General advice - working around an injury? (or not)

[DillonUSoB]

Hi, apologies if this isn’t the best place to post but it crosses a few categories so thought I’d start here since I’m 42 and that’s probably contributed to my aches and pains!
I started lifting weights at home maybe 5 months ago to complement running and thai boxing, but before long I’d ditched the running as I much prefer weights.
I started increasing protein and also taking creatine, and had gained about 6kg (probably not all muscle to be fair...) to date.
However over the last month I had an increasing twinge in my shoulder that has eventually reached a point where it’s painful to raise my arm above my head or push away (so potentially rotator cuff, but could be a number of things). I’m not so dumb as to not take that as a cue to rest for a period. I would get a doctors opinion but you can’t see a doctor at the moment, and it’s fairly obvious they’ll just tell me to rest for a couple of weeks anyway.
But we’ve gone back into lockdown and I’m now faced with not touching the weights and the muscle Id gained rapidly deteriorating.
So two questions for anyone full of knowledge out there:
Should I stop the creatine while I can’t lift? I’m assuming so as it won’t be getting used
Are there any upper body exercises that could be safely done without impacting the shoulder, while allowing a rotator cuff injury to repair for example?
Thanks for any advice.

[Episteme]

Hi, apologies if this isn’t the best place to post but it crosses a few categories so thought I’d start here since I’m 42 and that’s probably contributed to my aches and pains!
I started lifting weights at home maybe 5 months ago to complement running and thai boxing, but before long I’d ditched the running as I much prefer weights.
I started increasing protein and also taking creatine, and had gained about 6kg (probably not all muscle to be fair...) to date.
However over the last month I had an increasing twinge in my shoulder that has eventually reached a point where it’s painful to raise my arm above my head or push away (so potentially rotator cuff, but could be a number of things). I’m not so dumb as to not take that as a cue to rest for a period. I would get a doctors opinion but you can’t see a doctor at the moment, and it’s fairly obvious they’ll just tell me to rest for a couple of weeks anyway.
But we’ve gone back into lockdown and I’m now faced with not touching the weights and the muscle Id gained rapidly deteriorating.
So two questions for anyone full of knowledge out there:
Should I stop the creatine while I can’t lift? I’m assuming so as it won’t be getting used
Are there any upper body exercises that could be safely done without impacting the shoulder, while allowing a rotator cuff injury to repair for example?
Thanks for any advice.

I would continue your creatine use. There are studies out there that suggest that it's beneficial for many reasons (even mental acuity).

Your shoulder needs to be addressed by a medical expert. This might seem like an obvious answer, but you can do what movements don't cause pain, and avoid the one's that cause pain. In your situation, I'd squat, deadlift, row and do chins (neutral grip stuff) , along with any pressing movements that don't hurt (experiment with various degrees of declines and various grips. Seems like neutral grip stuff is friendlier on the shoulder, as well as narrower grip stuff). Partial movements can even be good.

good luck.

[DillonUSoB]

Sounds like good advice so I’ll take it all. Will continue the creatine - a bit more reading definitely suggests it will do more good than harm, will tentatively try out a few exercises to see what can be done without hitting the affected area, and turns out physios are still open so I’ll get myself booked in. Thanks - feel a bit more positive now!

[Garage Rat]

Use common sense.
Yes if you can see a medical professional do it for an accurate answer.
Dont do anything that aggravates or hurts the shoulder.
Hot/cold therapy may help in the healing process.
There is scientific evidence that training the good shoulder/side helps with the healing of the injured side something neurologically.
Coach Dan John agrees with this.
Do a search if your interested.
Im not medical professional so anything i recommend is mostly personal that has helped me.
The advise may or may not help you but IMO are not dangerous to try.
Good luck.

[air2fakie]

If you've only been lifting for 5 months and are already experiencing what sounds like impingement issues, look at your overall workout program and make sure it's properly balanced (push v. pull) and a sensible amount of volume.

There are likely exercises you can do which directly and indirectly impact your shoulder in a positive way, but consult a sports doctor and/or physical therapist for diagnosis and advice.

[TolerantLactose]

Working through a worsening shoulder is an easy no for me.

[OldFartTom]

I'm not medically qualified in any way, just a random internet weirdo.

Just a few questions. Will your shoulder let you squat with a really light bar if you put a small towel on each side and hold the towel like a safety squat handle. Pistol squat or pistol squat progression on a low bench. Can you do unweighted hypers or weighted ones holding a kettle bell to center of chest with the good arm. Can you do sit-up (etc) with arms crossed on chest, calf raises one leg, step ups on a box or big step. Can you use captain of crush grippers (be careful of shoulder though)

Yes shoulder won't help in any way, neither will lockdown, but surely you don't have to stop completely??

The sooner you can get shoulder examined by a physio the better. As soon as it's possible please get it checked

[DillonUSoB]

Thanks for the input, everyone. Great to get some more informed perspectives on this. Under the circumstances (ie not many people going out), I think I’ll get to see a physio pretty fast so will only keep up exercises that fully rest the shoulder - and thanks for the suggestions on those - until I’ve had it checked out. No sense pushing it for the sake of what’s hopefully a matter of days. Definitely don’t have to stop completely, just have to exercise some common sense for now! And I’ll revisit my workout to see if I’m balancing things properly to help avoid landing myself here again in future. Thanks everyone - really appreciate it.

[ckkon]

it is best to see your doctor when it becomes possible. And then continue training in full volume!