week 0 · last reviewed 2026-06-05
Rotator cuff surgery recovery: week 0
Clinical procedure: Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
Typical, evidence-anchored estimate only. It is not medical advice, not a prediction for your body, and not a substitute for your surgeon or clinician.
what's typical at week 0
typical pain · week 0
Around week 0, the typical pain band sits at 4.4/10 (range 2.6–6.4). This week was measured directly in the cited cohort.
weeks 0–2
Weeks 0-2 · sling, block rebound, sleep is hard
Most people leave the operating room with an interscalene nerve block running. It wears off somewhere between hours 12 and 24. The phone-diary cohort reported a median VAS of 3/10 on the day of surgery rising to 4-5/10 as the block wore off; the high-pain-catastrophizing subgroup hit 5-6/10. By day five to seven the median had settled back to about 3/10.
The sling is worn continuously, including for sleep. Most people sleep in a recliner or with a wedge for the first two to three weeks. Sleep loss is the worst-rated complaint of week one in almost every cohort.
Elbow, wrist, and hand exercises start from day one to prevent stiffness in the rest of the arm. Passive shoulder ROM begins between days 3 and 21 depending on protocol — Mass General Brigham starts within seven days, MOON starts at week three. Both have similar outcomes at twelve months.
documented at this week
This week
Passive motion starts within the week
The MOON protocol begins passive range of motion within 7 days of surgery — a therapist (or your other arm) moves the shoulder, the repaired muscles stay off duty.
Good to know
The day-one rebound is the block wearing off
With a nerve block, pain averages 2.6/10 on the day of surgery and rebounds to 4.4 the next day as the block fades (6.4 without one). A harder day one than day zero is the expected sequence.
milestones around now
- wk 1 ·Passive ROM begins (Within 7 days to about 3 weeks, protocol-dependent)
- wk 2 ·Deskwork / sedentary work (When comfortable in the sling (protocol gives no fixed week; commonly ~1-2 weeks))
- wk 6 ·Sling discontinued (About 6 weeks; some protocols extend to 7-8 weeks)
- wk 6 ·Return to driving (Often around sling discontinuation; observed timing varies)
sources
What this page is built from
- Pain catastrophizing and early pain after rotator cuff repair (phone follow-up, n=32) prospective case series · reliability 6/10
- Postoperative pain after rotator cuff repair prospective cohort · reliability 7/10
- Return to activities after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair meta-analysis · reliability 8/10
Track your own week-by-week so a flare doesn't erase the months behind it.
Start a recovery logThis is a typical, evidence-anchored reading of rotator cuff surgery recovery at week 0 — not medical advice, not a prediction for your body, and not a substitute for your surgeon or clinician.