The Complete Shoulder and RC Injury Article

**GluteStrength** · 02-24-2009, 06:50 PM

I stayed away from the gym for 3 weeks, did the RC exercises, I stretch and warm up regularly. First week back at the gym, just did mostly flat bench yesterday for chest. No pain while lifting or shortly thereafter, only until the next day during the afternoon did my left shoulder begin to feel kind of tight, much like a stiff neck, yet no pain. Is this okay to work out with and just avoid shoulders or should I go see a doc if the feeling persists?

**jckedup616** · 02-24-2009, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by GluteStrength

I stayed away from the gym for 3 weeks, did the RC exercises, I stretch and warm up regularly. First week back at the gym, just did mostly flat bench yesterday for chest. No pain while lifting or shortly thereafter, only until the next day during the afternoon did my left shoulder begin to feel kind of tight, much like a stiff neck, yet no pain. Is this okay to work out with and just avoid shoulders or should I go see a doc if the feeling persists?

from my experience if the pain is not to killing you or you cannot use your shoulder at all, the doctor will not do anything. He will advise you to go to a physical therapists which may actually help you. It wouldn't be bad to go to a real therapist for a few sessions.

**GluteStrength** · 02-24-2009, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by jckedup616

from my experience if the pain is not to killing you or you cannot use your shoulder at all, the doctor will not do anything. He will advise you to go to a physical therapists which may actually help you. It wouldn't be bad to go to a real therapist for a few sessions.

Perhaps an MRI to see if maybe anything is unusually enlarged or damaged? I'll give it a shot either way, wouldn't hurt to see what he says. Also, I asked a couple guys in the gym and one of them suggested doing Deca since it repairs joints and ligaments he said lol. I'm not about to do it just because he said to and without enough research on the subject, but... any opinions? lol.

**mkit8971** · 02-26-2009, 01:44 PM

I suggest an MRI. That'll provide you with a better answer and how to treat the problem. Good luck.

**dtrryan** · 02-27-2009, 07:45 AM

Well you can listen to the ladies who lift little weights or you can read the article that every StrongMan competitor, is promoted by WestSide Barbell and the strongest bench pressers in the World, who are pressing over 800 - 1000 pounds.

You might want to pay attention since it is available in 22 languages.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drryan9.htm

Or you can go back and train with the girls, it is up to you!

**BernieD** · 02-28-2009, 09:23 PM

Hello...well the OP is back from the dead. I just remembered this thread and thought I'd check on it. The last time I'd logged into BB.com was July 2008 haha. Nice to see I had a bunch of PMs waiting for me with questions. I can't answer everything from the thread, but a couple general comments.

If you have weak or rounded shoulders, do exercises for your posterior deltoid. This muscle is very weak in most people and leads to injuries. 2 exercises for the PD:

1) Reverse pec deck. Go on the peck deck machine and do the reverse fly on there.

2) My personal fav: Using the tricep pushdown machine, attach one a rope handle. Grab the rope and take several steps back from the machine. Have your elbows at chin level as you pull back on the rope, pulling the rope towards your head, almost touching your head. Then slowly release and repeat. Sorry for the bad explanation but it's hard to explain. Just remember to keep your elbows high and you will feel this in your posterior deltoids, the back of the shoulder.

Originally Posted by essawi

Does this work for shoulder tendonitis?

Yes it may help. With tendonitis the important thing is rest, ice and heat. Then after a couple weeks do a few strengthening exercises.

Originally Posted by GluteStrength

I stayed away from the gym for 3 weeks, did the RC exercises, I stretch and warm up regularly. First week back at the gym, just did mostly flat bench yesterday for chest. No pain while lifting or shortly thereafter, only until the next day during the afternoon did my left shoulder begin to feel kind of tight, much like a stiff neck, yet no pain. Is this okay to work out with and just avoid shoulders or should I go see a doc if the feeling persists?

Well maybe you lifted too heavily on the flat bench. Some soreness after 3 weeks off is normal. If it persists, just go lighter on the weights. Even taking 3 weeks off from the gym, your strength will decrease by a lot. I forget the exact percentage, but I read that you lose a small amount of strength each week. So after 3 weeks, yea, you'd be weaker and you'd have to lift easy for a week or 2 to catch up.

**chadobomber** · 03-06-2009, 08:07 AM

Hey guys,

Everyone claims that the article found at http://www.intens************/showthr...7&page=1&pp=25 works wonders for shoulder injuries. I'm having trouble accessing the page. Are the asterix's in the URL supposed to be there?

**Wh][te Dev][L** · 03-06-2009, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by chadobomber

Hey guys,

Everyone claims that the article found at http://www.intens************/showthr...7&page=1&pp=25 works wonders for shoulder injuries. I'm having trouble accessing the page. Are the asterix's in the URL supposed to be there?

