The Complete Shoulder and RC Injury Article

[***8ness8***]

I've always worked out my shoulders evenly however for some reason I have this awkard "lean" or imbalance to my shoulder where my right should hangs about an inch lower than my left one... My strength seems to be equal with both shoulder however, any suggestions on how to fix this?

[jckedup616]

I've always worked out my shoulders evenly however for some reason I have this awkard "lean" or imbalance to my shoulder where my right should hangs about an inch lower than my left one... My strength seems to be equal with both shoulder however, any suggestions on how to fix this?

x2

I injured my right shoulder, tried to work through the pain, went through physical therapy and still my right shoulder droops

I think part of the problem lies in the traps. The traps basically hold your shoulder in place. Hold your shoulders back when you do trap work and any other work

[Sami76]

This thread is awesome. A lot of info to absorb! Major props to the OP and other contributors. I've had chronic pain in both shoulders for over a decade now and it's really put a damper not only on shoulder training, but also on benching. One of the first things I'm going to try is that broomstick exercise.

[calorier710]

Thanks for your posts. They are really very cool, very wonderful

[Aries21]

when i turn my arm into my body, forearm across my chest, my shoulder is in pain.. rc injury?

[jckedup616]

when i turn my arm into my body, forearm across my chest, my shoulder is in pain.. rc injury?

could be a problem with the bicep tendon. I still have lingering tendonitis and when i do that motion it hurts in the bicep tendon

[19JasonB93]

my shoulder pops out when lifted straight above the head or jsur behind it. do u have any rehab for this.

[pev]

my shoulder pops out when lifted straight above the head or jsur behind it. do u have any rehab for this.

if its popping out that easily id recommend seeing an orthopedic surgeon for advice

[boultwood]

Helped me with my trick shoulder. Thanks

[guest89]

Great thread. I've been suffering from an injured shoulder for awhile (6+ months) and realized training through the pain simply wasn't working. Time to really focus on rehabbing it. (I have been for the last week, everyday I go to the gym and do lightweight high rep shoulder exercises listed here and other places, which takes me about an hour a half. I've been able to do more and more reps so it is improving.


My question is, what exactly are the best chest exercises for someone with a jacked up shoulder?


Bench press and DB press = out of the question. When I get done doing them I'm in intense pain. (I get worse shoulder pain when I bench press then when I military press). Dips = out of the question, again terrible pain during/afterwards.

In fact, every chest exercise seems to be terrible for the shoulders. I need something that I can do in the 12 rep range because I'm keeping the weight light until I'm fully healed. Preferably more then 1 chest exercise to choose from. Perhaps top 3 most healthy for shoulders.

[proti3n]

my shoulder pops out when lifted straight above the head or jsur behind it. do u have any rehab for this.

ha you need to have surgery to tighten your rotator cuff search up "bankart surgery"

[RavensFan2k3]

those of you rehabbing your shoulders, what rep ranges are you using? I'm not sure if I should be using a 15-25 rep range or something like 12-20. They arent that different I know, so would it make a difference? Should I be using something lower?

[guest89]

those of you rehabbing your shoulders, what rep ranges are you using? I'm not sure if I should be using a 15-25 rep range or something like 12-20. They arent that different I know, so would it make a difference? Should I be using something lower?

I start at 12-20 reps (depending on the exercise, I do about 10 different ones) then every single day I add a rep.


Feels good when you hit 30 reps on something that you originally struggled to make 15 reps with. (My goal is 30 reps, then I up the weight a notch, do less reps, work way back to 30.



Still haven't done anything for chest in 4 weeks.. Not sure what chest exercises aren't harmful to the shoulders and don't wanna experiment. Any help guys?

[RavensFan2k3]

I start at 12-20 reps (depending on the exercise, I do about 10 different ones) then every single day I add a rep.


Feels good when you hit 30 reps on something that you originally struggled to make 15 reps with. (My goal is 30 reps, then I up the weight a notch, do less reps, work way back to 30.



Still haven't done anything for chest in 4 weeks.. Not sure what chest exercises aren't harmful to the shoulders and don't wanna experiment. Any help guys?

