Best shoulder therapy exercises?

[GromsDad]

Post em up. Working hard to come back from shoulder and hip problems. Got the hip pretty much resolved but the shoulder is still nagging a little. Been working hard in the weight room 4-5 days a week for two months, dropped a few pounds and gotten much much stronger. Still feeling shoulder impingement going on.....now I think because of my work in the weight room pulling my shoulders forward. Think I just need to balance things out a bit. Looking for what works.

 

[mundus]

Swim, had some shoulder problems, nothing helped more.

 

[Mr J]

a physio said that usual dumbbell, barbell shoulder gym stuff is good coz it builds up the muscle and ligaments in the shoulders which helps protect. This sounds like what you are doing so is good.


The heavy duty stuff neglects the smaller rotator cuff muscles. The whole point of rotator cuff training is very light with high reps - almost doesn't feel like proper exercising. I like the elastic tubing ones best however I like the way this man explains how to isolate the rotator cuff muscles and avoid the bigger muscles such as delts taking over the exercise. Unlike the heavy stuff, rotator cuff can be exercised every day.

https://youtu.be/mvjQMoL246o

 

[casa_mugrienta]

The last place someone with shoulder problems should probably be is doing typical upper body exercises in the gym.

 

[GromsDad]

The last place someone with shoulder problems should probably be is doing typical upper body exercises in the gym.

Been being careful. Lot of work on strengthening things.

My routine has been:

Day 1: 20 minutes of cardio on a bike or climber followed by an hour on the machines working legs
Day 2: 20 minutes of cardio on a bike or climber followed by an hour on the machines working upper body
Day 3: Swim laps with a mix of distance and sprints
Repeat.

Not using free weights other than dumb bells. Keeping resistance low on the machines and doing a lot of reps. In two months I've lost 8 pounds overall and probably replaced another 8 pounds of body fat with muscle. Look better and feel better overall.

When I do upper body I to a lot of Lats, Chest, Shoulder and Tris. I do very little Biceps. Really focusing on the stuff needed for surfing.

Wake up in the morning though and the shoulder feels like sh!t from sleeping on it. Also last week surfed wearing a 5mm suit and the shoulder was feeling pretty shitty after 2 hours. I was pretty bummed with how I felt surfing because I thought I was a lot farther along than that from the work in the gym. Pain is all towards the top of the recovery stroke.....that last foot when you reach forward.......not in the pull stroke.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

You have been surfing for what, 40 something years?

If it were me I would stop doing the upper body stuff until I did what works.

Here is what works:

See an orthopedic doctor.

You very well might be in the infancy of a tear.

If that's the case you don't want progression.

Perhaps he will prescribe PT to remedy your issue.

The recovery from shoulder surgery is long and shitty. You don't want it to get to that level.

^^^^^^^^^^That's what I tell people experiencing impingement issues. The ones who have not taken my advice or did not do PT ended up with surgery. YMMV.

 

[Billy Ocean]

A few random suggestions (I’m not a doctor)

Light resistance band work (15 lbs)

Farmers walks (some people believe the vibrations radiate up your arms into shoulder as you walk with weight and over time strengthen shoulder in unique way)

Train with thick barbell or fat grips (thick bar is thought to reduce stress on joints in pressing exercises and strengthen grip, which some believe translates to better overall upper body condition)

Do dead hangs from pull up bar for as long as possible

Pushups/ dips on gymnastics rings

Yoga

 

[GromsDad]

Surfing 36 years. The original injury was July a year and a half ago. Golf related. I ignored it and it got worse. Played golf and surfed through pain for 6-months until in December a year ago when it peaked at a point so bad I couldn't push up off the deck to pop up and it was preventing me from sleeping. I was an advil eating machine. In late December a year ago I found some stretching exercises that worked wonders and got me on a long slow road to healing. I realized that the reason my issue began is because I spend 8-10 hours a day sitting at a computer or driving and my shoulders had significantly rounded forwards. Stretching to improve posture and rest over the course of the next 8 months got me back to about 85-90% pain free. Very little shortboarding and very little golf but I became a madman with a camera last year. The lack of activity due to injuries led to just plain getting soft and putting on an extra 10 pounds. Now the mission is to get back to where I was surfing wise before the original injury and then some. Will be turning 50 next summer and I plan on surfing my ass off.

 

[GromsDad]

A few random suggestions (I’m not a doctor)

Light resistance band work (15 lbs)

Farmers walks (some people believe the vibrations radiate up your arms into shoulder as you walk with weight and over time strengthen shoulder in unique way)

Train with thick barbell or fat grips (thick bar is thought to reduce stress on joints in pressing exercises and strengthen grip, which some believe translates to better overall upper body condition)

Do dead hangs from pull up bar for as long as possible

Pushups/ dips on gymnastics rings

Yoga

Dead Hangs was one of the stretches that got me on the road back. I've been doing a ton of that for the past year.

