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heyjoe16
Nov 14, 2007, 2:50 PM
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After reading up on the symptoms, I'm 99% sure I have at least a mild rotator cuff injury. I play guitar and also climb 3-4 times a week so I'm stopping both of those for a couple weeks minimum(NOOO) but was just wondering if anybody else had gone through this and had any reccomendations/advice on gentle Exercises...recovery time etc. Thanks alot!
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rudolphluciani
Nov 14, 2007, 2:56 PM
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Why yes I have, and four months later my shoulder still hurts. My advice to you is to see a PT.
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WVUCLMBR
Nov 14, 2007, 3:58 PM
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Almost a year ago I got hit by a car while crossing the street and suffered a partial rotator cuff tear. It sucked....Hard! I went to a crappy physical therapist for a month and was still fubar. The doctors told me my climbing days were probably over. Then I found the guy who works with a lot of the WVU athletic teams and he was able to tailor a specific rehab program to strengthen my rotator cuff/assisting muscles. The result is me being able to climb at the same level as before my injury. You gotta do P.T. man....and you gotta do it 120% if ya wanna get better. As for recovery time, depends on how severe it is. If you have good insurance see a specialist. Good luck man...it sucks to be you!
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roy_hinkley_jr
Nov 14, 2007, 3:59 PM
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Order a book called the 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution.
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robman
Nov 14, 2007, 4:05 PM
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I'm on week 2 of recovery from shoulder surgery.
torn rotater cuff,slp tear and some bone spur removel.
the doc said; rotater cuff tears don't ever heal and they should be repaird.
good luck
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Johnny_Fang
Nov 14, 2007, 4:50 PM
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I'll say it like everyone else. See a PT. See a PT. See a PT. I sat on my injury for 2 months without it getting better. Man, I couldn't use my turning signal with my left arm, it hurt so bad. Putting on t-shirts was pretty much impossible--I switched to button downs only. I thought it would heal over time but that wasn't true.
One thing, though, is that strains/tendonitis in the rotator cuff are way, way more common than tears. To actually tear the tendon is extremely difficult, so a lot of people that say that they "tore" their rotator cuff are actually just experiencing impingement (tendonitis). It is true that a tear WILL NOT heal without surgery. But the chance of a healthy strong adult tearing their rotator cuff is very, very low.
Within two weeks of PT I could use my turning signal again, and 2 1/2 months later I started climbing, and after another 2 1/2 months of climbing and continued PT exercise I'm finally starting to approach my prior abilities. My arm still hurts. It hurts as I type this. But it feels waaay better than it did 6 months ago.
People always say that you don't need strength training to climb hard, that climbing well is about climbing specific training. That's true. However, you DO need strength training to avoid injury. Most people have incredibly weak backs in comparison to our super strong chest/shoulders. That leads to injuries like rotator cuff impingement. I wish that gyms, forums, books, and magazines would emphasize that more often, and feature the (very basic) exercises that one can do to prevent the most common injuries.
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shimmer
Nov 14, 2007, 5:07 PM
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See a physical therapist. If that doesn't help, see an orthopedist.
Sometimes you can 'fix' it without surgery, if you can, YAY. Sometimes surgery's the answer. If it's a surgical fix, do what your doctor says during your recovery to the T, so you don't backslide.
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piton
Nov 14, 2007, 5:10 PM
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so you are doing all these pulling motions and No exercises to for opposite motion (pushing)?
get some dumbells and adjustable incline bench.
do all angles of the bench press except flat (flat bench press is just for show). Arnold presses etc.
here's a link with video http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
try light weight many reps.
let us know how it turns out
(This post was edited by piton on Nov 14, 2007, 5:11 PM)
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scotchie
Nov 14, 2007, 6:24 PM
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See a doctor.
If that doesn't work, see a different doctor.
You can't get an X-Ray and qualified diagnosis over the Internet.
PT isn't the solution to all problems, but sometimes doctors overlook it in favor of drugs and/or surgery. So you might have to request/insist. In many states, you need a doctor's prescription to see a PT.
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onceahardman
Nov 14, 2007, 6:38 PM
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In reply to: the doc said; rotater cuff tears don't ever heal and they should be repaird
hmmm...a couple things about this...
