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Rotator Cuff Injury? Stay Away Lifts

kenpoengineer

kenpoengineer

Well-known member
I've possibly hurt my rotator cuff in my left shoulder. Not sure but the pain is the nagging type that's deep in the shoulder joint.

Resting the area now but still want to lift. I know it's time to see the doc but until I do what lifts should I stay away from?
 
kenpoengineer said:
I've possibly hurt my rotator cuff in my left shoulder. Not sure but the pain is the nagging type that's deep in the shoulder joint.

Resting the area now but still want to lift. I know it's time to see the doc but until I do what lifts should I stay away from?
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I'd stay away from all pressing movements for a while. Also no upright rows - I don't know why anybody dies those things. They're shoulder killers. Go see a competent ortho or sports med guy asap.

<---5 shoulder surgeries...

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napalm said:
I'd stay away from all pressing movements for a while. Also no upright rows - I don't know why anybody dies those things. They're shoulder killers. Go see a competent ortho or sports med guy asap.

<---5 shoulder surgeries...

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You've had 5 shoulder surgeries??
 
vidapreta said:
You've had 5 shoulder surgeries??
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Yep, tore infra and supra on both sides, labral tears on both sides and an Mumford procedure on the right.

I'm pretty sure the labrum on the left is torn again...

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napalm said:
Yep, tore infra and supra on both sides, labral tears on both sides and an Mumford procedure on the right. I'm pretty sure the labrum on the left is torn again...Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
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Funny... I'm about to get a cortisone shot today in my shoulder.. Hope it helps.
 
vidapreta said:
Funny... I'm about to get a cortisone shot today in my shoulder.. Hope it helps.
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There's a lot of data that says cortisone does more harm than good over the long run. A good doc won't give more than two a year in the same spot.

Proceed with caution...

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napalm said:
There's a lot of data that says cortisone does more harm than good over the long run. A good dic won't give more than two a year in the same spot.Proceed with caution...Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
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Yea i've been reading all the pros and cons.. I tried to rehab it on my own, but it's now 7 months later and it's still bothering me. My best days at benching i was able to hit 350-365. Now 135 hurts. Doc says if the shot dosen't help then he wants to get an MRI.
 
For most injuries cortisone will just mask the issue for a short period which, as stated, leads to more harm than good. Be wary of them. Most of the sports pts I know loath Dr.s who prescribe them often
 
napalm said:
Yep, tore infra and supra on both sides, labral tears on both sides and an Mumford procedure on the right.

I'm pretty sure the labrum on the left is torn again...

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Click to expand...

Napalm, I am currently suffering from the same shoulder problems as OP. I've worried about a labrum tear. You say you think yours might be torn again. Are you currently able to do most chest/shoulder exercises without much pain? How long do you think you'll be able to work through it before you get it checked out again. I'm trying to work through this thing til the end of summer. Then planning on getting it checked out. I took a week off and will test it out today with some lifts.

OP, I've had to eliminate most chest exercises. The pain in my left shoulder is intolerable with most barbell presses and especially dips. I'm pretty sure it got worse after I incorporated upright rows into my shoulder day. Flys are okay and dumbbell presses are okay (although getting the dumbbells up is sometimes painful). I know this is a common injury and like OP I am interested in others approaches to getting through it (before the inevitable trip to the dr)
 
JT101 said:
Napalm, I am currently suffering from the same shoulder problems as OP. I've worried about a labrum tear. You say you think yours might be torn again. Are you currently able to do most chest/shoulder exercises without much pain? How long do you think you'll be able to work through it before you get it checked out again. I'm trying to work through this thing til the end of summer. Then planning on getting it checked out. I took a week off and will test it out today with some lifts.
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First off, labral tears aren't always easy to dx. They don't show up a lot on MRI, and sometimes they aren't found until surgery-that's what happened with me. Because of the shoulder anatomy, you can't see labral tears during an open procedure (I've had both). They are found during arthroscopy of the joint itself.

This may sound stupid, but over the years I've learned to tell by the location, duration and severity pain what's been damaged. I describe labral tear pain as more dull and constant in nature than cuff tears. And the pain from labral tears doesn't get any more severe after activity - it's kinda just there all the time, whereas cuff tear pain is always worse after exertion.

