SHOULDER INJURY

[Ian Legrow]

I believe i have an minorly injured rotator cuff. So, in order not to hurt myself i will be doing a lot of rest for the next couple of days. When i satr exerciseing my upper body again i will be doing minor things. I will be mainly focusing on legs and abs for the next couple of days.

My question: can i do exercises for chest and back without affecting my shoulder? And can i do some PB work? Lie can i just hold myself up on the bars or is that to much? If so, please tell me becasue i jsut want to get my strength back and don't want to hurt myself more without knwoing it. And also, i have been told to try and do the WOD's. teh problem is, a lot of the wod's are very out of my skill level. suggestions?

[Fryk]

1. I would not mess with the shoulder. Give it the rest it requires instead of trying to negotiate with it. See the RICE principles.

2. If it persists see a doctor or physiotherapist sooner rather than later.

3. Consider if there is an underlying issue, how did you get the injury? How is your posture? Is your scapula winging? Are you impinging?

4. In the greater scheme of things, a few weeks off now can save you years down the road.

5. Scale the WODs, which has already been covered extensively.

[Joshua Naterman]

It will persist. I mean, it may fade, but whatever is actually causing the pain is not going to go away on its own. Look at my shoulder pain video and implement that. Then learn lower trap (trap 3) raises, search them on youtube. Do them at least once a day and more if you can. The key is to keep the scapula down AND back the whole time, that's depression + retraction. Finally external rotation. You need to do that on a regular basis, at least 3 days a week. On top of this, at the very least you need to learn and apply Self Myofascial Release (SMR). Google search to learn more. The information is out there and it is free, please do not ask people here to re-type it.

With all of this in place you basically have the entire rehab routine that a physio will give you. You may want to learn external rotator stretches, but don't overdo them.

I HIGHLY suggest you find an ART practicioner, that's Active Release Technique, to treat your shoulder. www.activerelease.com is their website. They have a provider list so search for someone nearby. If it's a bit of a trip, it's still worth it.

There are also a lot of topics on here with good info, search and read. If anyone has a link for this gentleman that you feel will really help, this is a great time to post them!

[Kyle Courville]

I believe i have an minorly injured rotator cuff. So, in order not to hurt myself i will be doing a lot of rest for the next couple of days.

I feel your pain. I recently suffered a small AC sprain. Some of my personal key points to helping shoulder injuries heal quick is to:

- wait until pain and inflammation subsides before beginning exercise

- exercise the painless range of motion

- do some soft tissue work

- don't get stressed/ enjoy the break

- try contrast baths/showers

- TAKE IT SLOW when increasing weight and volume

- for an injury I ALWAYS up the volume first because you get more blood flow, time under tension, and under certain conditions more TUT means more growth hormone

- FIX THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM don't just treat the symptons, Just about 100% of training related shoulder injuries happen because of scapular dysfunction. This also means paying attention to posture.

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.mikereinold.com/

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/shoulder_savers_part_i

http://ericcressey.com/

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

[Ian Legrow]

thank you all who offered advice