I haven't been to the gym in almost a year, reason being is that any exercise involving the knees will immediately hurt. Now it's at a stage where even if I walk it can hurt ; It's not unbearable pain and it only occurs a few times a week but definitely worsens during cold weather.
Re shoulders (rotator cuff tear) - since the PRP and laying off the gym the pain has almost gone. The pain would stretch all the way down from my shoulders through to my biceps and into to my hands. I've improved my posture and have been lying down on a towel where I can. A few months ago I tried theraband exercises but they hurt the following day so I stopped.
I still feel pain in the shoulder region (supraspinatus) even though I'm not partaking in any activity. Again, it's bearable pain and would definitely worsen if I hit the gym. Any exercise will almost immediately lead to pain. Weird thing is my range of motion is good.
Edit: I have an appointment with the Orthopaedic surgeon to arrange an MRI to see if there has been any progress with the PRP which I'm doubtful of. If a theraband is causing pain then obviously there has been no progress.
There is a lot to unwrap here. The best advice I can give is to work on the following, in the following order:
-Thoracic extension. This is essential. If the curve of your thoracic spine is off then the scapula wont rest on the rib cage properly. Since the glenoid joint itself is a part of the scapula any disorientation of it will cause unnecessary trauma to the supraspinatus, bicepts tendon origin, labrum, etc. So work on a foam roller to improve thoracic extension.
-After doing that for a while work on creating balance in the muscles of the shoulder girdle. 9 times out of 10 its tight upper traps and levator scapula that is the problem. You'll want to use massage (self massage is fine) to loosen those muscles and use exercises to strengthen the lower traps, mid traps, and serratus.
-Find as many upper body exercises as you can that do not cause pain and do only those. Getting things moving again pain free is important and after a while you can expand the exercises to include ones that were once painful. An example of this is I used to have horrible shoulder pain. I could barely do any upper body stuff. I started doing pronated arm curls, seated cable rows, serratus pushes (scapular protraction), isometric holds on the dip bar, lower back extensions, leg work, and very very light preacher curls and scaption lateral raises. After a while I was able to do a full upper body regimen.
-For the knee pain, start to stretch your hamstrings, calves, and glutes aggressively.
-Work on strengthening the tibialis anterior muscle.
-Work on hip flexion with the knee locked out. Resistance can be applied at the ankle. This puts the quad in a contracted position and works it isometrically.
-This will help the pain with the knee cap.
-Ice the patella area whenever you have pain.
You are basically going to have to become an expert just to implement what ive outlined here but this will kinda lead you in the right direction.