shoulder problems / my frustration

houstontexas

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I have had shoulder problems that seem to get better and worse over and over again for the last year or so. I saw a chiro about it around 6 months ago and she said I have anterior impingement and tendinitis in my shoulder/bicep. It was recommended that I rest it etc and see the chiro 3x a week. I did the treatment for like 3 weeks and toned down my shoulder workouts, but never really stopped. I was actually on cycle when I went and saw her so in my mind there was no way I was stopping mid cycle. Anyways after that I continued to take it easy on my shoulder for the most part and it aggravated me some, but not too much. I have recently started making my workouts heavier/more intense because I felt like it had been forever that I had really pushed myself and I was tired of half assing my routine. Well my shoulder has been back at it with the increased weights etc so now I'm going to see a sports medicine/ortho for a 100% diagnosis which I'm sure will include an MRI. The cost of an MRI was another reason I didn't really want to go, but I'm now ready for that hit. I will probably be told to stop lifting for months while I rehab or who knows I may even need some kind of surgery. I just feel like crying knowing my hobby/lifestyle of lifting is going to take a hit for a while until I heal back up the right way. I know it's better for me to take care of it, but it just sucks. Anyways I just felt like venting/crying and I thought this was as good a place as any lol. Thanks for listening...
 
Stri8ted25

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you are not alone in this VERY frustrating area. I too "messed up" my shoulder years ago and didn't pay it much attention until one day i was close-grip benching 185. It was a light weight for me and I was reppin' them out and then on about the 14th one my left shoulder just gave out. Not like just stopped working but actually came out the socket and the bar fell on my chest. To my surprise it didn't hurt at all when it fell but it scared me so much that I stopped pushing my shoulders hard for a long time.

In the past year, year1/2 I finally got back into putting a lot more stress on it. Slowly...The more muscle I've been able to build up around the ballnsocket has helped a lot. Luckily for me it's just one of those injuries that wasn't surgery necessary, but still had to really focus on how hard I pushed it. Haven't had any problems for a while now.

Good luck
 
ZiR RED

ZiR RED

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If it doesn't require surgery you should be able to do plenty of pulling and lower body work. Which, in the case of anterior impingement, often a lack of pulling and external rotation work inconjunction with excessive pushing (chest, shoulders, tris) leads to the problem
 

Onenut

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I'm in the same situation with the shoulder impingement and I have a damaged AC joint in the same shoulder. For the shoulder impingement, the chiro gave the same causes as the posters above mentioned - overdevelopment of the chest and front delts compared to the pulling muscles, especially the rear delts in my case. I'm in the middle of a 2 week rest with no upperbody work at all - getting tired of cardio!

My doctor said to reduce inflammation by taking 1 ibprofin 4-6 times a day, ice the shoulder 4-5 times a day for 20 minutes and take fish oil. From what I understand, you cant cure the impingment issue unless you totally rest the area and eliminate the inflammation. Also, he said that stretching to loosen the pecs is important. When I start lifting again, I'll skip all the front delt work and focus on the rear delts and mid-back. That should bring the push/pull muscles back into balance while taking it easy on the shoulder for a while. Hopefully the 2 week rest and the things I'm doing will be enough. I'm a lot less confident that my AC joint will ever heal - thats been bothing me for 9 months and I stopped all benching and dips over 6 months ago.
 

houstontexas

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I know it is always best to go to the doc and confirm the problems etc, but do you think it's necessary for me to go to the sports medicine/ortho since I have already been told by the chiro that I have an impingement and slight tendinitis? I am thinking that they will get me doing physical therapy, make me rest, etc which is what the chiro suggested in the first place. The only major difference would be me getting an MRI done this time around. Even after the MRI they would probably still recommend the same treatment and then I would just be out $800 more than when I started with practically the same info. Should I just follow a program similar to Onenut's for myself and actually give it plenty of time to heal? I'm just wondering if it is really worth it money wise for me to go when I probably already know the answer to fix my problem. Thanks a lot for your help.
 
