Rotator cuff exercises to prevent/mitigate injury?

[seanpecor]

Hello everyone,

I'm just ending week 20 of my weight training hobby and I've started to hear some faint crinkling noises in my right shoulder. I have no pain or weakness that I can detect at this time. Two weeks ago I did feel like I tweaked my right shoulder while doing shoulder presses, and the next day there was some mild pain if I pressed directly on where I believe my right rotator cuff is located.

I'm going to dial back the intensity of my shoulder work for a couple of weeks. I also want to integrate some rotator cuff exercises. Are there any specific exercises that have worked well for the O35 crew? Are there specific exercises I should avoid?

I've been training very hard for 10 weeks without missing a day on my 4-day split. Maybe it's a good time to take a week off from the gym? I'm not excited about that, but I'd rather take 1 week off than risk injury.

Cheers,

Sean

[mslman71]

Hello everyone,

I'm just ending week 20 of my weight training hobby and I've started to hear some faint crinkling noises in my right shoulder. I have no pain or weakness that I can detect at this time. Two weeks ago I did feel like I tweaked my right shoulder while doing shoulder presses, and the next day there was some mild pain if I pressed directly on where I believe my right rotator cuff is located.

I'm going to dial back the intensity of my shoulder work for a couple of weeks. I also want to integrate some rotator cuff exercises. Are there any specific exercises that have worked well for the O35 crew? Are there specific exercises I should avoid?

I've been training very hard for 10 weeks without missing a day on my 4-day split. Maybe it's a good time to take a week off from the gym? I'm not excited about that, but I'd rather take 1 week off than risk injury.

Cheers,

Sean

Good idea to give it a rest and good foresight to investigate strengthening them to prevent injury down the road. If you don't see marked improvement in a couple of weeks I would be inclined to see a physician. For general information on RC strengthening/training/etc. go to the following link:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=529968

[Smelly bull]

I lift heavy but I do very little rc exercises. However, i do make sure I:

1. Warm-up and stretch properly. For bench start with just the bar and move up. I also swing and wave my arms around...
2. I also do a ton of face pulls and bent over rows. What I row is very close to what I bench....
3. Proper form...

Not saying this THE way to do it, but it works for me.

[vmpolesov]

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewMiscA...702&ItemId=700

[JerryB]

The rotator cuff consist of four muscles:

Subscapularis
Infrasupinatus
Suprapinatus
Teres minor

The following website may assist you in indentifying the problem area:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com...uff-injury.php

[cowboybiker]

The rotator cuff consist of four muscles:

Subscapularis
Infrasupinatus
Suprapinatus
Teres minor

The following website may assist you in indentifying the problem area:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com...uff-injury.php

This is a great site. I found them last year and its helped me alot. My rc aint what it used to be. But it doesnt sound like rice crispies anymore.( snap, crackle, pop )
But I would say about over 90% better.

[geebee666]

I have a shot rc and have tried most of the exercises around here, the most effective and seemingly useless is to flex the shoulders back as if trying to touch your shoulder blades together, I do it several times whenever I think of it and after most shoulder related exercises.

Do over head presses with a close grip, narrower than your shoulders as it takes the leverage of the shoulder joints.
Before this I could not do military presses due to pain.

Both ideas from these forums.

[gbg]

I have a shot rc and have tried most of the exercises around here, the most effective and seemingly useless is to flex the shoulders back as if trying to touch your shoulder blades together, I do it several times whenever I think of it and after most shoulder related exercises.

Do over head presses with a close grip, narrower than your shoulders as it takes the leverage of the shoulder joints.
Before this I could not do military presses due to pain.

Both ideas from these forums.

That's scapula retraction. Face pulls added to anyone's routine as an assistance exercise will strengthen them and is a great preventative exercise.

[seanpecor]

This is all priceless information. I'm doing more homework tonight based on everyone's advice and links.

cowboybiker, the Rice Krispies analogy is perfect That's just about what it sounds like. It improved over the weekend. Based on what I've read so far, I may have tweaked my right deltoid. Which makes sense; I've been pushing them really hard. Until I switched to a cutting diet on March 1st (ends the 28th) I was getting some strange stretch marks on both traps/shoulders about once a week (after shoulders workout). I'm just guessing they were stretch marks, but they weren't really so much on the surface; instead they seemed a few skin layers down. Thin dark purple lines. It was unusual, as least to this n00b.

[Hogan1956]

This exercise helped me the most with my shoulder recovery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY0TMsw7W74

[JerryB]

This is a great site. I found them last year and its helped me alot. My rc aint what it used to be. But it doesnt sound like rice crispies anymore.( snap, crackle, pop )
But I would say about over 90% better.

That's great.
The only medical advice I think I would ask in a forum is a reference to a knowledgeable source of information.

[mslman71]

Since we're throwing out references.

http://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/index.asp

If you have the patience to learn to navigate the site and do some detailed reading, it's fantastic.

[cowboybiker]

That's great.
The only medical advice I think I would ask in a forum is a reference to a knowledgeable source of information.

Couldnt agree more. I got tired of having to take pain killers just so I could sleep through the nite. Stretching and Yoga have helped me alot. Im able to do so much more than before. Now I can push some real weight.

[victorsteven1]

Hello everyone,

I'm just ending week 20 of my weight training hobby and I've started to hear some faint crinkling noises in my right shoulder. I have no pain or weakness that I can detect at this time. Two weeks ago I did feel like I tweaked my right shoulder while doing shoulder presses, and the next day there was some mild pain if I pressed directly on where I believe my right rotator cuff is located.

I'm going to dial back the intensity of my shoulder work for a couple of weeks. I also want to integrate some rotator cuff exercises. Are there any specific exercises that have worked well for the O35 crew? Are there specific exercises I should avoid?

