Shoulder Replacement Physical Therapy in Salt Lake City
Rehab after total and reverse shoulder replacement, run by shoulder specialists at the University of Utah and guided by real strength numbers from the Humero Tech C1®.
The implant is the easy part. The strength is earned.
Shoulder replacement surgery reliably takes pain away. What it does not do on its own is give you back the motion and strength to reach a top shelf, swing a club, or sleep on that side.
Physical therapy after shoulder replacement is what converts a successful operation into a usable arm. At TKM Labs the shoulder is all we treat, so your program follows your surgeon's protocol for your specific procedure (anatomic, reverse, or partial) rather than a one-size template.
Recovering from a different procedure? Our post-surgical shoulder rehab covers rotator cuff and labral repairs, and frozen shoulder therapy handles the stiffness that sometimes follows.
Every kind of shoulder replacement, before and after.
- Total shoulder arthroplasty (anatomic total shoulder replacement)
- Reverse total shoulder replacement (rotator-cuff-deficient shoulders)
- Partial shoulder replacement and hemiarthroplasty
- Revision shoulder replacement with limited motion or persistent weakness
- Prehab before a scheduled shoulder replacement
- Stalled recovery months after surgery when strength never came back
Every visit is a full hour, one-on-one with the same Doctor of Physical Therapy. See what your first visit looks like or how our cash pay model works.
A protocol built around your procedure.
Weeks 0-6: protection
Sling management, gentle passive and assisted range of motion inside your surgeon's limits, swelling and pain control, and posture work so your neck and upper back don't take over.
Weeks 6-12: active motion
You start moving the arm under your own power. We rebuild reaching, dressing, and driving, and begin light rotator cuff or deltoid loading depending on whether your replacement was anatomic or reverse.
Month 3 and beyond: strength
Progressive, measured loading on the Humero Tech C1® to rebuild real strength through the arc you use, so you can carry groceries, garden, golf, and sleep on that side again.
Loading a new joint by the numbers.
After a replacement the whole question is how much load the shoulder is ready for, and in which directions. The Humero Tech C1®, designed and built here in Salt Lake City, applies measurable resistance through the full arc of motion and compares each direction to your other arm. We use that to progress you inside your surgeon's precautions, and to show you what changed month to month.
- Baseline strength testing so progress is a number, not a feeling
- Finds the lagging directions a generic protocol never addresses
- Deltoid-focused loading after a reverse, cuff-focused after an anatomic
- Objective reports your surgeon can review at follow-up visits
More on the data behind it in our shoulder testing and analysis.
The first three months set the ceiling.
Motion is easiest to win early and hardest to win late. Strength is the opposite, and it keeps building for a year or more if someone keeps loading it properly. Most people we meet had plenty of help with the first part and almost none with the second.
Before surgery
Prehab to preserve motion and set a strength baseline to measure against.
Right after surgery
Protected motion, pain control, and getting daily tasks back safely.
Months three to twelve
Measured strength work so the arm is genuinely usable, not just pain-free.
Meet Your Shoulder Rehab Specialist
Dr. Court Zollinger, PT, DPT, CAFS
Physical Therapy Clinical Director
Dr. Court Zollinger, PT, DPT, CAFS, specializes in shoulder and upper extremity rehabilitation, with a focus on helping patients recover from surgery and return to full performance. From rotator cuff repairs to shoulder replacements, he has guided countless patients from immobilization back to strength, mobility, and sport.
With a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Idaho State University, Dr. Zollinger has practiced orthopedic physical therapy across Arizona and Utah, continually refining his approach to deliver better outcomes. His passion for rehabilitation was shaped by his own injury-filled Division I baseball career, giving him firsthand insight into what it takes to recover and perform at a high level.
Beyond the clinic, Dr. Zollinger plays a key role in developing the Humero Tech C1®, bringing real-world rehabilitation expertise into cutting-edge technology that improves how patients recover.
Proudly Serving Salt Lake City & Surrounding Areas
Serving patients across the Salt Lake Valley with specialized shoulder and elbow care.
- Salt Lake City
- North Salt Lake
- South Salt Lake
- West Valley City
- Murray
- Millcreek
- Holladay
- Taylorsville
- Cottonwood Heights
- Draper
- West Jordan
- Sandy
Shoulder Replacement Questions
Surgery scheduled or already done? Start with a free consult.
Fifteen minutes, no cost. We'll walk through your procedure, your surgeon's plan, and what a realistic recovery looks like for your shoulder.