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gogo
Feb 14, 2005, 2:40 AM
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Hi,
I messed up my shoulder going for a weird campus move about a week and a 1/2 ago. It hurts when I raise my arm out to the side, above shoulder height, so I think what I did was damage the joint somewhat.
Now I know what I should do is take time off until it feels better, and then start gradually climbing. However, I work as a routesetter at a climbing gym, and need this job to pay rent while in college, so I will be climbing a minimum of six hours a week.
My question is, are there any other things I can do to speed up recovery? I've been taking magnesium and zinc, which are both supposed to help muscle and tendon recovery, and occasionally ibuprofen, but I don't like taking painkillers like that.
Suggestions?
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boulder_boy
Feb 20, 2005, 9:08 AM
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I have the same problem, the weird thing is that when I climb on it gets a bit better and then it hurts again the next morning(yes I know stupid trust me I have stopped climbing) I would be interested to know if anyone else has had this and what they had to do? I think it might be the rotator cuff and if so then this might suck im guessing
thx
Jeff
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hitman
Feb 20, 2005, 1:31 PM
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www.climbinginjuries.com
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smearhound
Feb 20, 2005, 1:44 PM
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Sorry to tell you this, but if it's been hurting for that long, you need to see an orthopedic surgeon. The doctor will probably recommend x-rays and an MRI. I'm no doctor, but it sounds like you have an injured rotator cuff or labrum. Regardless, the sooner you start treating the problem, the sooner you will heal. Period.
In the meantime, Ibuprofen can keep the inflammation down and icing for 10-20 minutes at a time will do the same. Do not perform any activities that require strenuous engagement of the shoulder, especially if you hand is above shoulder height.
Depending on your injury, you may have to begin a treatment that could range from a month or two of physical therapy (have it supervised by a professional, it will save you a lot of time and aggravation) to surgery.
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climbajd
Feb 20, 2005, 4:04 PM
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Sounds like a rotator cuff injury to me - the best thing to do besides rest is some strengthening exercises. It will get worse unfortunately if you don't stop climbing for a bit. You can set routes without climbing them I am sure.
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bandycoot
Feb 20, 2005, 4:13 PM
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Stop climbing until it heals, and see a doctor.
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jacksonsdad
Feb 20, 2005, 5:14 PM
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Yep, this is probably rotator cuff, poosibly labrum as well. Likely to have some bursitis thrown in for good measure as it will often get irritated too. See an ortho doc. He will most likely recommend anti-inflammatories, ice and rest. A visit to a physical therapist may be recommended, which is where I would come in.
My recommendation would be (if it is a rot cuff tear) to begin strengthening the rotator cuff muscles in a safe position, and most importantly to warm them up thoroughly before climbing. A PT can show you how this is done. Good luck!
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verticalclimb
Feb 22, 2005, 12:30 AM
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Got the exact same problem. Been to PT for 4 weeks and learned some exercises for rotator strength (mostly normal movements with a stretchy band or surgical tubing). This helped some, but the PT suggested seeing a orhtopod specializing in sports medicine. Haven't done that yet. I have been strength training lightly and been taking a new product similar to Glucosamine/Chondroitin. The product is called Lubriflex. The product uses Glucosamine and Hyaluronic Acid to promote joint health. I have noticed, after about a week, that many of my joint pains have subsided to a large degree. Side benefit: if taken before a work out, there is a noticeable increase in endurance. COOL STUFF!!!! Not cheep though.
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boss
Feb 22, 2005, 12:48 AM
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At your young age, if the injury isn't serious, then PT and some rest will most likely allow your injury to heal w/o surgery.
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boulder_boy
Feb 22, 2005, 4:11 AM
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It's weird mine doesnt really hurt anymore when yesterday I couldnt even turn the wheel on my car. this doesnt mean Im going to go out and climb an 11 but should I keep icing it and knocking up the ibuprophin? I hope I can climb in like a week because being a slug is starting to get on my nerves.
have any of you watched tv these days? its so stupid!
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uscjeffer
Feb 23, 2005, 12:08 AM
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I had a similar injury...It was on going for like 6 months, I would take some time off, but it kept coming back. Finally went to the doctors and got a shot of cortizone in my shoulder....Two weeks later, no pain!
