Help my dad please

**rdugan95** · 08-17-2009 12:24 PM

My dad and I work out together and he has seen some great improvement, but recently his shoulder has begun hurting him and he can't even bench anymore. His high 10 rep was at 140 and now he struggles with 135X5. Any workouts to help him out? Maybe help strengthen his shoulder and and other exercises that can work his chest but won't be so hard on his shoulder? He's 47 at the moment. Thanks

**ticktwo** · 08-17-2009 02:24 PM

Before your dad continues to push, he needs to stop and review his shoulder!

Where does it hurt? Does it hurt during regular activity? Is he doing shoulder exercises? Lat Pull downs? What type of bench (incline/decline)? What is his hand position? What are his elbows doing during the lift?

He should dedicate some time to shoulder exercises, like external rotator (not heavy) and reduce weight over all in the bench, in addition, he can widen his grip during bench and that will help take some weight off the shoulder.

**rdugan95** · 08-17-2009 10:30 PM

1. It hurts his entire shoulder, no single part.
2. Yeah he said it even hurts if he sleeps on them.
3. He does do shoulder exercises, front dumbbell raises and ocasionally military presses.
4. Bench is simply flat bench.
5. His hand position is relatively close
6. His elbows bend down not parralell with the bar.

Note: i bought some glucosamine today for him and I had him do some light weight front raises and he said it felt okay, so any other tips would be appreciated.

**slacker86** · 08-17-2009 10:38 PM

goto a doctor, constant stress of lifting isnt going to help any injury. Find out what the problem is and do the appropriate rehab. If its his whole shoulder maybe its time for him to take a break

**ticktwo** · 08-18-2009 08:31 AM

I agree, he needs to see a doctor on this. Most concerned that it hurts while sleeping on them.

Close grip puts added stress on the shoulder girdle.

You can take a quick check by seeing his shoulder mobility.

Have him stand facing away from you, with each arm he should reach behind his back and try to scratch an itch between his should blades. How far can he go? Pain? Extreme tightness? Both arms equal?

While standing faciing away from you, have him raise his arms straight out to his sides and above his head (like a jumping jack motion, but down slowly) Again, how far can he go? Pain? Extreme tightness? Both arms equal?

Finally, with his arms straight up (ref calling a field goal position), palms facing in, have him stretch his arms backwards. Again, how far can he go? Pain? Extreme tightness? Both arms equal?

**lennoxchi** · 08-18-2009 10:55 AM

up until 6 months ago i had what sounds like the exact same issue with my shoulder.
couldn't do any pushing exercise without it hurting. no bench, no overhead movements.
i went to the doc, get the x-rays and a shot of cortisone (i think that's how you spell it).
basiclly one bone was pushing down on another.
ever since the shot, i have felt fine.
i take it easy on overhead movements, but other than that, it's cool.

**Random181** · 08-18-2009 11:47 AM

how much exercise does he do for the back delt? How far forward do his shoulder blades sit? if he does a lot of front raises with occasional military press and minimal back delt work he could have accidentaly overprioritized the front delt.

edit: if his shoulder blades are sitting to far forward it could well be this, if so it is pretty easy to fix with some simple exercises.

**NFLforNBA** · 08-18-2009 12:56 PM

happened to my grandpa from skydiving he split his shoulder about the same amount of force as 2x your weight on a shoulder

**NFLforNBA** · 08-18-2009 12:57 PM

unless a doctor says otherwise

**sean vax** · 08-18-2009 01:10 PM

I have had the same problem from work. sounds like impingement , scare tissue or tear . cortisone shot should work if it not that bad only temp. though. sound like arthoscope surg. to me for best results.

**NFLforNBA** · 08-18-2009 01:14 PM

ahh no dont take cortisone or cortisol it weakens your bones not worth it could have permanent damage from that

**NFLforNBA** · 08-18-2009 02:21 PM

has anyone had bone problems from cortisol

**lennoxchi** · 08-18-2009 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by NFLforNBA

has anyone had bone problems from cortisol

not me, but i did some digging after reading your last post about it. i guess there have been claims to support what you said. but there have been claims that say milk is bad for you, then the next week "they" say it's good. i guess that would be something you'd need to talk to your doc about. to see if it's worth the possible risk

**wrestler4life** · 08-21-2009 10:12 PM

Ok. I've been hitting the gym now for 6 days a week after way to much time away.kids and work and all the stuff that went with it kept me away and I let myself go to crap while pushing my kids to train hard. So Feb of 09 I made my mind up to get myself back into shape at 41 I started slow, mostly cardio, then light weights with hi reps, then into heavy training with high weights been to the doc and chiro more times in the last 4 mos than I care to admit,but I have had 2 steroid shots and 2 four day steroid cycles (predisone) for shoulder and elbow. I weigh 175 my bench routine is as follows 15 reps bar only warm up, 135-10x, 155-8x,165-7x,175-6x,185-4x, 225-2x, then finish with 135 burn out, got 17 in last nite and got my elbow checked out today on a follow up visit. my elbow was very sore at the end. also did cable and military press and 4 diffrent tricep sets. My doc told me if its sore at noon tommorow you over did it and will need to go back down on wt. then up slowly. I also use a block on bench press over 175 to keep from tearing up my shoulders and elbows. I would rec. he see his doc and go from there, might just be soft tissue inflammation wich can be very painfull he may just need a little massage therapy and rest. Hopefully. I guess what I'm saying is the shots and pills and therapy plus 1weeks rest really helped me. Good luck.