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Old Forum Shoulder Impingement

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morrisda

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I have been suffering from a shoulder impingement for about 8 months. Embarrassingly enough I was throwing put the trash and tweaked it. I have been to 2 different docs and neither think it is rotor cuff tear but more of an impingement.

Does anyone have any good ideas for exercises or stretches that will help this?
 
I have been dealing with a similar problem over the past year and have tried many different exercises and found this to be the most helpful. The book goes into detail about shoulder impingement and why this approach works.

http://www.amazon.com/Shoulder-Pain-Solution-Prevention-Fourth-ebook/dp/B003ICWIUM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388978120&sr=8-1&keywords=shoulder+kirsch

It made a huge difference for me.

good luck!
 
I had shoulder impingement syndrome and took off training for 12 weeks.   Iced the area, took a holistic version of an NAISD called Inflatrol, (ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper etc for inflammation.) All my doc wanted to do was give me a cortisone shot and send me for physical therapy. Really nothing else to do for impingement syndrome.       I worked with a sports massage therapist, and had frequent DMS (deep muscle stimulator) treatments.  It took a good 10 weeks for the pain to go away. I stepped back into training, cautiously at 12 weeks, which was mid-August.     I had a little bit of a bother right after I started training again, but simply pulled back the moment I felt anything out of the ordinary.                                Been training for the SFG cert, and my shoulder has never felt better.       For me, If I massage, or DMS the pec, starting at the insertion point at clavicle and sternum, and work towards my armpit regularly, it seems to help. We noticed that during my deep tissue massage sessions.                             The big deal for me though, was to simply not use my arm in training until I was completely pain free.
 
Dan, it is not a question for the Internet.  Listen to the docs or get an opinion from another doc.  Find one who is a lifter.

Heal fast.
 
On a quick note, your two docs don't think it's a tear but without an ultrasound to check for a potential partial tear or an MRI then it's inconclusive. I'm in a similar situation and have a pretty nasty torn Supraspinatus and due to attend SFG1 in Perth at the end of June so the race is on to get back to full health. Get on the case quickly with health professionals and try to find "the man" who is a leader in his field with shoulders.

Best of luck Dan.
 
Dan '

I have a history of a supraspinatus tear(MRI  proven) and mild impingement. I am slowly getting better. Currently pain free and I'm curious what type of rehab are you doing for your supraspinatus tear?

 

I was doing arm bars but stopped two weeks ago as it was causing some discomfort the following day although I had no pain while doing the arm bar.

 

Thanks,

Craig
 
Hi Craig,

Plead read with caution as each injury is individual and I'm not recommending any exercises, merely writing my own routine.

I was recommended The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies. This book has been incredible with relieving my pain so far. I've literally been following what he recommends and I've been smashing the hell out of my supra every day (and shoulders in general) so far with a homemade theracane. The interesting part for me is that I was looking for relief in massaging the actual pain site when in fact that was way off the mark for where the rotator cuff resides. I was getting instant "this feels good" when rolling against a wall in the wrong place but it wasn't helping to heal it until I read the book and found the right area to attack.

I've also been having acupuncture to help blood flow and the healing process which is always instant pain relief for me. I've been taking a fermented fish oil every day as standard too.

I still can't move it through a pain free passive range of motion but compared to 4 weeks ago, it's come a long way. Rest has been the key in general (from all lifting apart from swings) and I've been focusing on increasing the ROM through wall slides and dislocates with the band to give me more room to play with (I think this is your arm bar?). I'm booked in to see the specialist Jan 29th so playing it with caution until then.

I've just come back from L5 S1 problems and had to move my SFG date as a result so this is a big knock for me. Pavel describes the swing as a builder not an exercise that breaks people (I forget the exact wording) and it's so true in my case. I've been doing Dan John's 10,000 prog (5k deep so far) and with every session the shoulder feels great. Recovery between sets is a little longer than I'd like but that's the injury mindset keeping me from going full full throttle. Overall, I'm happy with all workouts so far.Again, I'm not advocating this at all to anyone who is injured but for me and my needs (inability to press and clean at present), it's working wonders.

