The Complete Shoulder and RC Injury Article

Very nice article Bernie.

I have some kinda shoulder problem myself. I had slight shoulder pain for a few months, then one day, it started hurting pretty bad (kinda sharp pain). Funny thing is this pain started about 24 hrs after a workout (di bi's and back that day, guess the back stuff could have put the strain on it). Didn't have pain during the workout or that night.

So I took off 1 month and things felt better, but it still felt a little odd in my shoulder (pain was pretty light, more annoying than anything). Now I've been working out for about 6 weeks and trying to take out some excersises that could hurt and I also do stretches and some of these RC strengthening excersises.

What I'd like to know is if some of you don't really have problems during the workout (or very minimal pain), but maybe more pain the next day or two. This happens to me, and I thought it may be out of the ordinary?

nah, that's normal, to have more pain the next day. Same with soreness, you won't be sore after your workout, but the next day or day after that you will. You just don't want pain to be a constant thing. If your shoulder is always painful, then you need to be proactive about it.

Cool. I'm not always in pain, just usually sore after working out and sometimes during. I work upper body 4 times a week, thought about combining some body parts just so I don't have so many days that could bring out the shoulder pain.

you need to do a cardio warmup then stretch your shoulders a bit and do some of the DB internal and external rotations I was talking about in the article to warm up your shoulders. Then stretch your shoulders postworkout. If you keep just ignoring the soreness it will NEVER get better and you won't be able to lift them big weights for them big muscles lol.

Look at it this way:

Ignoring it is a temporary (easy) solution to a chronic problem.

I tried the broomstick exercise... Am I doing this right-

I just can't picture how this broomstick stretch is being done, it doesn't sound possible. Anyone got a video or some pictures of it at individual stages?

[QUOTE=GarethCheeseman]I just can't picture how this broomstick stretch is being done, it doesn't sound possible. Anyone got a video or some pictures of it at individual stages?[/QUOTE]

If you go to the intens************ thread, skim through the first 4 pages or so and you'll see a few pictures.

Easy way to think of it. Hold the stick out in front of you with a wide grip, with STRAIGHT arms, so that the stick is at about bellybutton height. It should look like that, just reversed, when you go through the motion.

Another way I could explain it. Hold it out in front of you, arms straight, at bellybutton height. never losing the straight arms (elbows locked) lift the stick up and back behind your head so that by the end of the movement your palms up instead of palms down. Then just slowly bring it back up over your head to the front.

Use a wide grip, and you need a 7 foot long stick. Any shorter than that is too ineffective/tough to use.

EDIT: In the IM.com thread, someone posted this link, if this doesn't explain it well then, I'm at a loss ;):

[url]http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/000629.html[/url]

Thanks :)

I wasn't holding it wide enough and was being too cautious with how far back I took it but doing it really slowly and carefully I can get it back that far.

Thanks again.

Well I can say my shoulder health has improved a bit.. still out of training which is depressing. I can still feel a bit of pain (supraspintus related) I've been out for 5 weeks now, roughly how long does a suprispintus injury take to heal? (I did it via partial dislocation of the shoulder during combat, but the chief cause would have been abusing the shoulders with many presses, lateral raises and just generally belting them..)

First let me give a big THANKS to Bernie for the GREAT article. I was looking for information about my shoulder problem, and this is perfect.

One question, for the broomstick stretch, it says you are supposed to move the bar above your head and behind your back while keeping your arms straight? Personally, my arms only go to vertical without bending. Is this stretch still useful for me?

best thread ever, bump.

[QUOTE=samos1]Well I can say my shoulder health has improved a bit.. still out of training which is depressing. I can still feel a bit of pain (supraspintus related) I've been out for 5 weeks now, roughly how long does a suprispintus injury take to heal? (I did it via partial dislocation of the shoulder during combat, but the chief cause would have been abusing the shoulders with many presses, lateral raises and just generally belting them..)[/QUOTE]


How often should I do these exercises to rehab my shoulder. I have major problems doing any kinds of presses and things and I'd like it to get better before it gets worse. So I've taken a little time off and it's feeling better but I think I need to rehab it without injuring it or over doing it.

bump tbh

[QUOTE=RJM28]How often should I do these exercises to rehab my shoulder. I have major problems doing any kinds of presses and things and I'd like it to get better before it gets worse. So I've taken a little time off and it's feeling better but I think I need to rehab it without injuring it or over doing it.[/QUOTE]
I did this for 3-4x a week without training. I do it 2x a week or 3x a week now, once maybe by itself at home.. the others I just do a few rotations to warm the shoulders up prior to chest/back/shoulders..

I was thinking of getting a speedball for hand eye coordination, will this have a negative or positive affect on shoulder health? Any ideas?

