Partial Shoulder Replacement Recovery
Shoulder Hemiarthroplasty
What the operation does
Only half the joint is replaced. The worn or broken ball at the top of the arm bone is removed and replaced with a metal ball on a stem, and the socket on the shoulder blade is left as it is. Your own socket then articulates against the new metal ball.
Why only half
Usually one of three reasons. The ball is damaged and the socket is not — most often after a fracture of the top of the arm bone, or where the ball has lost its blood supply and collapsed. Or the patient is young enough that a plastic socket would be expected to wear out and need revising within their lifetime. Or the bone of the socket is too thin or damaged to hold a cup.
The socket is the part to watch
The honest limitation, and the reason this operation is used less than it once was. Your own socket is now rubbing against metal, and over the years it can wear and become painful in its own right — which is the commonest reason a hemiarthroplasty needs converting to a full or reverse replacement later. Pain relief is generally good but less predictable and less durable than a total replacement in an arthritic shoulder.
Why a total replacement was not done
Worth asking if you are unsure, because it is usually a deliberate trade. In straightforward arthritis with a good cuff, a total shoulder generally relieves pain more reliably. A hemiarthroplasty is chosen where the socket is healthy, too damaged, or where age argues for keeping the option open. Your surgeon weighed that.
The muscle at the front that was taken down
To reach the joint the surgeon moves the subscapularis, the cuff muscle across the front of the shoulder, and repairs it at the end. That repair governs your first six weeks and is the reason for the restrictions below — they protect a muscle, not the metal.
What you protect against
Turning the arm inward against resistance, which is what the repaired muscle does: pushing up out of a chair with the arm, reaching behind your back, tucking in a shirt, lifting anything of weight. Turning the arm outward is limited early too, because it stretches the repair. Your surgeon may have set a specific limit.
If this was done for a fracture
Common, and it changes the outlook. Where the top of the arm bone was broken into several pieces, the tuberosities — the bony lumps the rotator cuff attaches to — have to be wired back around the implant and heal there. Whether they heal in the right place largely determines the final movement, and it is why fracture cases are protected carefully and often end up stiffer than planned replacements. Reverse replacement is increasingly preferred for these fractures for that reason.
The rotator cuff still matters
As with an anatomic total replacement, this operation relies on your cuff to centre the ball and lift the arm. If the cuff later fails, the ball rides upward against the socket and the shoulder becomes painful and weak — the situation a reverse replacement is designed for.
Pain relief and movement
Most people get good relief of the pain they came with, and movement enough for everyday tasks at and below head height. Results are more variable than after a total replacement, and where this was done for a fracture, stiffness is common. Setting the target as a comfortable, useful shoulder rather than a normal one is realistic.
The sling
Usually four to six weeks, protecting the muscle repair at the front rather than the implant. Coming out of it for the exercises is expected, and keeping it on longer than instructed tends to produce stiffness.
What it will not tolerate
Repetitive heavy lifting and impact through the arm. Most surgeons advise a long-term limit and advise against contact sport and heavy overhead manual work. Swimming, golf, cycling and gardening are usually encouraged once strength returns.
If it needs revising later
Converting a hemiarthroplasty to a total or reverse replacement is a recognised and generally successful operation, and is easier than revising a failed total replacement. Keeping that path open is part of why a hemiarthroplasty is sometimes chosen in younger patients.
Driving and work
Driving generally waits until you are out of the sling and can control the wheel with both hands comfortably — commonly around six weeks. Desk-based work is often possible within two weeks with the sling on. Work involving lifting or overhead reaching commonly waits three to four months.
How the first year usually unfolds
Six weeks in a sling with assisted movement and the front repair protected. Six to twelve weeks the sling goes and active movement begins. Three to six months brings strengthening, including the cuff work this replacement depends on. Six to nine months brings most everyday activity. Movement and comfort continue improving out to a year.
Staying in touch with your care team
Why you had a half replacement rather than a full one, and whether it followed a fracture, change this recovery considerably. Your surgeon knows those details. If something about your recovery is worrying you or does not match what is described here — particularly new pain deep in the shoulder after a period of doing well — contact your care team.
Exercises for Partial Shoulder Replacement
An illustrated, phase-by-phase exercise program for this procedure. View the Partial Shoulder Replacement exercise program.
Recovery education · Condition guides · Exercise programs
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This guide is general education and doesn't replace evaluation by a licensed provider. Recovery and treatment vary by person — follow the guidance of your own surgeon or care team.