I have shoulder issues and did those broomstick stretches for a while and it got worse. Not to say that they won't work for some, just be careful.
If you have a nagging, what could be serious issue a MRI and consult with a shoulder specialist is a must.

**jmac66** · 03-11-2009, 02:33 AM

Great article! I've suffered from a right shoulder impingement for years, and am just now recovering from the worst bout I've ever had. As a medical provider, I can say your advice was spot on what my physical therapists preach about shoulder injury and rehab. I also agree with your comment about not being able to diagnose over the internet... always see your provider!

Keep up the good work, and thanks again for the excellent article.

jmac66

**atf8008** · 03-11-2009, 01:54 PM

Thanks for the great post. I really wasn't sure what was going on with my shoulder until I started some of the stretches you suggested. Thanks again. Great post.

**GenghisKal** · 03-12-2009, 06:47 AM

I've just got into bodybuilding and feel extremely foolish for having suffered a shoulder injury so early. About 2 months ago I felt extreme pain in my right shoulder while doing flat bench presses but I continued (although not to maximum weight or failure), and then continued with the rest of my workout. I realise how stupid this was. I've had 2 months off, once the pain stopped I started doing some REALLY light raises and presses, and for a few weeks there was no pain, so last week I decided to start working out properly again. Now the pain is back and I've also noticed that there seems to be a part of my shoulder missing (I know it sounds daft), in between the front and rear deltoids and behind the middle one. This makes it look odd, whereas my left shoulder looks nice and rounded and feels full, there is a gap in my right one which is very clear when I run my hand along my shoulder towards my neck. This is very worrying because now I'm sure this is a serious injury and that surgery may be required. Anyway I'm going to a sports injury clinic tommorow to get a proper diagnosis, I just wanted to share this to get peoples thoughts and maybe some advice from bodybuilders who have experienced this about whether I can recover both strength and physical shape of the shoulder. So frustrating because I've recently made a massive lifestyle change, eating way healthier and getting more exercise, then getting into weight lifting, and now this has set me back.

**KIDDROK** · 03-20-2009, 09:59 AM

one thing i didnt see mentioned is how long after an injury should you start rehabing it ? also that depends on the severity of the injury. some injuries need time before you start a rehab program. also ppl should keep in mind that they should ice after and ther are plenty of nutritionals to take also to speed up recovery. eg chondroiden,clucosamine,msm.fsn,fish oil,ibuprophen. I'm rehabing a seperated shoulder,torn muscle/tendons frm m.m.a training. needed a good 2 mos of resting it before trying to rehab,dr's orders. so i wanted to check out other ppl opinions on rehab & seems im on the right track. dam 2 lbs is heavy right now lol !

**PBJTime** · 03-30-2009, 10:24 PM

I think you described my shoulder rehab protocol. I didn't read everything in depth yet, but it looks good from reading over it. If I could rep you right now I would (not that it would mean anything right now since I don't have "the power.")

Edit: I would recommend not doing the "empty can" exercise anymore for anyone doing these. That is kind of "old school" therapy. When performing that exercise, you are most certainly impinging the supraspinatus tendon when you go above about 45 degrees. In fact, this position (with the thumb down) is actually used in some tests to help diagnose shoulder pathology. The better way to do it is "full can" with your thumb up. In fact, any kind of exercise involving raising your arm up should be with the thumb up to externally rotate the humerus.

**yoyohello** · 03-31-2009, 02:41 AM

hey guys, i think i injured my shoulder about 2 weeks ago. someone pulled my arms while i was sleeping and i felt a sharp pain in my shoulder (but it doenst bother me really). then i noticed teh pain while doing flat bench press, wide grip. anyway, i noticed taht when i do shoulder abduction (arms at the side, then raise them overhead, laterally), my shoulder has pain. this is the only stretch where there is pain; otherwise, i just have tightness. ideas? waht do you think it is?

**Paul1981** · 04-08-2009, 03:57 AM

For a few days i have had pain in the front of my left shoulder like a dull aching. Today after doing floor press (i have no space for a bench) the pain increased a little and also appeared in my other shoulder. Something i have noticed is that compared to the rest of my body my shoulders are lagging behind in the weight they can take so im wondering rather than just lay off lifting for a while would it perhaps be a good idea to cut down on the weight im using and wait until my shoulder exercises have caught up with the rest of my body? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

**KarateLisa** · 04-08-2009, 01:06 PM

Bernie,

Thanks for the very informative post !

I've had a nagging RC issue from my martial arts training and was unsure how to deal with it in regards to my (new) weight lifting program. The information you provided is much appreciated !

