# Advise while I wait on shoulder doc appointment



## Itburnstopee (Aug 12, 2017)

I'm pretty sure I have some sort of rotator cuff injury. I thought it was a winged scapula but after stretching I ta week ago it now has a dull pain in most of the shoulder and a sharp constant pain more on my back/lower trap area. Trying to get an appointment/ shoulder doc atm but it wouldn't hurt to ask here what I should do to prevent further injury.


it also locks up and the trap cramps constantly, the entire arm goes numb depending on the position and if I raise it above my head it feels fine unless I flex the arm then it goes numb and tingles in the shoulder but I've ignored that; I've had all these symptoms except the pain for two years now but the pain hasn't been here until last week. I've been lifting with whatever this is and progressing pretty well. Can I still work chest and shoulders? What about squats, my gym doesn't have a safety bar and I get a lot of discomfort in the shoulder while squatting now


edit: title was supposed to say "Advice"


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## IHI (Aug 12, 2017)

Just coming off a 9 month of no lifting and 4 months off work after shoulder surgery, isnt much you can do that shoulders dont get involved, they are the big anchor point for so many major tendons/muscles.

hoping you just have pulled muscle/pinched nerve they can work out thru rehab, but personally, id stop for now, no sense taking a minor injury and turning it into a major one requiring more time off to fix/heal. Your lifting is going to be half assed at best right now anyhow, so take a lil break until you get things diagnoised


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## Itburnstopee (Aug 12, 2017)

IHI said:


> Just coming off a 9 month of no lifting and 4 months off work after shoulder surgery, isnt much you can do that shoulders dont get involved, they are the big anchor point for so many major tendons/muscles.
> 
> hoping you just have pulled muscle/pinched nerve they can work out thru rehab, but personally, id stop for now, no sense taking a minor injury and turning it into a major one requiring more time off to fix/heal. Your lifting is going to be half assed at best right now anyhow, so take a lil break until you get things diagnoised



Would just going lighter be a good idea if I insist on not skipping lifting? I feel like I know the answers to this but I don't wanna take time off


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## IHI (Aug 12, 2017)

Insurance wouldnt grant me an MRI until i completed 6 weeks of rehab. I was like you and thought, ill just go light. Once rehab started (doc/tech whatever rehab people call themselves, was adement it was a muscle strain and had me doing everything I absolute should NOT have been doing)

point being, after two weeks he asked me to stop lifting all together so we could figure out if shoulder pain was stemming from lifting or rehab, thinking lifting soreness was masking actual shoulder things we were trying to diagnose. 

So yeah, you know the real answer as crappy as it sounds, but through my journey i learned just how busy our shoulder joints are with so many things attaching and passing over/thru it....it is NOT a joint to gamble with. Please reread that. Take a break until you meet with doc, then specialist and THEY will tell you what they believe it is, how severe it is, and what if any training you can do/not do. Until then, being cautious is your best bet to prevent further injury that may take you out of the game even longer so you can do some half assed workout now because you think you have too


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## stonetag (Aug 13, 2017)

X2 on what IH said, I've had the surgery (cuff) and all that. In hind sight I wished I would have taken it easy on it, but I didn't, and I paid for it I'm finally using it quite a bit more now, pushing it a little harder every week, been 6 weeks and getting way stronger.


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## IHI (Aug 13, 2017)

Stone, how many weeks post op are ya now?

my daughters hs strength and conditioning coach shattered his left shoulder on stage in a comp, 3 surgeries to rebuild it, much rehab, but he competed for the first time 8 months last post op (younger guy) and managed 2nd place with:


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## ECKSRATED (Aug 13, 2017)

The numbness you're talking about is definitely a nerve being pinched somewhere. Have u gotten a lacrosse ball deep into everything around the shoulder? Traps, lats, delts, bis, tris, pecs and so on. It could be something very minor like that and worth trying.


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## BRICKS (Aug 13, 2017)

If it were me I would train around it until you find out what's going on.  Basically if it hurts don't do it.  If it's going to need surgery, obviously the extent of the repair is going to depend on how bad things are torn up inside.  Good luck, and hopefully it's something that can be resolved without the knife


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## stonetag (Aug 13, 2017)

IHI said:


> Stone, how many weeks post op are ya now?
> 
> my daughters hs strength and conditioning coach shattered his left shoulder on stage in a comp, 3 surgeries to rebuild it, much rehab, but he competed for the first time 8 months last post op (younger guy) and managed 2nd place with:


 6 weeks, just in the last couple days I've been able to reach above shoulder level.


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## IHI (Aug 13, 2017)

stonetag said:


> 6 weeks, just in the last couple days I've been able to reach above shoulder level.



Wow, very impressive!! Grind out that PT like a beast and reap the long term benes

im currently 4.5 months post op, rom is normal, still get ache/pain once in awhile...still wakes me up just not nearly as frequently as it used to. This low weight/higher rep stuff is a ego destroyer since you never forget where you "were", but im seeing strength come back bigley!! June 22 i was released with cautious conditions and "be smart".

floor pressing even an empty bar, each down move felt like a knife getting stabbed into my shoulder and freaking me out thinking im done for but last monday for national chest day lol, have worked upto 185 x 20 for 2sets (start empty bar for 20 then add 20lbs each 20 rep set) and drop set 20lbs back to empty bar. Not a real strength builder, but adding weight every session, its helped me focus on technique/squeeze actually, so overall im happy. Next month i get to begin the progressive loading using common sense and what body will allow, but im seeing progress every gym session so am getting excited/happy about it.


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## Itburnstopee (Aug 26, 2017)

Hey sorry for being late on this, thank you guys. I have been working around it, only back feels normal to work but even then my right arm/ side fatigues a lot sooner than my left during sets. I did bench today just to do it, mostly because my chest was looking super flat, and it's definitely weird on my right side. Like it feels strong still, but it's almost like it was drunk just in that part of my body and it wouldn't do it's job. One question I have is what does this surgery entail, like will they put a plate in or will it never be the same after? That is if surgery is necessary.



ECKSRATED said:


> The numbness you're talking about is definitely a nerve being pinched somewhere. Have u gotten a lacrosse ball deep into everything around the shoulder? Traps, lats, delts, bis, tris, pecs and so on. It could be something very minor like that and worth trying.




I haven't, I've been too afraid to **** it without knowing 100% what I have but just reading that sounds relieving. I'll give it a shot tonight


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## BRICKS (Aug 27, 2017)

What the surgery entails is going to depend on what type of surgery is needed, if surgery is needed.  You're not going to know that untill you're examined by an orthopedic surgeon and have the supporting diagnostic tests (ultrasound, Xray, MRI) done.  There are numerous shoulder surgeries, just depends on the problem and the extent of the damage.  No, you will not have a plate, hardware may entail anchors to hold the repair, but again that depends on what going to be done.


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## Itburnstopee (Aug 27, 2017)

BRICKS said:


> What the surgery entails is going to depend on what type of surgery is needed, if surgery is needed.  You're not going to know that untill you're examined by an orthopedic surgeon and have the supporting diagnostic tests (ultrasound, Xray, MRI) done.  There are numerous shoulder surgeries, just depends on the problem and the extent of the damage.  No, you will not have a plate, hardware may entail anchors to hold the repair, but again that depends on what going to be done.



Thank you man. I'm trying to get the next appointment now


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