So you work up to 30? You said depending on the exercise. What rep range do you use for lateral raises if you do them?

[guest89]

So you work up to 30? You said depending on the exercise. What rep range do you use for lateral raises if you do them?

I started at 10lb dbs for 12 reps and worked up to 16 reps. I don't do them every single day cause I alternate Lateral raise, front raise, and military press.

My "heavy" sets are, I rotate these out on different days, I do one of these each day, although it depends mostly on whats available/what I feel like doing.

Military press: 65lbs (using a BB) for 18 reps (3 sets).
Lat. Raise: 10lb DBx 16 reps.
Front raise: 10lb DBx 16 reps. (Could possibly do more, keeping even with LR though).
(Only been at this 2 weeks and didn't do raises as much at first)




Also I've been doing these (someone else posted this video in this thread) every single day for 3 sets at the end of my workout (using 10lb DBs rather then a BB). Right now I'm at 15 reps.





For all the exercises using weights I start out at 12 reps because form is really important. I don't go lower cause don't want too much weight as strain. I also do 2 types of exercises using the cables at the beginning of every workout, I do these every day.



This one is at 28 reps



(Taken from mindandmuscle site, link at bottom of post)

And I'm at 31 reps of these
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...lRotation.html
(posted in OPs post in this thread).





I do 3 sets of every exercise I've posted. Reps increase each day by 1 for each lift/exercise. I stay vigilant looking for shoulder exercises though and sometimes I might throw in 2 sets of some of random shoulder exercise (the ones I feel aren't as effective as these but I still do them every now and then).






This is an excellent article on the subject of shoulder recovery btw, written by Marc McDougal.
http://www.mindandmuscle.net/article...der?page=0%2C0






My shoulders are fairly strong (even though injured), but my endurance is terrible in my left shoulder which is why I'm spending an hour every single day working shoulders. Endurance is definitely increasing A LOT by doing this. This next week I'll probably slow my shoulders to 30 mins a day so I can start working the rest of my body (lightly). Coming off of a knee injury as well so its time I start rehabbing it as well.

[RavensFan2k3]

I started at 10lb dbs for 12 reps and worked up to 16 reps. I don't do them every single day cause I alternate Lateral raise, front raise, and military press.

My "heavy" sets are, I rotate these out on different days, I do one of these each day, although it depends mostly on whats available/what I feel like doing.

Military press: 65lbs (using a BB) for 18 reps (3 sets).
Lat. Raise: 10lb DBx 16 reps.
Front raise: 10lb DBx 16 reps. (Could possibly do more, keeping even with LR though).
(Only been at this 2 weeks and didn't do raises as much at first)

Me and you seem to be doing similar things. Are you going to take these all the way to 30 reps? Is it necessary to go that high? I originally was going to do these up to 25 reps, but I'm thinking of only going up to 20 before I increase the weight.

Also I've been doing these (someone else posted this video in this thread) every single day for 3 sets at the end of my workout (using 10lb DBs rather then a BB). Right now I'm at 15 reps.

I do these aswell with a dumbbell. I was going to up up to 25 reps with these.

For all the exercises using weights I start out at 12 reps because form is really important. I don't go lower cause don't want too much weight as strain. I also do 2 types of exercises using the cables at the beginning of every workout, I do these every day.



This one is at 28 reps



(Taken from mindandmuscle site, link at bottom of post)

And I'm at 31 reps of these
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...lRotation.html
(posted in OPs post in this thread).





I do 3 sets of every exercise I've posted. Reps increase each day by 1 for each lift/exercise. I stay vigilant looking for shoulder exercises though and sometimes I might throw in 2 sets of some of random shoulder exercise (the ones I feel aren't as effective as these but I still do them every now and then).

I do all of these internal and external rotations aswell, although not everyday.

This is an excellent article on the subject of shoulder recovery btw, written by Marc McDougal.
http://www.mindandmuscle.net/article...der?page=0%2C0






My shoulders are fairly strong (even though injured), but my endurance is terrible in my left shoulder which is why I'm spending an hour every single day working shoulders. Endurance is definitely increasing A LOT by doing this. This next week I'll probably slow my shoulders to 30 mins a day so I can start working the rest of my body (lightly). Coming off of a knee injury as well so its time I start rehabbing it as well.