Lisa

**hxh_killua** · 04-09-2009, 08:53 PM

Hi there,

Last Sunday, was the first time I had felt shoulder discomfort when doing an exercise. While, I've done dumbbell flies before, I have never felt discomfort.

It's a discomfort/minor pain that has persisted this whole week. It feels like where the joint is deep inside my deltoids. Has anyone have the same experience? I'm not sure what to do. (rotator cuff exercises?)

I'm going to the doctors tomorrow but I know he'll just tell me to rest or take pain killers if the pain is severely bothering me.

I'm worried as I know how the body has to work coherently and a shoulder injury can really set anyone back.

**bigart7803** · 04-14-2009, 04:59 AM

i have had a shoulder pain goin back to high school. i have always worked through it. it mainly hurts when i do incline or front lateral raises. would ur best opinion be that it might be injured or that it may just be that its not able to support the weight i do? i have lowered the weight, it doesnt hurt as much but still gets tender. another thing is when im doin these exercises sometimes i feel like my shoulder pops, kinda like 2 things are rubbing together and thats where the pain comes from. after reading the post im starting to think that it might be an injury. and on some of the exercises to recover i clicked on, and it would not display, could u put the links on again?

Thanks, Art

**rockymp14** · 04-24-2009, 01:43 AM

most of the excersises you mentioned i am familiar with and have used them from time to time and they do work. Any way my question is about my posture. when i lift weights i notice that my left shoulder sits higher than my right one. i played baseball for 12yrs and am wondering if this could be cause of my right side hanging lower. this does effect me lifting weights everything from straight bar curls to benching. however my left delt is shaped much better that the right one. thanks and any suggestions would be great.

**isosceles** · 04-24-2009, 03:15 AM

xpost as this seems to be the more up to date shoulder thread:

man you all want to talk about depressing.. I'm 20 and just got my 2nd shoulder surgery (on the same shoulder) on Feb 5th. I had about 10 dislocations before my first surgery, which lasted about 3 years before the next dislocation - which annoyingly enough happened when I twisted my arm the wrong way trying to catch a LOB football pass... from 5 yards away. Yeah, I suck.
About 4 more dislocations later, all of them occurring while I was asleep, we realized that it was definitely time for emergency surgery. That is a less-than-fun way to wake up, btw.
Like a lot of guys in here, the doctors/MRIs couldn't find a single thing wrong with my shoulder. In the end, I went to the best guy I could find in Miami (he does most of the pro sports teams shoulders/knees in the area) and said "just open me up and fix what you decide needs to be fixed." It was pretty ugly. Tears everywhere, I was missing about 25% of my bone from the scraping it went through on post-surgery dislocations, just ugly ugly stuff.
Yeah, it was pretty depressing the first time around, and even more so now. I had 3 months of recovery before, and this one was given about 8 months so I'll be ecstatic if I somehow make it back in time for soccer in September. The pain has JUST finally gone away, and physical therapy is going pretty solidly. I've got 95% ROM back already on everything except external rotation and reaching behind my back. Those are still going pretty slowly, but that's what the surgery was repairing.
Also, during one of my physical therapy sessions, my right shoulder slipped doing an exercise. Scary as ****, but it went right back in within half a second and feels fine now.

Gl to everyone else going through this right now. Just think how much more we will enjoy working out as opposed to those who have never been injured, since we know what it is like to completely be UNABLE to do it.

**Blindead** · 04-26-2009, 12:08 AM

Do you guys know any way to improve shoulder mobility? I have....horrible...shoulder mobility. I tried doing those "shoulder dislocation" things and I literally can't do it no matter how wide I go. The stretch where you drop a towel over your back and pull the other arm up with? My left arm can touch my neck easily but my right can barely get between my shoulder blades without inching up.

**Burzmali** · 05-15-2009, 09:49 PM

I tried the stretch listed in the article, the one wear you get a 90 degree angle at the elbow and put your hand behind your back as far as comfortable.

With my left arm, I can get it up touching the right shoulder blade. With the right arm (injured probably), I can only get it barely reaching midway up my back.

This is a really good sign something is wrong, correct?

Other symptoms: the right shoulder is extremely loose. I can sort of dislocate it at will by just flexing the shoulder a certain way.

I think it might be related to my upper back pain, I think that my body is sort of slanted like this: (exaggerated in this drawing)

[x is torso, - is arm, looking straight down as if above me]

xx--
--xx

Any ideas on what the problem could be?

**Blindead** · 05-15-2009, 11:18 PM

I have the same problem with mobility in that stretch. Getting an MRI soon...I'll let you know, lol.

**7amad123** · 05-21-2009, 12:03 PM

First, begin your exercise with a five-minute warm-up period such as slow walking or easy-paced bike riding. A slow gentle warm-up is a lot more effective than stretching in preventing injury to your muscles.

