Injured Shoulder

[Paully25]

Posted this in the "injured rotator cuff" thread from a while back, but just looking for a bit of good advice here. I've been running the Palumbo diet for 2-1/2 weeks now, and loving it - this site has been a great resource so far! :)

I've been dealing with shoulder issues all my adult life (pitcher growing up). Finally decided to get it looked at this offseason (baseball/golf). Well...I've been going through the process (XRay/Ultrasound/MRI/Physio) for the last 5 months, and finally had my specialist appointment today. In those 5 months, I've started to get back into the gym after a layoff for a couple of years. I feel like this has helped more than the physio itself (had laser and ultrasound therapy along with some rotator exercises which I continue to do).

The specialist said not to ever do overhead weight bearing exercises, such as shoulder presses...??? I feel like this is one exercise that not only is irreplaceable, but has also helped my injury immensely over the last few months (supraspinatus - like force mentioned above). Wanted to get some opinions of board bros here...I didn't get a good feeling from him - he seemed more interested in getting my cash for a cortisone shot which I don't particularly like...

Cheers! :help:beer

[CallmeB]

If you are feeling pain doing any of those exercises, deffinitly DONT DO THEM. Thats just asking for trouble.

[Paully25]

If you are feeling pain doing any of those exercises, deffinitly DONT DO THEM. Thats just asking for trouble.

I'm not though...I'm feeling better doing them. He asked what I've been doing to rehab, to which I said physio along with presses, side raises, and rear delt flyes. This, in addition to my rotator exercises have helped I feel. The cortisone shot he gave me yesterday - I don't think that is going to help.

What hurts is throwing a ball - especially if I play outfield - and occasionally swinging a golf club will hurt (on the release). I can avoid the outfield if need be, but I don't really want to give up on my fave 2 sports when I'm 32, so I'm hoping I can fix it. :(

[Memo]

did you try any supplements? Cissus maybe?

[jamex]

Have you tried, or can you do the shoulder dislocation excersise that's likely mentioned in that thread? Also called broomstick stretch I found it cured all my shoulder problems in a matter of weeks and they've never returned since.

Obviously your situation may be more delicate and\or complicated but if you have't given it a try you probably should. There is no weight or pressing involved. It will probably hurt like hell the first few days though ;)

[tiramisu]

Well the critical question is "What's wrong with your shoulders?"

Do you have an impinged ACR? Calcium buildup? A hook? Chronic loose shoulders? Scarred up tendons?

I managed to rehab a multi-year shoulder injury and have a few things to say BUT it reallly depends on your injury/condition.

Get the details from your doctor (is he a sports doctor?). Is it rehabable? Does it require surgery? What exactly is wrong?

... I'll blather on about RICE, MEAT, Starr rehab protocol etc etc again once you've got a good answer from your doc. What kind of specialist? I went to a sports clinic here in winnipeg and they didn't want to give me a cortisone shot because it might weaken things and I fully intended on continuing to lift (the specialist in this case was used to dealing with amateur/professional athletes/self abusive wingnuts rather than sedentary (make the pain stop) folk).

Not that a cortisone shot might not be a good place to start but often, while it takes away the inflammation, it may do more harm than good from an athletic perspective.

[tiramisu]

... and do you have a health plan that covers physio or are you self managing?

[JonnyO]

exactly...you say your shoulder is has issues what are they and what were the results of the MRI and ultra-sounds? Those will tell you what you should or shouldnt be doing. But if the overhead movements are not bothering you, sounds like you should be fine if you continue to do them.

I have a very bad left shoulder (O A) that will require replacement which is my only option right now other than shaving off some bone spurs, but all heavy shoulder presses are out of the question for me and to be honest I dont even bother with them and my shoulders are one of my strong points. All I do is side and rear lateral work with the odd front raises here and there.

[Paully25]

exactly...you say your shoulder is has issues what are they and what were the results of the MRI and ultra-sounds? Those will tell you what you should or shouldnt be doing. But if the overhead movements are not bothering you, sounds like you should be fine if you continue to do them.

I have a very bad left shoulder (O A) that will require replacement which is my only option right now other than shaving off some bone spurs, but all heavy shoulder presses are out of the question for me and to be honest I dont even bother with them and my shoulders are one of my strong points. All I do is side and rear lateral work with the odd front raises here and there.

Good to know. My injury is a small tear in the supraspinatus tendon. My physiotherapist feels the bigger issue is bursitis. He feels it's rehabable (is that a word? lol). I think I'm going to just go back to rehab/physio, and avoid the specialist who I really wasn't comfortable with.

The issues with my shoulder are that after a weekend of ball - which I will not give up as it's one of the things I love to do - I have a hard time lifting my arm. I guess I'll just have to move back to the infield as the outfield throws are the real killers.

tiramisu - ya...I have coverage at work - thanks for your input as well :D

[tiramisu]

I haven't tried the joys of bursitis yet so I've got no help to offer hear.
With the tear. You've got to let it heal and rehab it. It's really easy to make a small tear a big one. Gonna have to back off for a while and get it better.

With the bursitis hopefully someone with this problem can chime in.

[el magico]

im trying to rehab a shoulder injury of my own right now. basically a couple strained muscles. it happened due to a single trauma but a few years of improper posture and technique in the gym didn't help.

and its taking forever to heal. im shocked at how finnicky and tempermental its been.

[tiramisu]

You should learn to respect your shoulders. A minor injury can be treated in a few weeks. If you work through it and turn it into a chronic injury then it becomes months of rehab and for the unlucky who turn a strain into a major tear, stretch ligaments, or generally masacre the joint it becomes a permanent issue.

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/showpost.php?p=86644&postcount=10

[Jazzy]

hey, thanks for the threads!^^ Really informative!