Bump

[QUOTE=xueimelynnad]Good post, just about everything there is what my physical therapist told me to do after I had my shoulder cleaned out and rebuilt. [/QUOTE]
cleaned out :confused:

what was in it?

Anywyas, thanks Bernie!!!

When should these excercises be done?

bump

Sorry guys :(

I don't really come around BB.com much anymore, but I'm glad this thread has still been getting responses

To Troutwine...if you have access to this equipment at home, then it can't hurt to do it on OFF days, possibly at night so that overnight your shoulders will have time to rest. It really depends on your intensity though. If you were to do a full routine like this, with 3-4 different exercises, you'd probably want to do it on an OFF day or at night on a day you lift. But too much at once can get you really sore(even with these exercises). What I do now is dumbell internal and external rotations before EACH workout, 1-2 sets each. Then 5 days a week AT NIGHT I'll do the broomstick stretch, 40-50 reps. If I get tired I'll take a break, then get to 50. On OFF days then (so about 3x a week) I'll do a longer routine

Originally Posted by xueimelynnad
Good post, just about everything there is what my physical therapist told me to do after I had my shoulder cleaned out and rebuilt.

Wow, that's pretty flattering, heh.


In case you are just seeing this thread, please read the Version at the BOTTOM of page 1, post #27. It's an updated version (many many changes) from the version in post #1.

You think this will help with rounded shoulders?

wow, just injured my rotator cuff, definately looks great. Replied to find it easier next time and definately be reading. Thanks for the time taken to write this up. Much appreciated and the replies of wats worked and peoples experiences. Thanks.

Awesome thread.

This thread is too awesome not to be bumped every week :D

Should be a sticky.

[QUOTE=_Dominik_;102232621]Should be a sticky.[/QUOTE]

Agreed.

How far should one's rotation go in these exercises? I tried the cable one today for internal rotations and on the eccentric i tried to let my arm rotate far enough so that it was in line with my side, but then it started to hurt. I'm guessing this is going too far...

Also, I have a problem with the lying external rotations. Anyone else tend to mainly feel it in the bicep?

LOL DONT go that far!!!

and doing this rotations you must keep your elbow to your side and pull level

Great Thread!!

I was just wondering, what are some good chest/back excercises that work the muscle group but don't involve the shoulder?

You know ther are a lot of shoulder issues around here glad to see somebody put something together like this...

would these exercises help with a should instability?

the rc muscles is what holds the joint in its place, so naturally working them out and getting them stronger results in a stronger healthier shoulder

sounds good. thanks.

How often should I do this routine?

i pulled a muscle in my right shoulder three weeks ago and since the injury i've stopped lifting and began icing/heating the region. My shoulder pain stopped for the most part (i had some light pain but nothing too noticeable), so i decided to start lifting light weights yesterday. I just finished working out today and noticed a stiff-like feeling in my shoulder right after i finished a lift, and then sporatically throughout the day. Since i started lifting, my shoulder feels basically the same way it felt before i started lifting again. My question is should i keep lifting light weights, or should i quit lifting and go back to icing/heating and wait to start lifting again? Thanks

this was probably just as helpful as my phyiotherapist,

i need to strengthen back up my infraspinatus, teres minor and supraspinatus muscles, do you know any good exercises specifically to strengthen those 3 muscles? i use exercises similar to armwrestling movements.
any suggestions welcome

[QUOTE=BernieD;12880193]Sorry guys :(

I don't really come around BB.com much anymore, but I'm glad this thread has still been getting responses[/QUOTE]

Uh, fellas, the OP hasn't posted here since [b]11-29-2006[/b]!!!

Apparently, he's happy but completely unaware of your qeustions...try a PM or email, but who knows if he's still around...

My shoulder is injured, AGAIN

[QUOTE=Richie_Awesome;198960881]My shoulder is injured, AGAIN[/QUOTE]

no way. what did you do to it?

Awesome~

I have just injured my shoulder about 1.5 weeks ago and was wondering why it is not healing (as with all other body parts it should heal!).

But after reading this and doing some exercises, i can feel my recovery already.

I can't wait to hit the gym.

Love it.

I'm always hurting my RC.

[QUOTE=jdmalm123;199020781]no way. what did you do to it?[/QUOTE]

I did 240 on incline, then did incline chest flys with the 75s. It was fine then, next day, insane pain.

For not, I'm never doing dumbell flyes again, and also sticking to dumbells with the incline press.

I mostly do floor presses and a powerlifting style now.

ALWAYS TUCK YOUR ELBOWS ON THE BENCH PRESS!!!

Here's a question for all you guys who are somewhat experienced, as it were, with RC stuff. I've got a shoulder issue that my physical therapist diagnosed as a weak rotator cuff and imbalance between anterior and posterior delts. I've been doing stretches and strengthening for about 4 months, and I've severely limited my lifiting, took 3 months off, and now I do 3x a week, light.

