the ball of the shoulder and leaves the socket: when it suits a fracture or preserved joint, the recovery, and its limits.

• Shoulder Replacement Recovery Week by Week: Sling, Movement, Driving and the Long Settling

  What shoulder replacement recovery looks like week by week: the sling weeks, the first movements, driving at six weeks, and the long settling over months.

• Reverse Shoulder Replacement: How It Works, Who It Suits, Recovery, Risks and Cost

  How a reverse shoulder replacement switches ball and socket so the deltoid lifts the arm, who it suits once the cuff is gone, recovery, risks and cost.

• Total (Anatomic) Shoulder Replacement: Who It Suits, Recovery, Risks and Cost

  What a total (anatomic) shoulder replacement is: the intact-cuff operation, who it suits, the recovery, how long it lasts, the risks, and what it costs.

• Shoulder Replacement Anaesthesia: The General Anaesthetic and Interscalene Nerve Block

  How shoulder replacement anaesthesia works: a general anaesthetic with an interscalene nerve block, the awake regional option, and the numb arm afterwards.