Thanks for the link. You're endurance is increasing alot, but how is that useful when doing exercises in the 6-15 rep range? How long have you been devoting your workouts to your shoulders?

[guest89]

Me and you seem to be doing similar things. Are you going to take these all the way to 30 reps? Is it necessary to go that high? I originally was going to do these up to 25 reps, but I'm thinking of only going up to 20 before I increase the weight.
25 reps for lifts involving weights, then I'll go to a higher db is my goal.






Thanks for the link. You're endurance is increasing alot, but how is that useful when doing exercises in the 6-15 rep range? How long have you been devoting your workouts to your shoulders?
Since I'm coming off of a knee injury as well I haven't been doing other lifts since I started rehabbing my shoulders. This evening I intend on starting a normal split, but am gonna use 12 reps for a few weeks.



I've been devoting an hour a day to shoulders but since I'm starting to hit the rest of my body today gonna drop it down to 30 mins a day on shoulders

In bold ^.

[FrancisMHWhite]

anyone here have shoulder separation injuries before? if so how long did you wait before lifting again and how did your shoulder look?

i had a 3rd degree separation back in march but since my parents' healthcare is crap, they'd prefer to avoid me getting an MRI, so i've just been doing some rubber band exercises with my shoulder the past month or so and it seems to have tightened up quite a bit(not 100% though), though there still is a rather large bump on my shoulder. you guys think i'm good to get back into lightweight lifting or should i continue to hold off?

[peshay]

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.

Totally agree that empty can excercise involving internal rotation is terrible for those suffering from internal rotation as is the lateral raise with the pinky finger at the highest point.

[donchesak]

Great article! Thx for posting!

[Khainpride]

Hello guys i am no troll so believe my story please

in the end of 2008 in martial arts training i landed on my shoulder while doing a flip @ 200 lbs.

I didnt feel nothing and everything was fine but when i went to sleep, i woke up around middle of the night screaming the most pain i had in my life. ( i couldnt even move my shoulder..it was like it was stuck in one position..if i tried to move it it would hurt really badly)

I been to the doctors couple of time..gave me anti inflammatory pills..10 physical therapy sessions.

It didnt get better.. so i started to lift weights in december of 2008. It got better and i was happier.. also getting in shape lol ^.^

around beginning of 2009 till the summer i probably ( idk how to explain but it feels like it) teared my shoulders( yes both) about 10 times lol. I quit lifting from the summer till this summer ( I lifted on and off actually).

I been to the doctors, they act like its all in my head. Maybe because i was too smart in this shoulder injury. I told them what i possibly have and they should check it out. ( this was 2010 march) They gave no prescription for pills and just told me to go buy anti inflammatory pills from a pharmacy. They told me to go lift weights..do it lightly and stretch my shoulder.

I did what they said and nothing works.

cool im ok with the pain i can handle it for my whole life but for love of god why does it hurt soooooooooooooooo BAD when in my college lecture............

It feels like it inflames extremely... i also notice it when i got to a movie theater with friends. I know how this happens. It happens by me not moving my shoulder for a long period of time ( 20 minutes plus+).

It hurts so bad that i cannot focus in my class and because of that i **** up on my test because i cannot focus.

I can go to a doctor but he would do nothing but say "take sum pills kid so u can become a junkie". ( not really lol)

for almost 2 years the docs didnt even take a xray or mri of my shoulder.

Oh and i like to say that whichever direction i move my right shoulder it cracks and its not a good feeling... it gets uncomfortable. My left shoulder doesnt crack much though.( i guess something like my tendon rubbing against bone??)

ATM im typing this i am having pain. ( not the amount i get in lecture..there i have the worst ones)

Can you guys recommend me anything?

tmr i will start cooking my meals and begin a diet. I will follow this routine like i did before but with more motivation. I am 210 pounds all fat.

I also cannot do barbell bench press, even the bar hurts. Dumbells are OK but they still hurt if i go full ROM.