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jw11733
Feb 23, 2005, 1:02 AM
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Rotator cuff problems can be a climbers worst nightmare. Ignored, it can get progressively worse untill surgery is your only option. It doesn't have to be that way if you take a target approach to treating the problem.
Rest untill the pain subsides.
See a therapist, learn the exercises.
Do them.
Even when you are better, keep up with the exercises to prevent another injury down the road.
You owe it to yourself and your future climbing career.
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justthemaid
Feb 23, 2005, 2:49 PM
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I've been suffering from exactly what you describe for about 4 weeks. I take an Advil and try to do a 1/2 hour of stretching before climbing (which helps a lot). I've been trying to stay on easy routes to let it heal. It seems better, but it persists.
Does anyone know how long these things take to heal?
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jw11733
Feb 23, 2005, 3:38 PM
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In reply to: Does anyone know how long these things take to heal?
In my case, several weeks. 3 weeks of no climbing at all, and then a few more taking it easy. One thing I learned in the process is that the rotator cuff exercises are very important, probably much more so than stretching. The reason is, the rotator cuff muscles hold the joint in the correct place during movement . If these muscles are weak, your shoulder can move around too much, and you can easily strain something. If you dont address the weakness, It will take long time for the shoulder to heal, because it is constantly being aggrivated whenever you use it. At first, I was a little lax, doing the exercises on and off. As soon as I was consistant, things started to improve quickly.
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gogo
Feb 25, 2005, 5:12 PM
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Cool, thanks everybody for the advice.
I finally saw a doctor. . .or more to say I talked to one of the doctors that come into the climbing gym where I work at and had him check out my shoulder, as well as some weird popping noises that that area makes.
He gave me the same advice of taking it easy, doing rehabilitative exercises, and said the most important thing was to keep stretching it constantly. The reasoning was that scar tissue can build up around the shoulder muscle, and that a large build up of it can cause limited movement. Apparently the surgury to re-allow range of motion involves sedatives and manual ripping of the scar tissue.
Upon learning that, I figure I best keep up stretching, doing those rehab exercises, and hopefully be able to climb (though not at 100 percent) by Bishop in two weeks.
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gogo
Mar 1, 2005, 5:16 PM
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Oh, I had one more question. Are push-ups all right to be doing, provided they don't cause pain? I want to build up as much stabilizing strength in the joint as much as possible.
Thanks,
Mike
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roboclimber
Mar 1, 2005, 5:35 PM
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If you can tolerate the exercise with no pain, then it is usually not contraindicated. Push-ups are usually not advised for shoulder rehab because they put alot of stress on the joint and the muscles that stabilize the joint (the rotator cuff). Furthermore, if you have an impingement syndrome or active inflammation of the bursae, then repetitive push-ups will only make things worse. So, the answer is pretty hedonistic: do it if it feels good. :wink:
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gogo
Mar 5, 2005, 11:57 PM
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Thanks, its been feeling a little better each day. Another question for y'all though; I'm feeling kinda sore and stiff in my right trapezius. I know this is because the other muscles in the area are trying to compensate for me not using my shoulder, but it is somewhat obnoxious. I know that you are not supposed to massage joints or damaged tissue, especially where the trap connects to the shoulder, and I don't want to irritate any bursae, so I'm wondering about letting someone massage my right trapezius. Would the trap just be sore tissue that can be alleviated with sports massage, or would rubbing it cause more damage than its worth?
Thanks,
Mike
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arostecrux
Mar 6, 2005, 12:47 AM
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In reply to: My question is, are there any other things I can do to speed up recovery? I've been taking magnesium and zinc, which are both supposed to help muscle and tendon recovery, and occasionally ibuprofen, but I don't like taking painkillers like that.
Well think about it this way, you spend many hours and millions of calories trying to get stronger. How much do you spend on routine maintenance on your body as a whole? If you are going to push your body and ask it to get stronger and take the abuse, you better STRETCH EVERY DAY AND AT LEAST 1 hour at a time, once or twice a week.
When I see people with injuries most of them don't take time to balance the body. Would you race your car on weekends but not give it oil changes and valve adjustments? Then why would you climb hard with your body and neglect to stretch -- DO YOGA BEECHES.
Stretching -- releases tention. lengthenes tendons, muscles, ligaments. Lowers blood pressure. Increases balance. Increases everything that could possibly ever help you out? What the hell are you waiting for??
