how long to rest an injured rotator cuff

[BadTobu]

I have had a bad rotator cuff for almost a year now. But recently its getting worse , i used to bench 315 now when i do 135 it hurts. All the stupid doc said was that if it hurts dont use it. If anyone has had a similar problem how long did you lay off the shoulder?

 

[WATERLOGGED]

i did the same thing , i benched 315 and developed pain in my shouler and put up with it for a long time till it got worse and i couldnt even bench 100 pounds without severe pain ! went into doc went and had an mri ,saw anorthopedic surgeoun got away with rehab for 4 mnths and then my insurance quit payin so i stopped workin out for about a year !now i'm back at it but my shoulder still isnt the same !still hurts in certain positions.

 

[BadTobu]

well &%$#. I just hope i havent developed any bone spurs

 

[drvinnybombat]

Sounds like you have tendinitis, which is what a lot of people do to their rotator cuff. Are you sure it's the rotator cuff and not the anterior deltoid, or something else? If you're sure, you really have to stop working out right now until you are totally pain free. If you are 90%, it will come back and become degenerate.

A good doctor or PT could probably give you a time frame, but a total guess from me would be a month. I think it's still okay to run and do some very light cable exercises. When it heals, you need to strengthen the cuffs again, they will be really weak and easily overpowered by your chest and you'll be back to square one.

 

[WATERLOGGED]

oh i forgot i had to get injections in my shouderbladeshouler area once at the first time i saw the orthopedic doc then 6mnths later also i forgot on the mri i developed bursitis and a ,bone spur they suspected a slap tear in my labrum also.and also it is crucial to take it slow when trieing to lift when you feel that your rcovered !

 

[brownstown89]

pretty much same problem alll the time.

1. you bench at 90 degrees elbows flared out down to ur pecs putting way to much stress on your shoulders..
2. prolly over do a chest workout..
3. cut back direct shoulder work. You dont need to kill ur shoulders on a seperate day when your already doing that for bench.
4. dont neglect rear delt work..
5. proper warm up and cool dowm
6. rotator cuff work this is seperate from rear delt.

Now what you can do
Switch up your routine so your not benching full ROM all the time.I had pain in my shoulder to where i couldnt shoot a bball... i took a week off ice and heat 3 x a day.. started back at a very light weight cut back the amount of lifting i did and worked rotators everyday that i was taking off.. It helped alot and i was better however i still had pain in the back shoulder/rear delt/ rotator cuff area.. It didnt stop till i recently added mini band pullaparts for rear delts and rotator cuff where u put ur arm against the wall and raise it 90 degrees till it touched the back of the wall and it works the rear rotator cuff. now im painfree in my shoulders.. O yea and follow a wetside barbell routine for bench where your not doing full ROM heavy... floor press close grip floor press board press etc.. all are easy on the shoulder. i was hurting repping 205 but floor pressing 250 felt good... anyways hope this helps

 

[Cubate]

hate to say it.. But you might have to start doing pushups and the like to maintain. Rotator cuff injuries without surgery and rehab are likely to remain...

i did the same thing , i benched 315 and developed pain in my shouler and put up with it for a long time till it got worse and i couldnt even bench 100 pounds without severe pain ! went into doc went and had an mri ,saw anorthopedic surgeoun got away with rehab for 4 mnths and then my insurance quit payin so i stopped workin out for about a year !now i'm back at it but my shoulder still isnt the same !still hurts in certain positions.

 

[lonewolf0420]

As cheesy as it sounds, only time will tell. Recovery for everyone is different for everyone.

I've been dealing with a paralyzed thoracic nerve. Paying specific attention to rotator cuff work as helps a lot in strengthening my shoulder for greater stability.

 

[BadTobu]

thanks for the replies guys. Ive been doing just pushups for now, plenty of stretches and band work before hand. Of course i dont go to the gym to do this. Its a bit embarassing for a big guy to go in there and fight for twenty pushups. Ive also been keeping a close eye on my ROM. I think the biggest hurdle has been my physique, im 6'4" but all the tailors say i have the arms of a 7'+ basketball player. Every time time i rent a tux its a circus. I tell them my measurments over the phone and they laugh and say it is wrong, then i have to go there in person where they measure them 3 freakin times cause they dont believe they did it right, but i digress. I actually envy the short guys that can bench soo much.

