[djl]

This year I've been hitting the weights pretty hard, and pretty regularly. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury in boot camp in '92 was treated with "Suck it up and soldier on", and I'm 40(!).

So, end result is I'd hurt my shoulder 3 times this year. I took time off each time until I felt better, then eased back into weights.

Now I've hurt it for the 4th time and had an MRI. Has anyone here had any results like this?

IMPRESSION:

1. Partial tearing of supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons involving roughly 50-75% undersurface thickness. No complete rotator cuff tear is present.

2. Probably intraarticular partial tearing of the long head biceps tendon.

3. Undermining of the labrum involving posterior, superior and anterior aspects.

4. Normal bulk to the shoulder musculature.

5. Mild acromioclavicular degenerative undersurface changes.

6. Type I, mildly laterally down sloped acromion.

7. Mild nonspecific marrow edema, anterior humerus.


No Hill-Sach's, reverse Hill-Sach's or osseous Bankart lesions are identified.

Of course the thought of surgery isn't a pleasant one. My question is, if you've had anything like this, how did you recover? Physical Therapy, self-recovery with tons of supps, surgery?

My ortho appointment's on January 8, and I'm currently not even touching a weight (though I'm tempted to do some light sets, I've made myself lay off the weights...).

Any insights of your own appreciated!

[bbuck]

Well I had my supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons reattached after tearing them off the bone, they also fixed my ruptured bicep and cut some arthritis out too. So it sounds like much of what you wrote about. I was back in the gym 5 days after the surgery. Would have made it in sooner but the anti-nausea drugs they gave me made me nauseaous. I trained my legs as best i could as well as my good arm,chest and back. As there is evidence that you will keep nerve function in the other side and hence less atrophy. I did the rehab excersices every day and did stretches several times a day. all this is with my Dr. and therapists aproval. Pretty much my same diet hi protien and lots of sups. 10 weeks after the surgery the dr. gave me the go ahead to train as I saw fit as I was way ahead of the recovery curve. Started slow added more wieght as I saw fit and did nothing ballistic. 8 months post surgery my bench was at 95% of its all time best.

[djl]

bbuck, sounds like recovery shouldn't be too bad, since there's no 100% tear. Perhaps I won't even need surgery? I can only hope

Thanks for the post!

[dozer3]

djl, i'm 43 and i've had three major shoulder surgeries in the last four years on my right arm. i had a 300 degree tear of the labrum and cartiledge damage. i was told not to do anything for eight months. i started playing baseball again after about five months and started lifting after about seven months. i felt great but had a bad accident one year after the surgery and blew my shoulder apart. i had another surgery that was unsuccessful and then a third in which they inserted 12 pins. the last surgery was 2 years ago last week and i still can't lift anything over my head. i work out but go low weight higher reps. everyone is different and i don't know the extent of you injury but my advice is to wait until you're completely healed and don't rush it. go to a therapist that specializes in shoulders. i can't bench or do any press exercises but i have found enough to do to keep it interesting. keep us posted on how you make out..

[djl]

Hi dozer3, thanks for the post! Man, sorry to hear about your shoulder problems!

That's the thing about life, no matter how bad I think things are getting, there's ALWAYS someone else whose story makes yours look like a fairy tale.

I'm definitely all for taking as long a break as possible--for awhile there, I was thinking of doing some light weights. But then I came to my senses.

Take it easy; hope things get better for you!

[jmh80]

You might consider something like IGF and/or growth hormone (or a GH increaser) to help with your shoulder.
CEDeoudes59 has a thread on his remarkable rehab from an ACL tear while using IGF (and maybe straight GH - not sure).

Or - try something like Super Cissus.
I'd explore all supplement/drug options before surgery if it were me.

[djl]

Heh, when it comes to shoving a thin tube of metal into my shoulder joint, I'm probably the biggest p#$%y on the face of the planet Pinning's definitely not for me.

And even if it was for me, I have no idea how to find the stuff.

I'll definitely be lining up some supplements to help with healing. If surgery's recommended, I'm going for a couple of other opinions before I agree. I definitely consider it a last resort--hopefully the Ortho will feel the same!

Originally Posted by jmh80

You might consider something like IGF and/or growth hormone (or a GH increaser) to help with your shoulder.
CEDeoudes59 has a thread on his remarkable rehab from an ACL tear while using IGF (and maybe straight GH - not sure).

