{"id":388,"date":"2026-10-29T06:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/?post_type=dgkb_article&#038;p=388"},"modified":"2026-10-29T06:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:04:15","slug":"what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery","status":"publish","type":"dgkb_article","link":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Delaying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asicclinic.com\/shoulder-arthroscopy-surgery.php\">shoulder surgery<\/a> does not always cause harm. Many shoulder conditions can initially be managed with physiotherapy, medicines, activity modification, or other non-surgical treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the effect of delaying surgery depends on the actual condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In a rotator cuff tear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some tears can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Become larger<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cause increasing weakness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lead to muscle wasting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Develop fatty changes in the muscle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Become more difficult to repair later<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is particularly relevant in larger or traumatic tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In advanced shoulder arthritis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progressive joint damage can lead to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increasing pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Greater stiffness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduced range of movement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Muscle weakness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Difficulty with dressing, grooming, lifting, and sleeping<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When waiting may still be reasonable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surgery may not be urgent when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Symptoms are manageable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strength remains good<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Physiotherapy is helping<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Daily activities remain acceptable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Imaging does not show a condition requiring early repair<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The key issue is not simply how long surgery has been delayed, but whether shoulder function and tissue condition are deteriorating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr.&nbsp;Atul Mishra<\/strong> assesses symptoms, strength, imaging, duration of the problem, and response to previous treatment before advising whether continued conservative care is reasonable or whether delaying surgery could make treatment more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delaying shoulder surgery does not always cause harm. Many shoulder conditions can initially be managed with physiotherapy, medicines, activity modification, or other non-surgical treatment. However, the effect of delaying surgery depends on the actual condition. In a rotator cuff tear Some tears can: This is particularly relevant in larger or traumatic tears. In advanced shoulder [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"dgkb-categories":[27],"dgkb-tags":[],"class_list":["post-388","dgkb_article","type-dgkb_article","status-publish","hentry","dgkb_cat-shoulder-surgery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What happens if I delay shoulder surgery? - Knowledge Base<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery? - Knowledge Base\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Delaying shoulder surgery does not always cause harm. Many shoulder conditions can initially be managed with physiotherapy, medicines, activity modification, or other non-surgical treatment. However, the effect of delaying surgery depends on the actual condition. In a rotator cuff tear Some tears can: This is particularly relevant in larger or traumatic tears. In advanced shoulder [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Knowledge Base\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T06:04:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/articles\\\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/articles\\\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\\\/\",\"name\":\"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery? - Knowledge Base\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-29T06:04:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-29T06:04:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/articles\\\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/articles\\\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/articles\\\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Knowledge Base\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/\",\"name\":\"ASIC Clinic\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ASIC Clinic\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/ASIC-Clinic-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/ASIC-Clinic-logo.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"ASIC Clinic\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicclinic.com\\\/knowledge-base\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery? - Knowledge Base","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery? - Knowledge Base","og_description":"Delaying shoulder surgery does not always cause harm. Many shoulder conditions can initially be managed with physiotherapy, medicines, activity modification, or other non-surgical treatment. However, the effect of delaying surgery depends on the actual condition. In a rotator cuff tear Some tears can: This is particularly relevant in larger or traumatic tears. In advanced shoulder [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/","og_site_name":"Knowledge Base","article_modified_time":"2026-10-29T06:04:15+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/","url":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/","name":"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery? - Knowledge Base","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T06:04:14+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-29T06:04:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/what-happens-if-i-delay-shoulder-surgery\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Knowledge Base","item":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What happens if I delay shoulder surgery?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/","name":"ASIC Clinic","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/#organization","name":"ASIC Clinic","url":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ASIC-Clinic-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ASIC-Clinic-logo.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"ASIC Clinic"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dgkb-articles\/388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dgkb-articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/dgkb_article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dgkb-articles\/388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389,"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dgkb-articles\/388\/revisions\/389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"dgkb_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dgkb-categories?post=388"},{"taxonomy":"dgkb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicclinic.com\/knowledge-base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dgkb-tags?post=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}