[oliedwards]

amazing post . read every word twice
Hail the OP

[jturk123]

Section 4: A Sample Routine

The following is a sample routine for the aforementioned exercises. Ideally you would do them before every upper body workout. But then again, this routine can also be time-consuming, so if you want, you could limit the routine to just internal rotation and then external rotation or Cuban rotation.

Exercise 1: Internal Rotation on a cable pulley machine (do both arms together at the same time) or with dumbbells (but again, cables are best)

2-3 sets, 30-50 reps, 10-15 pounds (20-25 reps and 5-10 pounds for dumbbells)

Exercise 2: External Rotation on a cable pulley machine or with dumbbells

2-3 sets, 30-50 reps, 10-15 pounds (20-25 reps and 5-10 pounds for dumbbells)

Exercise 3: Cuban Rotation

2-3 sets, 10-12 reps, start off somewhere between a 15 pound to 40 pound bar and go from there

Exercise 4: Scapular Retraction

2-3 sets, 10-15 reps, try dumbbells anywhere between 5-20 pounds and go up from there. Remember to really squeeze those shoulder blades



Section 5: Exercises to be wary of

This section of the article will probably be very controversial. I will give a list of exercises that I think should not be done at all (for someone with healthy or bad shoulders) and some that should be avoided if you have shoulder problems (granted, the best thing is to not be lifting at all if you have a bad shoulder, but if it is only minor and nagging, it is still very common to see guys just working through it). Ultimately, you have to be the judge. But remember—just because the exercise doesn’t cause pain, does not mean it can’t cause problems in the long run. Here are some of my suggestions:

1) Upright Rows: I think that these should be avoided entirely. Again, I will emphasize that this isn’t true for everyone, but they have a high probability of causing impingement

2) Pec Deck: If your shoulders are fine, go for it. But if you have any shoulder issues, steer clear.

3) Flyes: Same as above. If your shoulders are fine, go for it. If not, be wary

4) Dips: Same as above. If you have bad shoulders avoid them. Otherwise, go ahead. Just be sure to not go past parallel with your upper arms.

5) Shoulder and Chest Presses (including Bench Press): These will most certainly aggravate your bad shoulder. Try to avoid these if you have shoulder problems.

6) Overhead Tricep Extension (with barbell or dumbbell): These put a lot of stress on your shoulders, so if you have any issues, avoid them.

Realistically, I could go on forever, as almost every upper body exercise involves the shoulders, but I think these are some of the top ones to avoid. You could argue that Any type of lateral or front raise should be in there too, but since you do usually go lighter with them anyway, I’ll leave that for you to decide whether to do them or not if you have a bad shoulder. Only you can judge what your body can handle, not me.


Section 6: How to do certain exercises better

Through my training, I found ways to change an exercise a little bit so that if you have shoulder problems, and even if you don’t, you can perform them without putting too much stress on the shoulders. Again, you have to be your own judge. I could do most of these exercises without pain when my RC was bad, but that does not mean that this will be true for everybody. My point is, tread cautiously. Use these suggestions as a guide and hopefully they will help you.

1) Flat, Incline or Decline Dumbbell or Barbell Press: When lowering the barbell or dumbbell, don’t go all the way to your chest. The point of doing these exercises is mainly to work your chest, and if you go too low, your shoulders will start doing all the work. Try it out for yourself to see what’s comfortable for you, but I would stop 3-4 inches above your chest. This will keep the stress on your chest (good) and off your shoulders (also good).
2) Pullups or Chinups: On the negative part of these exercises, don’t quite go down all the way so that your arms are completely straight. This will put a lot of stress on your shoulders.
3) Pushups: Changing your hand positioning will reduce the stress on your shoulders. When my RC was bad, regular pushups caused me pain. But changing the hand position made them pain-free. For example, let’s say your right shoulder is your bad one. When you get into pushup position, move your right hand back a couple inches, but keep your left hand where it was. Although some will decry that this will work your muscles different from the classic pushup, if you have a bad shoulder pushups might be painful, but putting the arm with the bad shoulders a couple inches back will greatly reduce the stress on your shoulders.
4) Skullcrushers or Lying tricep extensions: Instead of doing them on a flat bench, which is the most common way, try doing them on a slight incline. This will greatly reduce the stress on your shoulders. Even now that my shoulders are OK, I still do extensions on a slight incline (the lowest the bench will go without being flat, I think that’s at 15 degrees).