Or - try something like Super Cissus.
I'd explore all supplement/drug options before surgery if it were me.

[jmh80]

You inject into the muscle. Delts would be best - but you could do glutes or quads.


Good luck with this!

[firefighter2032]

If you don't like the idea of using a needle you can try Oratropin-1 from IBE.

I had a tear in my right arm tendon that caused me hell for 2 years. I'm finally back at the weights now.

I did all the doctor crap and had no relief. I did prolotherapy injections which brought me back to about 80%.

Then I was turned on to Oratropin-1 by IBE, PGH-t from universalkits and super cissus from Synergy.

I'm completely amazed.

I'll give you the same advise I got, avoid surgery at all costs.
A co-worker of mine had his worked on and he regrets it everyday. His quote "I wish I would have listened to you and tried everything else first"

Anyways...there's a whole thread on my arm if you would like to read...you can find it at:
HGH & Torn Tendon

It's not the cheapest, but I couldn't be happier.

If you need any more info feel free to bump me.

[djl]

Some good reading on your thread, firefighter, thanks!

Man, from the prices on Oratropin and PGH-t, it REALLY is a shame that insurance won't cover it! Some pricey items!

How did you know you had a tear? Hopefully you didn't have to go through the misery of an arthrogram like I did!

Originally Posted by firefighter2032

If you don't like the idea of using a needle you can try Oratropin-1 from IBE.

I had a tear in my right arm tendon that caused me hell for 2 years. I'm finally back at the weights now.

I did all the doctor crap and had no relief. I did prolotherapy injections which brought me back to about 80%.

Then I was turned on to Oratropin-1 by IBE, PGH-t from universalkits and super cissus from Synergy.

I'm completely amazed.

I'll give you the same advise I got, avoid surgery at all costs.
A co-worker of mine had his worked on and he regrets it everyday. His quote "I wish I would have listened to you and tried everything else first"

Anyways...there's a whole thread on my arm if you would like to read...you can find it at:
HGH & Torn Tendon

It's not the cheapest, but I couldn't be happier.

If you need any more info feel free to bump me.

[jmh80]

I totally forgot about Ora. Of all people....

[firefighter2032]

I had 2 MRI's which both came back confirming a tear.

One was done through my insurance, apparently it wasn't good enough so workman's comp wanted the test done again.

Good luck with your shoulder and let me know if I can be of any more help.

[djl]

I appreciate everyone's input!

My Ortho appointment is this coming Monday. Sucks that everything's on hold until at least then! This may be the year of cardio

I'm definitely interested in megadosing some bulk Cissus. Nutra mentioned about getting a higher % in bulk (soon?), so I'll cap some of that and take a couple of grams a day. Also the other joint formulas out there, too.

Oratropin is simply going to be too expensive for me to run, which is a shame, since it seems to hold a lot of promise!

PGHt has always looked interesting, and if you buy enough up front the cost isn't too bad on a monthly basis (of course, if it doesn't work for you, then your out more than one month of product!). I might have to give this a try...

[firefighter2032]

I've never had a better sleep then I had from the PGH-t well worth it just for that for me.

Ahh...the life of a third shifter.

But if you can find a way to get the Oratropin I'd highly recommend it. I know I wouldn't be where I am today without it.

[djl]

He was leaning towards non-surgery route--he said for one of the problems, that he normally recommends surgery to younger patients, but above 35 he says a lot of times they end up with range of motion issues long term.

He said without the surgery I'll probably never be able to go heavy on bench and militaries. That's ok, as I've never really wanted to be a power lifter anyway (though it is cool lifting heavy weight!).

So, time to schedule Physical Therapy.

And buy me some supps--lots of cissus, pght, and others!

Wish I could afford the Oratropin that was recommended, but it's unfortunately a little rich for my blood. If it worked, I'd be singing its praises to all who'd listen and it'd be well worth the price--but being unsure of how it'll work for me paired with the price simply makes it undoable.

Thanks for all of the good feedback, everyone!

[djl]

Quick addition-

My Ortho actually wrote an Rx for an Occupational Therapist instead of a Physical Therapist.

Does this make sense to anyone?

[firefighter2032]

Yep, they both do the same thing but and occupation therapist deals more with extremities. When I went and did my therapy I also saw an occupational therapist.

Good Luck