"dont ever heal?"-does that mean it keeps bleeding forever? muscle has excellent vascularity, and a true tear will bleed. it BETTER heal, or you'd bleed out.
it heals with the formation of scar tissue, same as anything else. in a partial tear, the torn fibers wont re-attach, they will just contract and scar down. as long as the tear is not large or massive, the remaining part of the muscle might well be able to be strength-trained enough to restore the FUNCTION of the muscle to its previous level. the same strength training will also remodel scar itssue, and make it stronger. it will also improve vascularity to the muscle.
a surgeon doesn't make money sending a patient for PT. when you are a hammer, you tend to see the world as a nail.
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roy_hinkley_jr
Nov 14, 2007, 7:46 PM
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onceahardman wrote: "dont ever heal?"-does that mean it keeps bleeding forever? muscle has excellent vascularity, and a true tear will bleed. it BETTER heal, or you'd bleed out.
The glenoid labrum is cartilage, not muscle, with very little vascularity. So tears such as Bankhart and SLAP do not heal on their own. The latter is a common form of overuse injury.
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onceahardman
Nov 14, 2007, 8:01 PM
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In reply to: The glenoid labrum is cartilage, not muscle, with very little vascularity. So tears such as Bankhart and SLAP do not heal on their own. The latter is a common form of overuse injury.
agreed. but in the original context:
In reply to: In reply to:the doc said; rotater cuff tears don't ever heal and they should be repaird
the context is clearly muscle. i stand by my statement.
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skiclimb
Nov 14, 2007, 8:02 PM
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You need and MRI and a good radiologist to determine whats wrong in your shoulder.
many things other than a rotator cuff tear can cause long term imobilization/severe lost range of motion/ strength.
Some of those things can heal well with just PT some require surgery.
a true rotator cuff tear will not heal but can occasionally become fully functional w/o surgery.. but surgery is often the solution.
You should see a good specialist and you must insist on an MRI not an XRay.
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artsylady567
Nov 14, 2007, 8:53 PM
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I would see a PT they can prescribe some exercises that will help strengthen your rotator cuff.
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heyjoe16
Nov 14, 2007, 9:39 PM
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Thanks everyone for the help...so basically not good news. C'est la vie eh.
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eastvillage
Nov 14, 2007, 10:38 PM
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I'm dealing with a shoulder injury myself. Get to an orthopedic surgeon and get an MRI. You'll never know exactly what the problem is without one.
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just_throw_it
Nov 16, 2007, 6:59 PM
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eastvillage wrote: I'm dealing with a shoulder injury myself. Get to an orthopedic surgeon and get an MRI. You'll never know exactly what the problem is without one.
my 2 cents...
just make sure that you are very specific with the doctor about the type of pain you are having and the location. i spent 5 years going from doctor to doctor, orthopoedist, rheumatologists and finally a osteopath to figure out what what wrong with my shoulder and sternum.
i heard everything from rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, slipped discs, torn rotator cuff etc etc. i had mris and xrays up the wazoo--and no one could tell me WHY i was in such excruciating pain. with some of the doctors, they didn't even believe that i was feeling pain in places i felt it--these were the ones who were convinced they knew what was wrong with me.
finally, i went to an osteopath--and with a cat scan very quickly got to the bottom of the whole shebang. arthritis in my sternoclavicular joint. sounds strange, but it's simple enough. BUT by not knowing what was wrong, and being in constant grinding pain for 5 years, i had made the situation WAY worse by not using or exercising the shoulder and arm whose muscles insert at the clavicle/first rib/manubrium joint. i had atrophied beyond the point of being able to stabilize either my shoulder or my joint.
so the doctors WERE right about the rotator cuff tear, the bursitis, tendonitis and all of it--they unfortuunately overlooked the much more MAJOR issue of the osteo arthritis in sternoclavicualr joint.
it's taken me 5 long years of pt, and more recently, weight training and rockclimbing to rebuild my upperbody to stabilize the whole chronic mess as much as possible.
the moral of this story is "make sure that your doctor is listening to YOU"
get better!
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