physio therapy advice

gagomes

Recently started feeling some ache on my shoulders and decided not to let this escalate to a point where the only solution is surgery and visited a "popular" physio therapy clinic in Dublin. Arriving there, I felt like I was talking to someone who had very little to no knowledge and the whole session, in hindsight, is seemingly strange. I was asked to pin-point situations leading to this but as it was so recent, I couldn't nail it down to a specific exercise. He did the basic tests of putting his arm pressuring against the top of mine and asking me to lift my arm as hard as I possibly could. He realized my strength was poor using some sort of gadget to measure it. Neck mobility had full range of motion, but then that's the part that left me wondering. He gave me 2 exercises to do to strengthen my shoulders, which I'm happy enough to do, but he did not explain proper form for any of them and in one case, I found a video from a well known personal trainer on youtube (Jeff Cavaliere of Athlean-X) suggesting the exercise should be avoided at all costs as it can lead to further impingements of the shoulder. He also booked me in for the next week and offered to follow up with a more detailed plan on the next appointment and didn't even bother to write any of his recommendations down. So, I'm a bit annoyed that he brushed me off rather quickly and without much professional courtesy, but wondering if anyone would see red flags as well? I'm not really sure what to expect from a shoulder inury physiotherapy session, but I would expect a tiny bit more proding around the shoulder and/or general advice, like: put ice, take pain killers, etc. Could I get some internet stranger opinion? I'm sort of wondering if I should seek a different physio.

Thanks!

TommyKnocker

I developed a shoulder injury from over use. I was doing 3 strength weight sessions a week, 2 boot camp type routines on other days and was shooting recurve archery every day circa 200-250 arrows a day.

I initially went to a well known physio company and could barely move my right arm. I was treated with massage and ultra sound over 5 sessions over the course of about 2 months. After that I was advised to start back to exercise/archery slowly. But while I got some movement back and was fairly ok on a day to day living basis, I could not return back to training or archery without discomfort.

I allowed this to go on for over a year trying to start back and then stopping to see if rest would "fix" the issue. It didn't.

Eventually I bit the bullet and went to the sports surgery clinic in Santry and had an MRI scan and was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and some wear and tear of the AC joint. I was sent to a physio who specialises in shoulders and after performing the routing tests for range of movement and strength she walked me through a series of about 6 or 7 exercises. She demonstrated each one to me and then had me do it and corrected any errors. When she was happy with my form on the exercise she used her tablet to video me on each one while she outlined the ques for correct form and emailed me a link to the videos and her coaching the correct form for reference when I done them at home. The exercises where changed at each visit where a easier exercise would be dropped to be replaced by a harder one as my progress dictated.

I had 5 sessions with her over about 4 months and by the 3rd I was amazed with how much better my shoulder felt. By the end of the 5th I was completely healed and have had no shoulder issues since and continue to do some of the exercises as a preventative measure.

Apart from the tests at the start of each session she never put a hand on me, no massage or other procedures. She just told me my recovery was in my hands and if I did the exercises prescribed my shoulder would heal, and it did.

I found my visit to SSC Santry to be a great experience and could not be happier with the treatment and results and cannot recommend them highly enough. If you are unhappy with the physio you've seen you could pay the folks in Santry a visit if it is within traveling distance for you.

** I have no ties what so ever to SSC. I just found them top notch and they understand a persons wish to get back to their sport/training.