Stretching is important to maintain flexibility, but it's best to stretch at the end of your warm-up period. Even stretching can injure your muscles and tendons if done too vigorously when you're still cold. Another point to remember about stretching is that it should be static. This means you should hold the stretched position for at least 10 to 20 seconds before repeating or advancing the stretch. Never use a bouncing type of stretching, such as quick repeated toe touching, because it can cause injury.

Cooling-down with slow activity for five minutes at the end of your exercise period is important for your heart and for your muscles and tendons. Stopping exercise abruptly will release a large amount of adrenaline-like hormones in your body, which can cause a sudden stress to your heart. Continue to walk slowly after completing your run, or cycle slowly for 5 minutes at the end of your ride. A proper cool-down will also rid the muscles of lactic acid, which is built up during exercise. This will help prevent muscle stiffness and soreness following exercise.

Good foot protection is well worth the investment. If you need to buy new shoes, they should provide adequate arch support, some firmness or stiffness to the part of the shoe behind the heel, and padding behind the heel to prevent friction against the Achilles tendon and heel bone. Also, there should be enough thickness to the sole of the shoe to absorb shock well and minimize the pounding to your joints.

Variety is important. Use more than one kind of exercise to avoid constantly using your muscles or joints in the same way each time. If you like to swim regularly, alternate occasionally with biking, walking or even vigorous low-impact dancing.

Finally, the guiding principle for injury prevention is to listen to your body. You don't need to have pain to gain in fitness. Rest when you're tired. You may have chosen an activity that doesn't match your current level of fitness or your skill level. Allow yourself time and training to gradually improve.

**Blindead** · 05-26-2009, 02:37 PM

Torn rotator cuff, awesome.

naaaaaaaaaaaat.

f my life.

**Burzmali** · 05-27-2009, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by Seamless

Torn rotator cuff, awesome.

naaaaaaaaaaaat.

f my life.

wat...

you serious??

how could you be benching 200+ with a torn rotator cuff. you are starting to scare me now, because i always thought "no way i have a torn RC b/c i put up 225 on bench that makes no sense".

**Burzmali** · 06-12-2009, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by Burzmali

wat...

you serious??

how could you be benching 200+ with a torn rotator cuff. you are starting to scare me now, because i always thought "no way i have a torn RC b/c i put up 225 on bench that makes no sense".

bump

**Blindead** · 06-12-2009, 05:54 PM

*** partially torn rotator cuff. well, supraspinatus (part of the RC). my bad lulz. it's not a full tear. and before going to the doctor finally about the pain...2 weeks before going i got 195x5 clean. the next week i got 195 twice. before i started getting pain i was getting 225x5. and it's not a large partial tear either.

**bigman334** · 06-12-2009, 06:53 PM

hey guys. i know shoulder problems are really hit or miss when trying to diagnose through an explanation. however i feel as though my problem isnt major. it cant be or else i wouldnt be able to still do some of the lifts i do. The area's it hurts most is when i do a lift that requires me to lift weight up and over such as any type of bench press or military press. the seated press where you have to sorta lift your arms back then up to get the bar is a bitch and hurts the most. i'll tell you what is strange about my injury is that it seems to be a problem with the part of the shoulder that is responsible for pulling up. at my job i am constantly lifting 15 lb's or so in a pulling up motion and sometimes pulling up while my arm is extended to lift the object. i'm almost certain this is a reason i cant heal. lets say i put my hand in a clapping motion and hold them together and press really hard, i can feel slight pain in that area thats bothering me. Getting in the pec dec is a bitch as that placing of my arm back and up is a bitch. If i stand up with my arms extended out parallell to the ground i begin to feel the pain in that shoulder. it's almost as if a joint is too weak. all of those problems IMO come back to the same problem that i have. it's almost as if extending across my body hurts although extending behind is not a problem. so is that protraction or rectraction? any help would be appreciated. i'd also like to state that i could probably bench 205 for reps with this injury though be in some pain. the wider the grip the more pain. i can military press 135 for reps with this injury with a slightly closer grip with a little pain. now that i mention military press, the motion of picking the weight up off the ground then transferring it up right at the switch of the wrist i can feel it and sometimes hear it pop. this is with standing barbell presses. Again, somewhat of a pulling up motion causing the problem. the more i type the more i realize my shoulder is probably ****ed.

**Blindead** · 06-12-2009, 07:02 PM

It's probably tendonitis somewhere in your shoulder, where the shoulder attaches to the bicep, or in your rotator cuff. Those symptoms are pretty similar to mine.

Thread: The Complete Shoulder and RC Injury Article

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