Rotator Cuff workaround?

[thomasrfrancis]

First time poster, just joined this morning. I'm 40, have been lifting for 20 years, first strained my RC about 12 years ago, and ever since it's been a cycle of resting > PT > regaining strength > reinjury. Which is very frustrating. I start every workout with a stretching regimen, followed by 15-20 mins of RC exercises, and I've stopped trying to do *any* overhead exercise, from pulldowns to chin-ups to shoulder press... and yet I still have shoulder irritation -- and every time I get excited about a new plateau-busting workout routine, I realize that my wonky shoulder prevents me from doing half the exercises.

I see the post below about shoulder problems from squatting, but I'm looking for suggestions for how I can modify my exercise regimen to work around the RC. Not looking to gain mass, just get definition / tone. So I'm thinking less weight, higher reps with more circuit training and stricter diet? Would love to hear suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[matt99b]

Watching with interest

[OldFartTom]

Sounds like you need an hour in gym with a qualified physio (who's also into weights) . That's possible as a colleague at work was last week telling me how she'd been able to do just that (for a recurring upper back issue). Not sure how easy that would be to arrange where you are. It probably won't be easy, but it'd be the gold standard for advice to break the cycle.

[beachguy498]

Do you know exactly what your rotator cuff issue is, and can you isolate it to which one? Have you had an MRI?

If you have bone spurs and other fun stuff like that you can do more damage to it. I was in PT for my shoulder for months and I was able to strengthen up my front rotator cuff. I'm still working around mine, I do about 60% pull exercises and 40% push. And nothing overhead. I eventually will need surgery on it.

[keyboardworkout]

Follow Dr. Kirsch's hanging protocol to reshape the acromion

[tkdnj]

My story was pretty much like yours... pain for many years, at some points worse than others. I ended up having extensive rotator cuff surgery in my right shoulder, so now I handle the left shoulder differently, and it has been ok (not perfect, but certainly well enough to stay in the game). Here is what I do to keep me from having surgery on the left one:

I keep training, BUT I do nothing that even remotely hurts my (left, unoperated) shoulder. So, I do what I need to do to work around it. For me, benching movements hurt, so when my shoulder pain flares up, I do some LIGHT, STRICT, CONTROLLED standing cable "benching". I stick with this until I feel NO MORE pain. Depending on what exercises bother your shoulder, you may have to adjust your grip on things like tricep pushdowns, lat pull downs, laterals, and curls. A great example is doing shoulder laterals somewhere in between in front of you and to the side of you (instead of totally to the side of you), and having your palms face each other rather than have palms facing down; you would be surprised what a difference that can make. Or, merely changing exercises (temporarily or permanently) like swapping incline barbell bench presses for dumbbell benches or low cable flyes. Again, you find other exercises that IN NO WAY bother your injury. If you keep irritating the injury, the inflammation will remain, and you will never be 100%. I have found temporary sacrifice beats the hell out of long term issues. I also ice the shoulder at least once if not twice AFTER training upper body.

If the pain does not get better, go see a professional who can help with everything like healing, rehab, diagnosis, and if eventually needed (hopefully not) any necessary procedures. The key here is to end the progression of the injury NOW. Chances are you have some simple tendinitis and inflammation in there. BUT, tendinitis and inflammation over time can lead to significant damage, and that is what you need to avoid.

Good Luck!

[comp85t]

I've had minor RC injuries in the past that took a few weeks to heal and then in October I had a labrum tear.

So now I've switched from lifting super heavy and wanting to be big, to lighter weights and more functional stuff, and making sure my RC muscles are strong along with back, core, etc..

I'm also 5'5 so a little muscle looks like a lot so I'm lucky in that regard.

I'm 24, young and the risk of injury just isn't worth it to me! As long as I have a 6pack and a little bit of muscle, (like you said, toned) that's good enough for me! :-)