Shoulder injury and exercise

[Ann A]

This question is for Cathe or anyone who has ever had a shoulder injury. I was doing pullovers and felt some aches in my right shoulder. Cathe or anyone, does that indicate shoulder strains or sprain? Did I not warm up enough? I was doing Upper Body Pyramid and I felt that too during the shoulder segment of the workout.
So I talked to my doctor and she said to ice the area, gently exercise the area, rest and avoid shoulder exercises until completely healed. So I am taking a break for a while. I do all of Cathe’s warmups and cool downs. So, I don’t know what I did wrong? I consider my shoulders and legs to be the weakest part of my body. I hope I won’t be sidelined for too long. Getting well is foremost however. This Is nothing compared to what others have been through! I just don’t want to further injure my shoulder. I am glad Cathe got through her shoulder injury all right. Very much so! Any experiences from fellow Cathletes I would love to hear. Also, what shoulder exercises do Cathe and Cathletes recommend for shoulder injury? Take care Cathletes! And hi Cathe thanks for everything you do! Ann Aoki

 

[Debinmi]

Hi Ann, sorry to hear of your injury. Shoulders are a vulnerable joint and can be prone to injury. I had a shoulder injury similar to Cathe's 14 years ago which required surgery to fix. Now I'm dealing with my other shoulder which I injured while doing PT exercises for my neck, of all things! My weakest "link" has always been shoulders.

Always be careful about your form and as Cathe says always err on the side of caution when choosing the weight for an exercise. That said, unfortunately injuries can still occur even with perfect form and appropriate weight, and can happen doing mundane things like opening a stubborn pickle jar .

While you're healing, you may find some of the work in Cathe's Mobility workouts helpful (Perfect 30 & STS2.0). They include excercises I did in PT. Also laying down on the long foam roller as Cathe does in the STS2.0 Foam Rolling workout really helps open that joint up if there's an impingement, as does hanging from a pull-up bar or similar (don't do a pull-up - just hang). If you're a side-sleeper, use a pillow to help keep that shoulder from folding in.

Ice is helpful, and maybe Naprosyn/Aleve to reduce inflammation. Voltaren is a topical pain reliever if you don't want to take Aleve. I also put collagen with Vit C, and "golden milk" (a turmeric concoction - you can find recipes online) in my morning coffee (Vit C is a pill). I also supplement with Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen II and Boswellia.

Joints can take a long time to heal. Muscle support the joint, so having strong, supple muscle can help joint issues, but they don't fix them. Proper form, weight selection, genetics, and pure luck are all important. Once you're cleared to lift again, try the Bonus Shoulder routine in Cathe's Xtrain series - it's included in both Leg workouts.

Hope you recover quickly.

 

[Kellyro77]

Sorry to hear about your shoulder. I find body injuries aren't always as simple as "I did something wrong". I swear sometimes my body just decides on its own that an area is suddenly going to be testy when I do certain moves.

Debinmi gave some great advice. Most of all, do as your doctor suggests. You may want to ask your doctor for a referral to a Physical Therapist - someone who specializes in movement and body mechanics who can assess your particular injury/issue and then build exercises around it that would support its healing and recovery.

Example: For me, I have a lower back problem. It's not muscular in nature, though certiainly tight muscles are contributing - basically have a pinched nerve. Without proper consultation, first, I wouldn't have known it was actually a pinched nerve (could have been anything from a knotted or torn muscle to a herniated disc for all I knew).

If I'd only followed advice for maybe standard lower back pain, I'd have done things like glute bridges and clamshells and core exercises to strengthen all the muscles around my lower body. However, my particular back issue gets exasperated right now if I do things like glute bridges and clamshells. The tightening of the muscles in those particular positions pull my sacrum and pelvis into a position that pinches the nerve in my spine. I'm doing other exercises that are safe for my particular issue prescribed by the Physical Therapist, and I am getting better. I'd say around 70% there.

I know it's not ideal, or necessarily inexpensive, to have to see a Physical Therapist, but I've found from past experience they are the shortest route to effective recovery.

Another example: I had some kind of a weird shoulder thing going on a while ago where I just could not put much weight on my left shoulder, and I couldn't do bench presses or flys, etc. because of the pain. I put up with it for a good couple of months - getting massages, seeing a chiropractor, and even getting acupuncture. NOTHING was working. So I threw in the towel and saw my Physical Therapist. He diagnosed me right away (an impingement), prescribed a few straight-forward, simple exercises, and I'm not kidding, my pain was gone within the week. I was kicking myself that I didn't see the PT sooner.

So, just food for thought there.

Hope you heal up soon! I hate stuff that gets in the way of being able to completely enjoy my workouts.

 

[Hazlady]

I was doing pullovers and felt some aches in my right shoulder.

Hi Ann, I injured my left shoulder doing pullovers on a stability ball a few years ago. It was a Cathe workout, and I had warmed up. I was using one dumbbell and a lighter weight than usual because of being on the ball. As I moved my arms back my left shoulder slightly dislocated from the socket and then reset itself. I damaged some muscles, and my shoulder was sore for months afterwards. I still have no idea how it happened, and I haven't had anything like that happen since. After a few days of resting it, I started doing some massage therapy and then added in some light mobility as it healed. Eventually I could exercise it using light weights. I found my range of motion was compromised for quite some time, over a year, I think. It is OK now though.

I agree with Kellyro77 about seeing a PT if you can. You will heal faster as they can give you specific exercises for your injury. I found I had to loosen up the muscles around my lats just below the armpit and my front delts and pecs as these had tightened in order to prevent the shoulder moving too much which was compromising my range of motion.

Hope this helps and you get better soon.

 

[Debinmi]

Gosh Hazlady, you reminded me of a time I was doing chest flies and injured my back. After awhile of it not getting better, I went to my doctor and explained that it felt as tho a muscle pulled out and went back in crooked ... she was an osteopathic doctor and said it wasn't that unusual. She manipulated my back, pulled & tugged & massaged that muscle back in correctly - instant relief after weeks of constant pain/discomfort. Weird things happen sometimes!

 

[Lady Vol Fan]

I am glad you sought treatment and hope you consider the PT suggestion. Sometimes it's not even a mobility issue but being hypermobile that can cause the issue...or surrounding weakness in secondary recruitment muscles. The body is so complex!
I hope you recover quickly but give your body the time it needs. Rushing back before healing fully is the worst mistake you can make...and yes, that's frustrating but be good to that body!