Shoulder Impingements

[fishing n autograph]

Hey All,

 

Two years ago I was diagnosed with shoulder impingements - a calcium/scar tissue build up around the rotator cuff... anyway, the pain went away and now it's come back with a vengence. I know that there are a lot of former athletes and a lot of hard working tradesmen on this board who might have gone through this.

 

I'm wondering if you've had any treatment or if there are any exercises that you've done to alleviate this problem without surgery.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[bigugli]

Ice rubs, stretch exercises, and when really inflamed, a few visits to a good chiro for massage and 'Tens' therapy.

[bigfish1965]

Okay don't laugh...but let me tell you, yoga does amazing things. It was one of the things I was doing and the difference was amazing. My back, arms, legs and overall mood improved tremendously. The good thing about it..you don't have to be good at it. Find a class and do three or four beginner lessons and you will see a difference right away.

Just finding out that I stand wrong and learning the correct way to stand made a huge difference. I was very skeptical at first but noticed how much better I felt after only doing two half hour lessons that I was a believer.

[Zubris21]

STRETCHING! The benefits of stretching are seriously under appreciated. Everyone at any age should spend 10-15 minutes stretching every day. It will go a long way towards feeling better physically and mentally. As Rick said, yoga might be an option. But just taking a minute here or their while your reading posts to stretch out your shoulders would certainly help out. Not sure I would recommend weight training because the repetitive motion might lead to further irritation.

[Moosebunk]

Never heard of the diagnosis... although I get the jist of it.

 

First anterior rotator cuff injury happened when I was 23. Lost strength and mobility of my left arm to my hand and felt the pain radiate from the shoulder... I did try fishing but called it quits within minutes.

 

If it comes back with a vengeance everything I've read about rotator cuff "syndromes," injuries, "itis" of the area is to rest and drug, then when improved... stretch and light exercises. But if you say it's calcium (and a radiologist report or biopsy has proven this) then you may need the surgery, or, corticosteroid injections to break that down or remove it. No chiropractor is needed for this type of problem, regardless of if they give some sort of temporary relief.

 

I personally have witnessed many doctors go to the Mayoclinic website when looking for information... keep this one handy.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rotator-c...ECTION=symptoms

[Raf]

intersting topic.. when i was younger i hurt my shoulder/rotator cuff playing baseball and i am of the belief that it never healed properly. lately, that shoulder has not been feeling 100%. bench pressing seems to have aggravated the problem. someone mentioned stretching and that has helped a great deal; particulary "shoulder dislocations" - http://stronglifts.com/shoulders-dislocations/

Edited March 6, 2009 by Raf

[drwxr]

have you tried drinking glucosamine, i know alot of former athlets that use it. should feel the results in about a month, if you drink liquid, not pills.

[Bitsmith2k]

if you've got health benifits, go see an athletic therapist..

 

i went to a chiro for a trigger point in my neck/trap and i'll never ever go back to one..

i can recommend a really good one in mississauga if you want..

 

you can try to pm member svukavics here.. he's a kinesiologist, and helped me sort out shoulder problems in the past.. dont know how often he gets on though..

 

mike

[Toronto_Angler]

I am a Strength and Conditioning coach so I've seen a number of shoulder issues...Check out these Articles http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl...r_savers_part_i http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._savers_part_ii

Eric Cressey is one of the best at Shoulder rehab/prehab in North America and everything I know about shoulder work I've learned from him.

Edited March 6, 2009 by toronto_angler

[charlied]

there are 2 excercises I mainly do for my rotator cuffs......hold your elbow to your side and bend your elbow like your holding a glass, but it should be a 5-10 pound dumbell. Now keeping your elbow in at your side bring the weight to your stomach and back beyond the starting position. The other one....hold your arms straight out your sides as if your a kid and your flying, now bend your elbow so your hand is facing up. with a 5 pound dumbell keeping that same position move the dumbell downwards and back up, rotating the shoulders. I do both to failure, rest 1-2 minutes and repeat 4-5 times and then do my regular shoulder workouts.

Hoe this helps...they do for me!

[Toronto_Angler]

there are 2 excercises I mainly do for my rotator cuffs......hold your elbow to your side and bend your elbow like your holding a glass, but it should be a 5-10 pound dumbell. Now keeping your elbow in at your side bring the weight to your stomach and back beyond the starting position. The other one....hold your arms straight out your sides as if your a kid and your flying, now bend your elbow so your hand is facing up. with a 5 pound dumbell keeping that same position move the dumbell downwards and back up, rotating the shoulders. I do both to failure, rest 1-2 minutes and repeat 4-5 times and then do my regular shoulder workouts.

Hoe this helps...they do for me!