As far as what an I doing now for chest, I've talked to my surgeon about it and he says do what I can tolerate, so I flat bench twice a month using a bastardized 531 template. The gist is you're not going to hurt it any more (relatively) than it already is. I'm in no hurry to get it fixed because I'm still making gains (slowly) in my bench and quite frankly, I'm f'ing sick of shoulder surgery.

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vidapreta said:
I mean how many does it take.
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The million dollar question. I don't plan on quitting powerlifting anytime soon (Masters Nationals in May in my city woo hoo!), so I prolly have more in my future.

We can rebuild him...

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napalm said:
The million dollar question. I don't plan on quitting powerlifting anytime soon (Masters Nationals in May in my city woo hoo!), so I prolly have more in my future.

We can rebuild him...

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Have any of your surgeries allowed you to lift pain free, have any been successful??
 
vidapreta said:
Have any of your surgeries allowed you to lift pain free, have any been successful??
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They've all been successful to a degree. My cuff tears have been fixed and aren't given me any problems. Lift pain free? I don't know many powerlifters (those that actually compete, not those that play one in the gym) that are pain free so, no. Plus, I'm pushing 50 and don't recover like I used to.

Comes with the territory bro...

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Interesting and very good information here.

My discomfort is a dull pain deep within the shoulder joint. It does not become worse during press lifts. It just becomes annoying and wakes me up at night.
 
kenpoengineer said:
Interesting and very good information here.

My discomfort is a dull pain deep within the shoulder joint. It does not become worse during press lifts. It just becomes annoying and wakes me up at night.
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The way you describe it, it could POSSIBLY be a labral tear. My best advice is to find the best surgeon in the area and get his/her opinion. Keep in mind, surgery is just step one. The real work starts in rehab. I'll go one further and say it's more important than the repair itself...

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Sorry for the double post, can't figure out how to delete it on the mobile app

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napalm said:
The way you describe it, it could POSSIBLY be a labral tear. My best advice is to find the best surgeon in the area and get his/her opinion. Keep in mind, surgery is just step one. The real work starts in rehab. I'll go one further and say it's more important than the repair itself...

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Napalm, how many weeks if rehab until you were able to get back to your reg workout routine? And how how long after that til your strength returned?
 
napalm said:
They've all been successful to a degree. My cuff tears have been fixed and aren't given me any problems. Lift pain free? I don't know many powerlifters (those that actually compete, not those that play one in the gym) that are pain free so, no. Plus, I'm pushing 50 and don't recover like I used to.

Comes with the territory bro...

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Truth. I'm always dealing with some sort of nagging pain in my shoulders and neck.

BTW, one of the guys I train with is doing the same meet as you in May.
 
JT101 said:
Napalm, how many weeks if rehab until you were able to get back to your reg workout routine? And how how long after that til your strength returned?
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Length of time can vary, depending on the degree of severity of the injury itself. The last repair I had in 2011, I competed 7 months later. Was I 100%, nope, but good enough to give it a run. Generally, nothing upper body for 3-4 months except for ROM stuff in rehab. I got clearance from the surgeon after about 4 months and went balls to the wall getting ready for the meet. Had surgery in may, meet was in Jan. I was prolly 70% at the time of the meet.

Also generally speaking, you won't get back to full strength after a major repair. Others may disagree, but this has been my experience, and my doc is the ortho surgeon for the tigers and red wings so, yeah, he's pretty good. I'm also lucky in that I have friends that are PTs that have worked with a lot of shoulder repairs.

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Rodja said:
Truth. I'm always dealing with some sort of nagging pain in my shoulders and neck.

BTW, one of the guys I train with is doing the same meet as you in May.
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The APF masters? Awesome, I could show him around if he wants. It's gonna be a big one, lots of vendors. One of the guys from the gym putting on the meet, Detroit Barbell has been trying to recruit me to train there. It's the strongest gym in Michigan. I told him if he thinks my total is good enough I'll make the move.

