Shoulder Impingement/Tendonitis

G'day folks

A few weeks ago I noticed a small pain/restriction in movement in my shoulder and thought it may have just been from not stretching properly but one night after drilling r/off - b/flip I came home and noticed that the shoulder was hurting a great deal more than usual. I ignored it, and woke up the next morning with the inability to lift my arm above elbow height due to pain and just general restriction in movement. I went to work and spent most of the day stretching it on the shelf on my desk with great pain before heading to physio that afternoon to find that during a strength test (pshysio pushing down on my arms as I pushed up) that I couldn't even hold my left arm for a second and it just flopped to my side.

My shoulders are generally fairly unstable and tend to make a 'clunking' sound during certain movements/rotations mixed with my lack rotator cuff strength I had developed tendonitis over a period of time (the small pain and restriction in movement was the tendons inflammation) without me noticing. After four weeks of treatment and taking inflammation drugs I still don't have full range of motion and can't lift my shoulder to head height without serious pain.

I now have to have steroid (cortisone) injections in my shoulder. I can't cartwheel, hang from pbars or rings, r/off, b/flip or even backtuck because I can't get my arms to the straight up position. At the moment all I can do is lower body work and theraband work. I can do upper support on pbars and rings but can't do much swinging or planche work because it puts too much weight on my shoulder. . If ever you feel a restriction in movement in your shoulder don't pass it off as poor flexibility because it can turn to something much worse in next to no time at all. Remember to work rotator cuff exercises as well, especially those of us that do floor work.

My physio wants me to join a gym and work specifically with weights for my shoulders. I'll be honest and admit that I don't do weights, never have and rely solely on bodyweight conditioning as I generally don't believe in freeweight exercises. Does anyone know of any bodyweight exercises that specifically target rotator cuffs?

What do you mean you don't believe in free weights?

Supplementing external resistance work for rehab/prehab is not going to negatively effect your bodyweight performance.

I think you are being dogmatic about this.

Yes there are bodyweight exercises for the rotator cuff:

* Mountain Climber: Go into pushup position with elbows slightly bent. Bring your left knee to your left elbow, then back, then to middle of chest, then back, then to right elbow while slightly twisting torso to help. Then do opposite with right knee. Try to do this at a moderately rapid pace and feel your weight being supported and stabilized by your muscles, not your joints.

* T Pushup: Go into pushup position. Use one arm to rotate the torso sideways so that the other arm comes off the floor and out to the side. An easier variation is to start with your hands on a couch. Work to feel your weight being supported by your muscles.

* Animal crawls.

* Controlled small arm motions in various supports on rings.

* Wash and wax your car.

Of course it is foolish to not do rehab exercises with weights because you "don't believe in weights." Will more pain make you believe in weights? For external rotations you need either weights or bands. Plus at your level of injury you can't do any of the bodyweight exercies I mentioned without pain, except maybe washing your car. Never work through pain. Only do exercises that don't hurt. Tendonitis takes several months to heal. Also, in my opinion taking drugs for your injury to help with the symptoms is like taking cold medicine: it covers up the symptoms, but guess what? The cold is still there and will take longer to go away because the symptoms are your body trying to heal itself.

Ah ****...

I have this problem... Where if you move your shoulder into and out of certain spots you can feel (definitely feel) a click; then the pain comes rolling in.

It seems I'm going to have to take more than three weeks off if I want this to go away *cry*

kaiowas said:

My physio wants me to join a gym and work specifically with weights for my shoulders. I'll be honest and admit that I don't do weights, never have and rely solely on bodyweight conditioning as I generally don't believe in freeweight exercises. Does anyone know of any bodyweight exercises that specifically target rotator cuffs?

These are the words of a fool. Everything has its place.

If you will not use the best tool for every job, you are not serious about your work. If you will not use bands or weights to help fix your shoulder, you are not serious about rehabbing your injury, your gymnastic work, or your health.

There is nothing morally wrong with what you have said, but you are freely admitting that you do not want to use tools that everyone from ancient Chinese martial artists to modern physical therapists agree are useful tools. That makes you intentially ignorant, and you deserve whatever injury that attitude sets you up for.

I don't mean to be squirting lemon juice in your eye, but that's the flat truth. By ignoring the most useful tools for this situation and trying to stay away from them you are setting yourself up for a very high risk of chronic injury. That doesn't mean you will stay injured, you may recover. It does mean that you will continue to have problems because you refuse to try methods for shoulder health that every single group of athletes have used for literally thousands of years.