 

 

That's a good strengthening exercise however with an existing impingement he should be using no more then a two pound dumbell or even a light resistance band as the rotator is already wekend and it doesn't take much to tear.

[douG]

Active Release Therapy - ART.

[uglyfish]

ur rotator cuff is the easiest muscle in the body to tear. simply by how much use it gets each day, the simplest thing can tear it, throwing a ball, reaching for somethin, tossing out the trash. both of my shoulders are shot. had torn rotator cuff and labrum in my rite shoulder that required surgery.

 

see a specialist. get the injury PROPERLY diagnosed. i had mine misdiagnosed and the therapy made it worse. so, see a specialist and have it properly diagnosed, and they will tell u how to proceed.

 

u have gotten several different options from ppl on here, all great, but there are proper stretches and exercises to help the muscles, while other can furthur injure the area.

[paul_614]

STRETCHING! The benefits of stretching are seriously under appreciated. Everyone at any age should spend 10-15 minutes stretching every day. It will go a long way towards feeling better physically and mentally. As Rick said, yoga might be an option. But just taking a minute here or their while your reading posts to stretch out your shoulders would certainly help out. Not sure I would recommend weight training because the repetitive motion might lead to further irritation.

I must get my full compliment of stretching then. It takes me that long just to crawl out of bed every day

[BITEME]

Cortesone every couple of years will have to get knifed soon though some days i wake up and cant even make it move ....evil dirt bikes and testoterone bad mix

[Moosebunk]

I am a Strength and Conditioning coach so I've seen a number of shoulder issues...Check out these Articles http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl...r_savers_part_i http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_articl..._savers_part_ii

Eric Cressey is one of the best at Shoulder rehab/prehab in North America and everything I know about shoulder work I've learned from him.

 

Enjoyed the links. Thanks. Good and informative, plus the pics at that site ain't too shabby at all.

[Muskieman]

I have that too on my left shoulder an old wrestling accident :stretcher:

 

I will eventually need a artificial shoulder... cuff is worn right out like an old ball joint from a pick up truck.

 

Cortizone shots are best for me and a lot of ROM Range Of Motion exercises..

 

Hot showers and beer to chase the pain away.

 

RFS

[tomkat]

Had the same thing started after 7 days casting muskie lures. Physio active release and acupuncture did the trick. Casting heavy lures over and over is like throwing a ball and can injure you.

[smbhunter]

I've got dynamic impingement in my right shoulder which developed after a few years of playing baseball. The pain was almost unbearable at times, but after a few visits to a great physiotherapist, (after the first clowns did more harm than good), my shoulder is relatively pain free. It still acts up on the odd occasion, but usually after I over stress it from work or fishing. Like mentioned previously, the best thing you can do is stretch out the muscles in the area, and work on strengthening them as well. It hurts for the first little while, but keep up a routine every day, or every second day and you WILL notice a huge improvement.

[brickNblock]

I feel for you Dave.

Hello all, been a while.

 

Dave...I originally damaged my rotator cuff as so many others have reported...playing baseball..(That one hopper to throw the guy out on thrid from deep right field)..this was before the cutoff guy days.

From being a tradesman most of my life I further damaged it...and then again in baseball later in life I dislocated it finally...

Several years later I broke it and the collarbone in a soccer game....had a 13"brand new surgical stainless steel collarbone installed, w/ 7 screws.

 

After approx 12mos of therapy I lived most painfree for about 12yrs until an accident at work left me with a torn (sp?) suspritus tendon(sp?).

 

u]Complete diagnosis[/u]: Tendon tear that couldnt be repaired surgically as the steel was in the way, but they also found bone marrow degeneration...where removing then replacing the steel would be impossible due to the softness of the bone...also ,

disintegrated rotator cuff with bone spurs constantly making their way into the (sp?) Glenorum joint(sp?). I now have bursitus in the back shoulder blade, tendonitus and of course its arthritic through out the shoulder........end of my working days..period..

 

Recently, this past winter I had to give up on the ice fishing..sold my sled, hut, auger et al, as it was just to painful lugging everything around.

Excuse the long story......(but true)

 

I started off with 2 months of increasingly painful light therapy at a sports clinic owned by the ortho I was seeing for it....the therapist suggested something different altogether against the ortho's wishes or knowing.....TRIGGER POINT INJECTIONS....I had these injections for nearly 3 years accompanied with tylenol3's for the bad days.......it was working.

The t-3's grew to percocets...

Tired of the meds and countless injections...I returned to the family GP who reccommened other treatments which I still get to this day....and that is the (sp?) cortisteroid...that Moosebunk mentioned....approx 6 each 30 days.

 

For about a 7-8 months he also had me on ....oxycontin.......then eventually ...100mg fentanyl....