 

[Nitrox]

Good news and bad news.

The bad news is that if your desire is to continue to lift heavy then now that you already have a shoulder injury it will probably be chronic, especially with bench press.

The good news is that it can be managed. In the short term you will have to back off. Ice/heat therapy, stretching, and physio exercises go a long way to help. Some sample exercises are at: http://www.physioroom.com/experts/asktheexperts/answers/qa_mb_20050225.php

One person already suggested following a Westside type routine where you only lift heavy every other chest day. Even on the heavy days they use board presses, floor presses, or rack presses; these exercises do not involve the very bottom of the benching motion where the shoulders are at their most vulnerable.

Another alternative is to forgo barbell bench in favor of DB bench press. The plates on the DB's shorten the range of motion at the bottom. Plus the extra stabilizer requirements reduce the amount of weight required.

Also don't allow back muscles to lag behind chest. The latter usually gets more attention which can cause the shoulders to be pulled forward making them more susceptible to injury.

 

[lonewolf0420]

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/pushups_face_pulls_and_shrugs

I've found this article helpful in my quest for strengthening my RC, and shoulder stability.

 

[vadox6466]

get rid of barbell chest movements. Use dumbbells exclusively.

 

[brownstown89]

get rid of barbell chest movements. Use dumbbells exclusively.

DB floor press with palms in for tris, reverse grip floor press barbell... look at wetside lifts even if you dont use there routine you can use there lifts maybe do

week 1 barbell bench
week 2 DB floor press
week 3 reverse grip barbell
week 4 DB bench press

this way ur only doing full rom 2 x a month and you still can go heavy and floor keep u from stressing the rotators

 

[FlashoverTX]

Injury

I have just started back after a left shoulder rotator cuff injury. It occured while doing 285lb on barbell bench. I was out of doing most any upper chest shoulder workout for almost 6 months. never went to the Dr, just looked on youtube and found some really good videos of shoulder rehab exercises with bands, stretching and light weights...
I couldnt do pushups much at all and now Im back to doing 50 per set. I cannot get back to 285 but have gotten to 235 and can feel the tensive pain in the shoulder unfortunately.

Time Time and more Time unfortunately and dumbells

 

[wedlund6]

i have shoulder pain for 2 years now i stoped flat benching
bb decline
bb incline
db flat last so i can keep weight low
i use to do 360 flat i am back up to 320 decline with no pain.
i go light still with incline no pain but some clunking

 

[Killerkanadia]

get rid of barbell chest movements. Use dumbbells exclusively.

I had the same problem, I tore my rotator cuff senior year. I quit benching all together for 2 years. I would do light weight dumbells and push ups; Luckly my chest never got out of proportion to the rest of my body.

Eventually i started benching again and i pushed through the discomfort and it didn't seem to get worse.

Since i've ran 2 cycles of PH and my shoulder seemed to have healed durring my first PH cycle. I am not recommending you take PH, i'm just talking from my experience

 

[shizz702]

Same "old hat" here with a shoulder injury I've been dealing with for what seems like 6 months now.

Shoulder injuries certainly seem to be the norm, and from what I gather the good ol' flat bench seems to be the main culprit.

Not sure how I hurt mine, probably from flat dumbbell benching.

Regardless Dante's post "How to cure shoulder problems" helped me out a lot.
That coupled with some Icyhot afterward fixed me up probably as good it's gonna get sans a Doctor.

Using DC's rehab protocol I also avoided any kind of flat bench work, and still do. I noticed the only time I would get a nag in it is if I would do any kind of flat benching so I resolved I would just switch to incline.

Rippetoe has an interesting philosophy on injuries, stating that, "there are those that you can train through, and those that you have to train around."

I agree with him and I swithced to incline work and weighted dips for my chest.

Just listen to your body, if something is causing you the kind of pain you know that could escalate into something further, drop it, and train around it.