I've been training very hard for 10 weeks without missing a day on my 4-day split. Maybe it's a good time to take a week off from the gym? I'm not excited about that, but I'd rather take 1 week off than risk injury.

Cheers,

Sean

Let's hear it for common sense!!!! I applaud your brains. Your body is telling you something and you are listening. Any of us who have been through this will tell you it starts out as a little "tweak" and if you are dumb enough to go the "no pain no gain"
route then you'll have pain constantly and no gains period. I used the search window and got the url for most of the articles here on BB.com

http://search3.bodybuilding.com/othe...uilding&getfie

you can copy and past that or click on it if it is a live link. You can also just search youtube for rotator cuff rehab/strengthening.

Injuries to rotator cuff aren't always easily apparent but one of the causes not usually discussed is overuse injury. The constant wear and tear without a break is common to cause weakness and eventual failure in this area.Most think you just hammer a muscle for years and then it finally decides to blossom and grow. While persistence is needed so is rest and change.

My own experience with a rotator cuff problem was my first pursuit of a 300 lb bench. I was almost there and then I started getting too much mobility in my shoulder , a little "twinge" and poundage's that started to drop. A more knowledgeable bodybuilder told me that my solution was to get off the flat bench press and change it up , allow my shoulder to rest from "that" and work my rotator cuff muscles. Injure yourself he said and you may ruin your shoulder and you don't want that. So I "dropped back" and of course he was right. I never regretted being smart instead of stupid.... so now when a body part speaks I listen...is it doms or something more problematic...???

Lot's of the guys here have told you," been there done that"....and some are wishing they could be where you are right now instead of needing surgery and or having a shoulder that is never going to be the same.

[Neonebula2001]

Good link I am having some similar things with the crepitus (crunching) and need to strengthen the rotator cuffs on both sides.

[SnakeE117]

Great input from all. Another good suggestion, perhaps on a rest day, work them small stabilizer muscles of the shoulder girdle. Daily stack of supplements may help as well.

[austin.j.taylor]

I do this warmup everytime i do any pressing or benching. It works great as a warmup and i stopped having shoulder problems. Also if you dont already, add facepulls into your routine.

[SnakeE117]

I do this warmup everytime i do any pressing or benching. It works great as a warmup and i stopped having shoulder problems. Also if you dont already, add facepulls into your routine.

Thanks for the video clip; excellent. Good for warm-ups, but also good for those rehabbing shoulder injuries. I was shown the YTWL's in shoulder rehab. These simple excercises were quite beneficial in getting my active ROM back. Not only will the YTWL's, using light weight, give the lifter a good warm-up, but also targets many of the stabilizers that support the shoulder girdle - which in most cases are overlooked until injury. Again, thanks for the post, most appreciated for all of us to enjoy.

[mslman71]

I do this warmup everytime i do any pressing or benching. It works great as a warmup and i stopped having shoulder problems. Also if you dont already, add facepulls into your routine.

Other than the scapular pulls I can't do a single one of those movements

All I can say is take care of your shoulders.

[Gunnar70]

I do this warmup everytime i do any pressing or benching. It works great as a warmup and i stopped having shoulder problems. Also if you dont already, add facepulls into your routine.

Thanks for the video. I'm going to do these tonight before my workout! Several years ago I dislocated my left shoulder so I expected it to be injury prone, but this year when I started lifting again, I tweaked my right shoulder (On legs day!! Go figure.) I took a week off and it is slightly better, so hopefully these warmups help. Thanks again.

[austin.j.taylor]

Thanks for the video. I'm going to do these tonight before my workout! Several years ago I dislocated my left shoulder so I expected it to be injury prone, but this year when I started lifting again, I tweaked my right shoulder (On legs day!! Go figure.) I took a week off and it is slightly better, so hopefully these warmups help. Thanks again.

I am more prone to shoulder pain when squatting than any other lift. I do this 2 minute warmup prior to squats as well and pain hasnt been back since.

[aikmanr]

Personally, I like using cables to train my rotator cuffs. In the past, I would injure my rotator cuff when doing bench. Later on, I started training rotator cuffs twice a week with cables. Since that time, I've been injury-free.

[sojomojo]

Lee Hayward recently posted a good YouTube video about rotator cuff exercises. I've been doing the exact same "warm up" exercises that he demonstrates for the past 5+ years before every lift day.

[drudixon]

Hello everyone,

I'm just ending week 20 of my weight training hobby and I've started to hear some faint crinkling noises in my right shoulder. I have no pain or weakness that I can detect at this time. Two weeks ago I did feel like I tweaked my right shoulder while doing shoulder presses, and the next day there was some mild pain if I pressed directly on where I believe my right rotator cuff is located.

I'm going to dial back the intensity of my shoulder work for a couple of weeks. I also want to integrate some rotator cuff exercises. Are there any specific exercises that have worked well for the O35 crew? Are there specific exercises I should avoid?

I've been training very hard for 10 weeks without missing a day on my 4-day split. Maybe it's a good time to take a week off from the gym? I'm not excited about that, but I'd rather take 1 week off than risk injury.

Cheers,

Sean

When I tore my RC, doc had me focus a lot on stretching my neck; turn head to side, and lean ear towards ground, both sides. Also, you can chicken wing yourself with a towel (gently). Grab towel with hand of arm that needs stretching behind the back. Other hand is in front and pulls the towel forward, thereby raising the chicken winged hand. Arm circles, as well as holding arms out, and doing palms up, palms down helps me too. For exercises, I had to do a weird rotate thingy, and lots of lateral raises. Hope that helps.