The fenatnyl was the last straw......I was never a big man weight wise...but had dropped from about 170lbs to 126lbs by last November past....and that was with a full and proper diet.......

(I failed to mention that there are many other injuries from my last work related one)

 

I put my foot down and decided I didnt want to live like this anymore.........no more drugs..if I can get away with it.

(the meds had...HAD..me at a point I couldnt do anything or motivate myself.....)....

Well...since Dec1st/08.....I am now through with the fantanyl....and have retreated back down to the oxycontin,

....but have dropped from 80mg...to 5mg.......

...in a very proud 3 months /1 week....I have seen my weight climb slowly,

...real slowly back up to 145lbs so far.(from 126lbs)...... ....and counting.......

 

They figure Ill have the injections for life..and they work for me!.....I cant wait for the day to come where there are no further meds however.....

 

Ive given you my story on the shoulder and I suppose the real thing is...see a specialist....an ortho for the shoulder but get 2 opinions....They cant make an informed opinion without the x-rays...mri's....yes they did that to me with the steel in...couldnt beieve it...

 

But where they found the most damage was by the results from the Ultra sound...

 

Stay away from Chiro's......far away....

most importantly..if you must have meds for the pain.......be freaking careful and think.......just because they are prescribed...doesnt neccessarily mean they are for you or that they are even required all that much.

 

I pray you heal sufficiently that pain is not an everyday all day item for you...but what I have learned is that in some cases it is now a part of life to be managed.

 

Peace...

[musky_man]

If you are on a drug plan, go to your doctor and ask for a topical pain med called Pennsaid.

 

 

 

Hey All,

 

Two years ago I was diagnosed with shoulder impingements - a calcium/scar tissue build up around the rotator cuff... anyway, the pain went away and now it's come back with a vengence. I know that there are a lot of former athletes and a lot of hard working tradesmen on this board who might have gone through this.

 

I'm wondering if you've had any treatment or if there are any exercises that you've done to alleviate this problem without surgery.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[chukkk]

the only way to cure that is a drug called Depo-medrol, its a steroid and has to be injected into the shoulder joints in three places front back and side .

The pain will stop in seconds. It has to be done correctly by a doc or orthopedic guy and it is relatively painless.

Some mild form of exercise on the joint is recommended. You can just perform your own physio and like some of the guys say stretching etc. The drug is available by prescription only and has to be injected in the right place and done in all three places. Some docs will only inject it into the back of the joint but you need all 3 spots. It takes about 5 mins for the procedure. I would say about 40 mg' s in a single vial would work

[chukkk]

Just read Musky Man Pensaid will not give much relieve for this condition .It is a good topical pain reliever but not for your condition

[smbhunter]

the only way to cure that is a drug called Depo-medrol, its a steroid and has to be injected into the shoulder joints in three places front back and side .

The pain will stop in seconds. It has to be done correctly by a doc or orthopedic guy and it is relatively painless.

Some mild form of exercise on the joint is recommended. You can just perform your own physio and like some of the guys say stretching etc. The drug is available by prescription only and has to be injected in the right place and done in all three places. Some docs will only inject it into the back of the joint but you need all 3 spots. It takes about 5 mins for the procedure. I would say about 40 mg' s in a single vial would work

 

This would be good for certain types of injuries or ailments, especially ones that are related to the joint or bones in the area, but not for impingement. Surgery is rarely required for this condition as it's basically just muscle getting pinched between the joint. Stretching and strengthening work on the muscle and eventually pull it back to it's normal position so it's not getting caught in the joint.

After just over a year of not being able to lift my arm up half way, 4 missed diagnosis, and a horrible physiotherapist (I went to 2, this was the first), I've been virtually pain free for 7 years. I'm not saying this will work for everyone, as each injury and each person is different, but before trying medication and various other forms of treatment, try to stretch and strengthen the muscles in the area.

[Doctrt]

Stay away from Chiro's......far away....

 

I've got to take some offense to this comment. While a tendonitis type of injury is not your traditional chiropractic case, I personally treat several of these each day. Today's Chiropractor is not the same as they were 40 years ago where adjustments/cracking is the only treatment we do. We're trained to both diagnose and treat all soft tissue and skeletal issues that arise. As was mentioned above, two of the most appropriate treatments for this type of a condition are both anti-inflamatory measures (be they ice, creams-some of which are quite effective, or oral meds - talk to your family doc) and secondly, A.R.T. Active Release Therapy. This technique may be performed by an athletic therapist, a physio, a chiro or an MD, but it is the most appropriate - to break down scar tissue. I would also employ a physio modality like therapeutic ultrasound or, my go-to, my electro-acuscope to facilitate healing.

 

Long and short - Stay away from some Chiro's - not all!

 

T