 

[Billy Ocean]

Dead hangs are great

Try overhead carries (walking with weight overhead- both arms and single arm)

Start with light weight

 

[casa_mugrienta]

I am not a doctor or PT but would advise against self treatment, especially some of the exercises listed above, until I got a diagnosis from a physician.

That is, if you're having symptoms of shoulder impingement.

 

[Billy Ocean]

Yeah, I really have no idea what I’m talking about

Those are just exercises I like to do

I had a mildly nagging shoulder for a few months in 2017 and now it’s a non issue, but maybe I’m just lucky

 

[One-Off]

I have to agree with Casa. See a professional.

I'm 57, been surfing for 45 years and this last year my left shoulder has gone to hell. It got to where I had difficulty putting on a shirt or jacket. I had to remember to put my left arm through the sleeve first. It hurt to reach back for the seatbelt.

I've been going to a PT for months. M soulder's gotten a little better. I have my range of motion back. But I still get real sore. Today the surf was great but I was in pain pretty much the whole time- Surfing is now what I call the Agony and the Ecstasy.

The PT had me do things that were counter intuitive- stretching where I had the most pain and exercises that seemed too easy. I was getting tingling in my arm and he was able to figure out it had nothing to do with my arm but was a neck problem caused by the "hair flick."

The way he was manipulating the shoulder, figuring out pain and pressure points, testing range of motion and prescribing exercises was not something a layman could ever figure out on m own.

See a PT.

ps because I'm still having pain, the next step is an MRI. Insurance would not cover an MRI until I had gone through a PT regime.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

The way he was manipulating the shoulder, figuring out pain and pressure points, testing range of motion and prescribing exercises was not something a layman could ever figure out on m own.

The knowledge a good PT can possess is pretty amazing.

 

[One-Off]

Someone else posted this somewhere. A few of the exercises my PT gave me are on here.

https://www.orthoinfo.org/globalassets/pdfs/2017-rehab_shoulder.pdf

 

[surfflexx]

Gromsdad, there are many exercises for shoulder rehab but to throw a bunch at you without a better understanding of the underlining issues that have causes your shoulder problems is just a shot in the dark. That said posture issues and repetitive overhead movements tend to be the culprits for surfers shoulders. Always good to have a Physical Therapist assess you to get you on the right path or the exercises you choose may either hurt you, hinder you, help you or they may be doing nothing at all. Good luck!

 

[GromsDad]

This is interesting.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/W-HMcC8qxRM[/video]

 

[One-Off]

This is interesting.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/W-HMcC8qxRM[/video]

Wow. Revelation.

I surfed Saturday and in less than an hour was in pain.Shoulder to neck. I surfed for another hour because the waves were great and there was no crowd, but it was agony and ecstasy.

After surfing I was walking up the trail holding my board and I noticed the pain was completely gone. A short time later, sitting at the table eating breakfast ,I noticed I was in pain again (arm up on the table). So I stood up and walked around a bit and again the pain went away.

So what this MD is saying about the injury forcing the shoulder up and to exercise with weight pulling the shoulder down (holding my board) totally confirms what I was feeling.

Also confirms what the PT said about the tingling in my arm and hand being caused by impingment in the neck.

Going to watch that again.

Thanks Gromsdad.

 

[GromsDad]

After a year on this journey to get back to surfing pain free I realize that posture is a huge part of what caused all of this. That video also brings to mind a couple of years of bad problems I had in my mid 30s with pinched nerves in my neck that would flare up after a long session. A flare up would leave me in agony for a few days and up to two weeks of pain and muscle cramps in the muscles leading to my left shoulder and the muscles between my spine and left shoulder blade.

After 6 months of worsening shoulder pain to the point that it was becoming unbearable and to the point where I was convinced that I was going to need surgery I found a couple of stretching exercises that began the slow healing process. Realizing more and more as I work on getting better and now getting stronger that the real issue was rounded over shoulders and posture from sitting at a desk and driving a car. I find it very interesting that that video specifically mentioned getting your car seat upright with the steering wheel close. Being 6'1 I've always driven with the seat tilted back which forces me to tilt my heat forward and makes me reach for the wheel. Never thought of that but I'm going to try and correct it starting today.

 

[One-Off]

Makes me think about how I slouch on the couch in the evenings watching TV...

...and how I would take Advil after surfing for my sore shoulder (if you didn't watch the video- don't take NSAIDS as they inhibit the substance necessary to regenerate cartilage).

Also, heat not ice...I would ice.