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napalm said:
The APF masters? Awesome, I could show him around if he wants. It's gonna be a big one, lots of vendors. One of the guys from the gym putting on the meet, Detroit Barbell has been trying to recruit me to train there. It's the strongest gym in Michigan. I told him if he thinks my total is good enough I'll make the move.Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
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Yeah, he's in the 198 class and is trying to qualify for World's again (he came in 2nd last year).
 
Rodja said:
Yeah, he's in the 198 class and is trying to qualify for World's again (he came in 2nd last year).
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**hides head in shame, will be at 198**

Great, at least I'll know who's kicking my ass...

The closer we get you can give him my info. Do you still have my email addy?

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napalm said:
**hides head in shame, will be at 198**

Great, at least I'll know who's kicking my ass...

The closer we get you can give him my info. Do you still have my email addy?

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PM it to me again.

Are you competing raw or geared?
 
Rodja said:
PM it to me again.

Are you competing raw or geared?
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This will prolly be my last raw meet before moving to the dark side...

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Ive had surgery for a labral tear as well and the rehab was lengthy and VERY painful. Most definitely stay away from parallel bar dips, upright rows, heavy flat bench, and behind the neck presses.
 
thegodfather said:
Ive had surgery for a labral tear as well and the rehab was lengthy and VERY painful. Most definitely stay away from parallel bar dips, upright rows, heavy flat bench, and behind the neck presses.
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The labral tear actually takes longer to heal than a cuff tear.

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napalm said:
The labral tear actually takes longer to heal than a cuff tear.

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Yep. He used 3 anchors that looked like white drywall anchors and reattached the labrum with Kevlar as well as pleated the capsule to the bone to help tighten everything up. Feels good and secure now but i did lose a little bit of ROM even with physical therapy.
 
thegodfather said:
Yep. He used 3 anchors that looked like white drywall anchors and reattached the labrum with Kevlar as well as pleated the capsule to the bone to help tighten everything up. Feels good and secure now but i did lose a little bit of ROM even with physical therapy.
Click to expand...

Can you still bench heavy??
Now that you're all recovered??
 
naplams dead on with all his info, sad to say, its no fun to learn these things because of the surgery route. I've been through 2 surgeries also. He's correct, you'll never be 100%, rehabing is KEY..Do it diligently. I'm 2 years post from my last one, I'm still doing my therapy movements 3 times a week. I still bench press, parked my ego, use more TUT movements..time under tension, use slower tempos.
Made something like this out of heavy strofoam.
Invalid Link Removed
I'm back to benching, but again, just a lot of caution. Best of luck with it, come back strong!!
 
vidapreta said:
Can you still bench heavy??
Now that you're all recovered??
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No I don't even flat bench anymore. I do just dumbbell presses and various machines for chest nowadays. Like said before, you're never 100% afterwards, just better.

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Off topic ( I apologize ) but hey napalm..what gym are you lifting at now? Few gentlemen that workout at Detroit barbell so that's why I ask :)
 
Thanks so far. So stay away from pressing movements, what about pulling such as dead lifts? Bis and Tri movements?
 
WeT.DoLPhiN said:
Off topic ( I apologize ) but hey napalm..what gym are you lifting at now? Few gentlemen that workout at Detroit barbell so that's why I ask :)
Click to expand...

I'm at the powerhouse in Dearborn, just up telegraph from DB.

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tank316 said:
naplams dead on with all his info
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Txs tank, outside of doing the procedure itself, there's not much I don't know about shoulder surgery/rehab...

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kenpoengineer said:
I've possibly hurt my rotator cuff in my left shoulder. Not sure but the pain is the nagging type that's deep in the shoulder joint.

Resting the area now but still want to lift. I know it's time to see the doc but until I do what lifts should I stay away from?
Click to expand...

Are you going to get it checked out by a doctor?
 
Yes, will be heading to the doc next month. For now I'm avoiding all lifts that tax the shoulders and sticking with lower body, bi/tri and abs. All this to give the shoulder a big rest.
 
better solution

vidapreta said:
Funny... I'm about to get a cortisone shot today in my shoulder.. Hope it helps.
Click to expand...

I've been training for 40 years and have had more surgeries than Frankenstein......rotator cuff surgery was the most debilitating, and I never regained full range of motion.

