Rotator cuff injuries

TonyD79

Does anyone have any advise on excersises and weights I can use in the gym to clear up this injury once and for all?

Shrimp

TonyD79 wrote:

Does anyone have any advise on excersises and weights I can use in the gym to clear up this injury once and for all?

A friend of mine also got this injury, it's a bitch to heal.

The rotator cuff muscles control rotation of the shoulder. So, usually any movement of the arm hurts. These muscles are put under a great deal of strain especially in throwing events and racket sports where your arm is above your head a lot. A sudden sharp pain in the shoulder would indicate a possible rupture of a tendon, while a gradual onset is more likely to be inflammation. Is yours a sharp pain or gradual onset?

Cures:

Rest and ice the shoulder for 2 to 4 days depending on how bad the injury is.
If the acute stage is over, pain and inflammation have settled down apply heat.

Have you seen a sports injury professional who can advise on treatment and rehabilitation?

What the doctor may do?

Prescribe anti-inflammatory medication.
Apply ultrasound or laser treatment. (usually if it's serious, not too likely i'd say)
Prescribe a rehabilitation programme.
Use sports massage and stretching techniques.
Give a steroid injection.

TonyD79

I got several cortisone injections nearly a year ago and took anti-inflammetries but it gradually comes back feeling more like a niggle rather than a pain after I increase my excersise level in the gym.

Boru.

Cough*Ginger tea*cough cough...

Damn got to give up that fake smokers cough, its killing me...

Boru.

Reyman

This is a tricky injury to cure. I had it, and it's usually caused by an imbalance in strength between muscles in the area of the shoulder. I'm not sure that's it's an injury as such - more an instability in the shoulder area

Specifically, it's very common among weighlifters, who concentrate on exercising the chest area for show (Bench press, etc.) and neglect to balance it with back exercises (Barbell row, D.Bell row atc.).

If you rest for a while the symptoms usually disappear but come back after about 2-3 weeks after restarting on chest exercises if back exercises are ignored.

It's also possible to do specific exercises to strengthen the rotator muscles alone (the external rotators are usually the culprit).

A physio or any good fitness book will give you a suitable sample -- the exercises involve rotation of the forearm against resistance with the upper arm locked stationery and at 90 degrees to the lower arm- I use one of those elastic band devices to do the exercises and have found it very good.

A stretching regime for the rotators is also essential as you build their strength

thebuyer

Hi, did the treatment you received actually cure the problem for good??
Can you bench press now?

Reyman

thebuyer wrote:

Hi, did the treatment you received actually cure the problem for good??
Can you bench press now?

I can bench press no problem with pretty good weights. I get lazy with the preventitive exercises though now and then and after a while get a slight niggle in the shoulder if I do.

Transform

I would suggest doing no benching or shoulder work at all for at least 3-4 months. I have helped clients recover from this injury many times and in ALL cases if you return too early without proper rehab. you are back to square one again.

Solution
1. Focus on the massive range of external rotator cuff exercises with a VERY light weight for reps of 15-20.
2. Be careful doing exercises like squats as it puts shoulder in a difficult position.
3. Get regular massages - these will be very sore if done properly
4. DO NO PRESSING MOVEMENTS!!!!!
5. Focus on the lower traps - use exercises for this as upper traps tend to be firing too much with rotator cuff injuries e.g. lying face down on a swiss ball spread your legs for balance and with your palms down lift ONLY your arms up towards the sky. Focus on pinching the shoulder blades together (really squeeze the lower part most) for reps of 15 * 3 sets.

Best of luck