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jcshaggy
Mar 8, 2005, 1:56 PM
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I had to take off 6 weeks and do a whole bunch of exercises that my physio recommended after I stuffed up my rotator cuff- Rather rest than get a more serious injury.
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gogo
Apr 18, 2005, 7:29 PM
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A'ight. So its been about two months, with climbing seriously, seriously reduced to my four hour setting sessions on saturdays (except for one massive setting session before our comp april 9th), as well as an extra day or two of bouldering and easy sport. I also had my last session with my PT last friday, b/c their program (grad school) stops this week.
While I have a lot of exercises from them, and the pain that was in the back of my shoulder has really, really declined, there is still this pain where the pectoral muscles attach to the shoulder that I get after I climb. My PT advised against certain chest stretches, as they loosen the shoulder, so I can only stretch it lightly. However, she didn't give me a cause of why that spot is sore. Its most noticable when I move my arm in a circular motion, around the top of the arc.
This is driving me mad, all I can think about is climbing seriously again and I kinda need to get back into training for the summer. I figure I have until mid-may before I head up to Squamish, then start road-tripping home to CO to climb all summer. Any more tips on speeding up recovery?
The plan right now is to add an extra session of climbing (so 1 day climbing 1 day setting per week) for the next few weeks to gain back some strength, I'm so much weaker after two months off its ridiculous.
Oh, and one more question. How good is it to pre-emptively take ibuprofen/tylenol etc. before climbing? Will it cause more damage than good? I've been trying to avoid all painkillers, but they really help when I'm climbing.
Paz,
Gracias,
Mike
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justthemaid
Apr 20, 2005, 3:06 AM
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Mike- I can sympathize with you. (We got the same injury at about the same time.) Our symptoms are identical.
Have you been diagnosed? I've been diagnosed with a partial tear in my rotator cuff. I'm finding that this injury is a pain in the ass. I stopped climbing completely for 2 months. The weather's warming up, I want to start climbing, and I still can't do much with the arm even after months of PT. My last conversation with my pysical therapist went something like this:
(Me)- "So Doc. I really would like to start climbing soon"
(Doc)- " I wouldn't do that if I were you."
(Me)- "So how do I speed this recovery stuff up?"
(Doc)- You don't. Just do the exercises I told you and DON'T get creative making up new ones.
(Me)- Anything else that might help?
(Doc)- Inflammation makes it worse. Ice it 4 times a day , and it MIGHT speed up the recovery. Take some ibuprofin if it's bugging you.
(Me)- So if I climb too soon what will happen?
(Doc)- Your healing, partially torn tendon can tear all the way, and then you will need surgery, and you won't get to climb for a year, so just be patient.
(Me)- Leaves the office dejected and grumpy.
I couldn't take it any more. I've actually been climbing a little on easy slab stuff. This sucks. I keep icing and doing the exercises.
So Mike- talk to your Doc. It would really suck if your gym job messed up the shoulder worse. Hope your recovery is swifter than mine.
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gogo
Apr 20, 2005, 3:46 AM
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Yeah, I actually got diagnosed with a sprain, which isn't quite as bad.
I can feel that last time I climbed I worked the arm harder than I wanted to, but I figure starting to train right now would work as I'm forced to work on technique as opposed to power.
Regardless, I guess I just have to gauge how it feels when I try to climb and if it seems like it'll hurt, back off. And make sure to over-rest.
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ursasaurus7
Apr 20, 2005, 4:56 AM
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Hey!
I didnt really read anyone's replies, so I dont really know if this has been recommended yet... But, try Arnica. It comes in a bottle, and theyre these little tiny white pills that you take before you are going to exert yourself, and after the fact of exerting yourself too much. I took some before a race that I ran in, and I wasnt even very sore the next day at all-under normal circumstances, I definately would have been. I have heard that it has worked wonders for a few other people who have gotten hurt - I guess it helps you to heal much quicker than usual. They also make Arnica creams. Trust me! Unless you have a really serious injury, this should help.
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vivalargo
Apr 26, 2005, 11:38 PM
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Get PT. Makes all the difference. I blew out my shoulder so bad I had nerve damage and tingling down the arm, and now it's pretty much good. I went o PT 3 times a week for 6 months after the dislocation. Hurt like a bastard!
JL
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