I'll post a separate thread  in the next few days on my training plan for the 6 months leading up to the course for input from those this greater knowledge (I'm only here to learn!) taking in to account the shoulder injury and knowing that it could change radically should the injury not heal as fast as I need or following input from this online community. In a nutshell though, 10,000 for a month, S&S for a month (which has completely redirected my training in the long term) and then Dan John's prep course from his recent article on StrongFirst which I've modified slightly and ran over a much longer time period.

Best of luck with the injury Craig,

Dan.
 
Dan, if you haven't read Pavel's Super Joints and Relax Into Stretch, I highly recommend them both, as I do Jon Engum's new book, Flexible Steel.

I have a web page with all of Pavel's joint health and flexibility resources and Jon's, too - give  look and maybe it's helpful to you.

http://www.kbnj.com/flexguide.htm

-S-

 
 
Better to listen to Pavel,  we are all differents and there is not a universal formula for shoulder impingement or for any musculoskeletals disorders. We are specifics, so , sport physician first ( no GP or  first )filtrating sound or MRI if needed , treatment for sure, , shoulder at rest until your doc decide you are ready for a rehabilitation.. In any case, back to the same training.

This is if you want to get rid of your shoulder problem, you have the choice !

 

 
 
Many thanks Steve.

I heard you rehabilitated yourself back to full health from a disc injury some time ago (if my memory serves me right?). There is some magic in the Relax into Stretch book for sure. I'll check out your other recommendation this week.

Warm Regards,

Dan.
 
I'm happy to help out a bit here for you.

I started life as a physio in a 'shoulder specialist clinic' and that was 20 years ago. A lot has progressed since then and I have evolved as well.

You can predict a tear without ultrasound, but that in itself may not be all that important. Lots of professional athletes have cuff tears and no pain. The problem comes with the pain and the consequent change in your functional movement to cope with the pain.

There is mountains of evidence to support the concept that when an injury persists past 4 weeks that your movement patterns will change to accommodate the situation. So you may end up out of pain, but moving in a poor pattern which then predicts a future injury. Strength is a skill and so is resolving an injury!

So lets get down to the crux of the matter. Biologically healing should have taken place within 28 days. So consider what is now happening (that may have also set up your initial injury anyway). What is involved, certainly not just your shoulder. Consider your neck (cervical movement), do you have full range of ALL cervical movements? Thoracic spine - what is your rotation and extension like. Full and equal on both sides?

If you don't have range in 28 days, you need to know why.

How is your cuff strength in both internal and external rotation?

What is your abduction pattern like? do you hitch? At how many degrees? Is the upper trap compensating for the supraspinatus.

There is a lot to consider. You do need expert observation and there are a few good people about. As a thought, find out who works with your local pro baseball team! You can't treat baseball teams if you don't know shoulders (if you do and you don't know shoulders you wont be working there long!). Mobility and function precede loading with weights, so get the range painfree before any loading. That means the Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist before the Sports Doc, for the team. The Sports doc will diagnose but then send you to the therapist who treats the team. If the therapist needs a scan he'll let you know.

I got that used to seeing shoulders in the clinic that I could often predict the shape of a tear, whether across or parallel to the fibers even before the scans were done. So just see someone who does lots of shoulders!

 

 
 
Dan, if you need a bit more advice, or any questions on the problem getting ready for the SFG-1 let me know. I'm in Melbourne and just taking time off to write few books. So I can be contacted by email on sportspinephysio@hotmail.com

You may want to check in with the physio for the Perth Heat. I don't think I know who it is, but they should have a clue (but rarely about weight training), just getting the shoulder ready for loading. If they mention Pilates then start running in the opposite direction.....

 
 
Many thanks for taking the time to post Andrew, felt like I've kind of hijacked the original thread but I can only see good things coming from your knowledge in this area.  I know Eric Cressey has some great info on shoulders and his field is in baseball but without two way dialogue, it's like pissing in the wind in some respects.

I'll email you on the email address supplied above now and answer those questions above and hopefully arrange a time to chat/meet soon.

Many thanks again,

Dan.
 
@ Dan Yates, I lived in WA, if you need help, you can findmy e- mail with my profile.
 
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