That’s about all I can think of on how to perform certain exercises better to reduce stress on your shoulders. If I come up with anymore ideas I’ll add them, or if anyone else has suggestions I will gladly add them and credit you as the source.

Section 7: Further Reading

Here are some articles on shoulder rehabilitation if you’re interested in further reading:


http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...18/ai_83343027

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....=body_145shldr

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbin...oulderInjuries


Section 8: Final Thoughts

If you’re reading this, well then thank you for making it this far! This took me a long time to write up, and I hope you have gained some new knowledge, whether you’re a novice or veteran of lifting, whether you have healthy shoulders or you don’t. I would just like to stress again that these exercises aren’t about how much weight you can do. Form and control are paramount. If you have any suggestions or comments or questions, please say something! If there’s something in here you disagree with, tell me why. As long as you give me a good reason, I’ll listen. But if you just say “your article sucks,” it’ll fall on deaf ears. I want to know why it “sucks” and what I can change. I wrote this as a service to everyone out there, healthy shoulders or not, and show you what has worked for me. If you even gain one tip or one exercise or whatever from this, then I’ll be happy. If not, that’s fine too. Good luck!

just wanted to say that using techniques in your article, my shoulder is substantially improved which im very happy about. nice work. peace, john.

[Macrae88]

do you know anything about exercising after RC surgery? im gettin mine repaired next month and need a way to stay strong.

[MillenniumTiger]

So in September of '09 I had my labrum/bicep tendon repaired after tearing both from football. Everything was going good up til about 6-8 weeks ago when I hurt it again in practice. Been playin with a brace on it since and got my arthrogram/MRI on Monday. Results came Tuesday and turns out I re-tore the labrum and this time tore the rotator cuff as well (infraspinitus/supraspinitus). Will be getting them repaired whenever our season ends as the National Championship game is not til December 18th and hopefully we are playing then.

Anyways, just wanted to know if anyone knew what sort of rehab differences I will be looking at. I know for sure I'll be out of Spring Ball and won't be allowed to start pushing myself in the weight room for 3/4 months post surgery like last time. On top of it all, my offensive line coach said no more flat bench pressing for the rest of my college career

[josephinedalton]

i followed this thread for a while after my last shoulder surgery in 08. I am now lying in bed in a wedge and sling referring back to it to refresh my memory on the original writeup.

I also started a new thread about my journey back to the stage. Not sure when that will be. Feel free to come follow along.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=130575993


Trainer Jo Fitness
cPT Josephine Dalton
www.trainerjo.com
www.trainerjo1.blogspot.com/
www.********.com/josephine702
www.twitter.com/trainerjofit
http://www.********.com/group.php?gid=242690756518

[Madevilz]

aint it a great feeling when you wake up and dont feel the pain in the shoulder anymore?

feels like I want to cry (no emo)

[davidkap]

in w/ strained supraspinatus

in4longread

also subbed

[thekaratekid]

I'm looking into getting on some good protein and an NO2 product with creatine... I want to be in the gym as much as possible to take advantage of these supplements but I don't want to overdue and then get injured or burn out. With these supplements in me, could I handle a 5 day a week program. Four of the five days are pretty intense. I know everyone's body is different but I seem to have a pretty body for recovery and with these supps I'm hoping I can hit it hard for a few months straight before I let up a little. I gotta get that beach body ready! Every once in a while my shoulder gets pretty sore. I'm assuming it's some old football injury that will always bother me here and there. It doesn't keep me out of the gym so I'm hoping I am told it's fine for me to go that long and that hard with these supps, even with my "bumb shoulder."

[perryvillelax93]

Thank you for this article. I never had a specific injury, but my shoulders are always cracking/clicking and feel vulnerable. I wrestled and I play lacrosse so shoulder safety is a must. I'll be doing these as a preventative measure.

Are there any articles similar to this for strengthening/rehabbing knees and hips?