My shoulder still hasn't gotten that much better. Is there another injury that could be confused with RC?

[QUOTE=BernieD;6357479]Here's an article that I've alluded to a few times that I had been working on. It's finally finished. I hope you like the final product. If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know. I'd be happy to hear constructive criticisms on the article. My goal with this article was to make a single body of text that contained enough information for people to be busy with for awhile. I hope that people like it enough that the next time someone posts a thread asking about a shoulder injury, that they will get linked to this thread. I have tried to cover a lot of material (not just "OK, here's some RC exercises, now go do them" and that's it), and I hope you get something out of it. Thanks in advance for reading this article--I put a lot of time into it, so I hope you like it.[/QUOTE]

very useful info. gracias amigo

That is some real nice article. i am going to take care when I work out that there is no such injuries.
Thank you!

well, I'm glad this thread is routinely bumped! I've had a problem with my shoulder since overdoing a workout a few months back.. and spending long hours in front of a computer with my arm at an angle only added to the strain. this thread was exactly the kind of information I was looking for, and so I will be incorporating this stuff into my warm-up pronto.

cheers to the OP, wherever you may be these days!

[IMG]http://lhnweb.info/img/276/x08y1009qdcb/23.gif[/IMG]
Your quote was very informative.
actually i'm beginer to body building your information has helped me a lot.
I had doubt regarding exercise and training but this quote gave a massive information.
thank you very very very much!!!!
Nice of You
Keep posting like this
bye!!!sweet!!!

Just thought I'd drop in to say that the information in this article has helped with my shoulder a lot. The last time I hurt my shoulder I took a month or so off but with the tips in this thread I've made much faster progress with my shoulder.

I'm just about back to normal and I am definitely going to make the external rotations and broomstick stretches a regular part of my routine. I know the OP doesn't hang out here anymore, but thanks!

ately, i've diagnosed myself with a minor rotator cuff issue. I'm pretty sure i did something to it using smith machine for benching, incline benching and especially smith seated shoulder press. I think i had the bench in a poor position relative to me, and pulled something that way. I also think i've exacerbated it by continuing to do heavy presses (shoulder, incline, flat) somewhat incorrectly (shoulderblades not back). That, and heavy overhead tricep extensions, which i've read rely heavily on rotator cuff.

So, today is supposed to be my shoulder/bicep day. Instead of doing my normal shoulder routine (standing MP, seated db press, plate raise, lateral raise), i'm going to do the following all with very light weight:

internal rotation 3x10
external rotation 3x10
cubans 3x10
scapular retraction 3x10

then, proceed to my bicep routine with normal weight.

so, my questions are these..

should i do these before every work out
should i cut my chest routine out until this feels better? (flat BP, incline BP, cable cross, wide chest iso machine)
should i not do any sort of shoulder exercises for a while?

has anyone else had a similar issue?? how have you incorporated these types of exercises into your routine? i don't want my shoulders to fall behind relative to the rest of my body.

squats, deads, any of my back or bi exercises don't hurt it so id on't plan on really modifying/stopping them

Ok, so i'm having a very annoying and odd problem with my left shoulder. The initial injury occurred when I was wrestling my friend for fun about 3 years ago. He made the a-hole move of twisting my arm behind me. It went too far and I felt some pain initially but it went away. However immediately afterward it felt as though my shoulder needed to be stretched back out, like it was compressed somehow.

Since then i've been having that same feeling. It's in the rear of the shoulder but not so much the meaty part of the rear deltoid. It's basically right as the side of the shoulder bends around towards the back. It feels like I need someone to pull my shoulder out in front of me and pop it out. It's the biggest physical annoyance i've ever dealt with. Since then I haven't been able to get my shoulders as huge in my mind.

I have no range of motion problems, and I can still bench my normal weight and everything. It just feels like it's holding me back from hitting even more weight and feels like i've lost the explosiveness in the shoulder because it is not as stable. However i've always had a stiffer neck/shoulders so i'm not sure how much of this is just how I am. All I know is when I lift heavy incline and military press, the back of my shoulder starts acting up and feels inflamed. It pops alot but has never felt dislocated or anything.

I have no pain in the front of the shoulder (it's my non-throwing shoulder). It's only in the outer rear of the shoulder. Any ideas on what this could be?

bernied, id rep you if i could. added these exercises to my routine 3 times so far and it's made AMAZING progress. shoulder doesn't hurt like it did anymore. now it just feels "wierd". we'll see what happens with chest day, but so far so good. this thread made a world of difference in my shoulder agitation. thanks.

Anyone have a link to the broomstick exercise? Link is dead.