There's a new procedure out called PRP injections....

I don't have "enough posts to provide a link" but look it up.....

I'm getting one in my elbow for a tear in the tricep tendon, and can't wait. this procedure sounds like the wave of the future.

Good luck whatever you decide on.
 
tigerdb2 said:
For most injuries cortisone will just mask the issue for a short period which, as stated, leads to more harm than good. Be wary of them. Most of the sports pts I know loath Dr.s who prescribe them often
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Plus the needle digging in to your shoulder hurts like hell.
 
I, too, have been having issues with my left shoulder. Feels more like an impingement, but it might be a tear, as I recall when I first hurt it, it "burned" (I was sledding down a mountain and was getting out of control. I "stopped" myself with my elbow and that seemed to "pull" too hard on the shoulder.)

It "clicks" when I move it across my chest and I think it's starting to bother my elbow. Not sure what's really going on, but I'm hoping maybe a chiropractor can align it. Also, feels like a balls of nerves right near my shoulder blade and when I bench, it feels like my arm's twisting. When I do dumbbell curls, I can't seem to get a good pump in the biceps and it feels like more of the outer triceps that gets the workout. And, then there's the ulnar nerve. Feels like it wants to pop out or some such.
 
ricroc said:
but I'm hoping maybe a chiropractor can align it.
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Chiropractors do an awesome job on a lot of musculoskeletal issues, but if it were my shoulder, no f'ing way would I let one torque on it. If there is a tear, that could possibly make it worse. If it is impinged, it's a easy diagnosis: what the doc will do is inject the AC joint with lidocaine. If the pain goes away, it's impinged.

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^--cool. Good advice to follow. Thanks.
 
napalm said:
Chiropractors do an awesome job on a lot of musculoskeletal issues, but if it were my shoulder, no f'ing way would I let one torque on it. If there is a tear, that could possibly make it worse. If it is impinged, it's a easy diagnosis: what the doc will do is inject the AC joint with lidocaine. If the pain goes away, it's impinged.

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napalm, I have been diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon as having labrum tears in both shoulders, although I haven't had any MRI's done yet. I noticed you said that your labrum tears don't give you any additional pain when you work out. My experience has been the opposite -- when I work out (especially chest exercises), my labrum tears hurt, sometimes really badly. Do you think that is an indication that I have a rotator cuff tear and not a labrum tear (or maybe in addition to a labrum tear)? Also, did doing any physical therapy exercises bring any pain relief? I have been doing them on my own at the gym, but I don't think they've really helped much (in fact, it actually hurts when I do the exercises).
 
SpicedCider said:
napalm, I have been diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon as having labrum tears in both shoulders, although I haven't had any MRI's done yet. I noticed you said that your labrum tears don't give you any additional pain when you work out. My experience has been the opposite -- when I work out (especially chest exercises), my labrum tears hurt, sometimes really badly. Do you think that is an indication that I have a rotator cuff tear and not a labrum tear (or maybe in addition to a labrum tear)? Also, did doing any physical therapy exercises bring any pain relief? I have been doing them on my own at the gym, but I don't think they've really helped much (in fact, it actually hurts when I do the exercises).
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Like I mentioned earlier, labral tears can be hard to dx. They don't show up a lot on MRI. The definitive way to dx one is through arthroscopy. I see one of three scenarios: labral tear, cuff tear or both. My last repair was for both.

As far as therapy bringing pain relief, the short answer is no, the pain relief comes from the repair itself. I haven't been pain free in 25 years. This is what we do bro, as with anything there are consequences if taken to extremes.

Good luck and keep us posted...

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napalm said:
Like I mentioned earlier, labral tears can be hard to dx. They don't show up a lot on MRI. The definitive way to dx one is through arthroscopy. I see one of three scenarios: labral tear, cuff tear or both. My last repair was for both.

As far as therapy bringing pain relief, the short answer is no, the pain relief comes from the repair itself, and in my experience, even after repair there is still a degree of pain. I haven't been pain free in 25 years. This is what we do bro, as with anything there are consequences if taken to extremes.

Good luck and keep us posted...

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Don't ask me how the above happened, the mobile app can be frustrating. I tried to edit and failed...

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