What does recovery look like after shoulder stabilization surgery?

Shoulder stabilization surgery sews the torn labrum and its ligaments back to the edge of the socket so the shoulder stops dislocating. The operation is done through a few small incisions, but the recovery has a set rhythm: six weeks in a sling while the repair heals to the bone, six weeks of getting the motion back, strengthening from three months, and a return to sports at four to six months. The roadmap below walks through each stage. If you have already had surgery, enter your surgery date and it will show you which stage you are in and what comes next.

The roadmap covers the arthroscopic labral (Bankart) repair, with or without a remplissage. It explains the reason behind the sling and the early motion limits and answers the practical questions: sleeping, showering, driving, work, the gym, and when throwing, overhead and contact sports come back. Short notes at the end cover a posterior labral repair, a biceps tenodesis, and what to do if the shoulder ever slips again.