Stri8ted25

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$800 is a lot of money, but if I knew that it would help me get my strength and progress back on track I would pay twice that. They probably are going to have you PT and give it time, but it will be nice to know if their is any scare tissue building up that could require surgery later and then REALLY set you back. I would deff get the MRI done just to make sure that your not getting any negative tissue build up. Its jus my opinion man, Good luck
 

houstontexas

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$800 is a lot of money, but if I knew that it would help me get my strength and progress back on track I would pay twice that. They probably are going to have you PT and give it time, but it will be nice to know if their is any scare tissue building up that could require surgery later and then REALLY set you back. I would deff get the MRI done just to make sure that your not getting any negative tissue build up. Its jus my opinion man, Good luck
Ya it's best to know for sure. I could give it months only to come back to a still damaged shoulder because I didn't fully understand the extent of my injury. My appointments Thursday morning, but I'm sure I will have to go back for the mri. I'll let you all know how it goes.
 
bla55

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I've always had shoulder issues, have dislocated both more times than I can remember, fractured both, and then destroyed ligaments on one of them too and finally had to have surgery.

It's always been weird for me on my shoulders and a bunch of exercises are out of the picture because of pain. What I have found to have helped me a lot is doing about 1 - 2 mins after every workout this "stretch" for your shoulders. Hold a slightly weighted bar with both hands as far as the bar goes, and start on your stomach line and, with your arms extended, go past over your head. As time progresses the "how far back behind your head" increases and my shoulder pains have diminished.
 
ZiR RED

ZiR RED

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Houston: How long do you plan on lifting for? Another 10-20 years? Average 800 over that time period and it comes to like 8 dollars a month, which is more than you spend on a gym membership and protein powder. 8 bucks a month is nothing to ensure you can lift the way you want to for the next couple decades.

Onenut: Good points - and it would probably be best to cut down all chest/anterior delt movements in 1/2 and increase pulling movements by 50%.

Bla55 - Shoulder dislocates are a great stretch, though I would start with a broom stick vs. a weighted bar.

Br
 

houstontexas

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Thanks everyone. I know it is for the best and well worth it. I think I'm just freaking out and trying to scare myself out of the visit using any excuse I can find. I'm definitely going no matter what tomorrow morning and I'm going to follow the directions I am given to properly heal my shoulder.
 

houstontexas

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Well I went to the doc yesterday. We did the regular x-rays which of course showed nothing. He then made me perform some strength and movement tests to pinpoint the problem. He said he believes I have a tear in my bicep tendon. I go Wednesday for a contrasted MRI.
 

houstontexas

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Well my MRI has been rescheduled from tomorrow to next Tuesday b/c my insurance is bs'ing on approving it. Insurance is such a hassle, but I guess it beats the alternative...
 

houstontexas

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Well I got the results of my MRI today and they were actually really good. As far as the MRI is concerned I have a clean bill of health, but in reality I have a SLAP tear that was not detected. I have taken 2 weeks off from upper body completely and will take 1 more week off and then go back to light lifting etc to see if the rest and NSAIDS have cleared up the inflammation and made any difference. My options after that are pretty much deal with it or get surgery. My ortho said the surgery is around 95% successful so if I do go that route it sounds like a pretty good operation, but hopefully I won't feel the need to take it that far. It kind of sucks that the MRI saw nothing b/c it makes me feel like I wasted my money, but in reality I know I didn't. It ruled out a lot of things and let me know that the SLAP is all that is wrong and not additional RC injuries or anything. It feels good knowing exactly what's going on instead of having a fear about it. Thanks for all of your help everyone.
 
bashman

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This is very similar to my story. Had an MRI, showed no tear, just a pocket of inflammation, suggested I had a anterior labrum tear (SLAP tear). Saw 3 different surgeons, 2 very knowledgably and respected, the other sounded like a money grubbing butcher, who just wanted to cut me open.

The other 2 surgeons believed I had impingement, suggested a cortisone shot, before surgery. Cortisone did nothing, went onto surgery. Upon looking inside they saw nothing but more inflammation, everything was healthy and attached. Another injection was administrated, actually inside the shoulder joint, which the surgeon honestly thought would be a long shot at curing my problem.

3 weeks post OP, I was lifting again and (touch wood) I don't get pain anymore, but since then have stayed away from overhead exercises (believe dumbbell extensions and front raises were the culprit) - hard to believe it was just inflammation all this time. I have also been using E-pharm Joint force since lifting, applying every night, along with keeping up with my rotator cuff exercises, warming up thoroughly etc.... I think all this has helped avoid a reoccurrence, been about 8 weeks post OP now. The injury had me out 7 months….. thank god for muscle memory.
 

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