Shoulder Injuries and machine workouts

cedarghost

Anyone have any experience with this? Specifically, since machines isolate the muscle so much easier (for me anyway), are you able to work biceps for example without over straining the shoulder. Obviously, the shoulder is involved in most arm movement as a stabilizer if nothing else.
I have injuries in both shoulders and have been out for about 6 weeks except for prescribed shoulder rehab exercises. I have gotten the "all clear" to start back in the gym, but was told it would be better to use machines for a few months to reduce my risk of re-injury, so I plan to do so, even though I have always preferred free weights.
I know I can still do a lot of lower body work with free weights, but I would like to include lats, triceps and biceps using machines. I will still be doing exercises specifically prescribed for the shoulders as well.
The doc says "pull exercises should be ok on machines, but to stay away from bent-over rows and presses for another 4 to 6 weeks.
Pressing exercises scare the hell out of me for now, after all the pain, so I have no problem staying away from them for now.

mmddwechanged

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SideSteel

Anyone have any experience with this? Specifically, since machines isolate the muscle so much easier (for me anyway), are you able to work biceps for example without over straining the shoulder. Obviously, the shoulder is involved in most arm movement as a stabilizer if nothing else.
I have injuries in both shoulders and have been out for about 6 weeks except for prescribed shoulder rehab exercises. I have gotten the "all clear" to start back in the gym, but was told it would be better to use machines for a few months to reduce my risk of re-injury, so I plan to do so, even though I have always preferred free weights.
I know I can still do a lot of lower body work with free weights, but I would like to include lats, triceps and biceps using machines. I will still be doing exercises specifically prescribed for the shoulders as well.
The doc says "pull exercises should be ok on machines, but to stay away from bent-over rows and presses for another 4 to 6 weeks.
Pressing exercises scare the hell out of me for now, after all the pain, so I have no problem staying away from them for now.

I have no experience diagnosing this in other people. I have experience with shoulder problems and they still exist for me.

My personal experience is that I know immediately if an exercise is not going to work with my shoulder problems because even at very light load I will feel that "not good pain". An example would be dips on wide dip rack (narrow one is doable).

For the lame advice but I believe it to be true: Start VERY light and DO NOT rush back into things.

cedarghost

Start VERY light and DO NOT rush back into things.

No rush. That's what got me into this boat in the first place. I thought I was "healed enough" to pick up right where I left off and minor injuries escalated quickly.
And that's pretty sound advice. Pretty much what my ortho said, except that he specifically said "NO PRESSES" for now. lol
Thanks.

SideSteel

Start VERY light and DO NOT rush back into things.

No rush. That's what got me into this boat in the first place. I thought I was "healed enough" to pick up right where I left off and minor injuries escalated quickly.
And that's pretty sound advice. Pretty much what my ortho said, except that he specifically said "NO PRESSES" for now. lol
Thanks.

Presses are the most aggravating for me and I wasn't able to dodge the problem until I made significant changes to my technique. Up until last summer I was not able to bench press at all -- even 135# hurt my shoulders. It wasn't until I made considerable adjustments to technique that I was able to press again and now it's pain free for that movement.

mmddwechanged

I am not sure who told you to use machines, I hope that is was someone qualified to do so. I used a machine in September before my diagnosis . I did shoulder raises (which of course was stupid of me to do) , Rows and presses, and curls.

I was later told that the problem with machines, is that they treated my body as if both sides were equal, which of course they are not, so I ended up using my right side incorrectly. Also, the load felt easier than my right rotators could handle. A few days later I was off work, barely able to move.

I will be using bands or free weights, very easy and light after my surgery and rehab.

Chief_Rocka

Lyle talks about how to safely return from an injury in the last part of this article: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/returning-to-training-after-a-layoff-qa.html

In the long term, you're going to have to learn to press in a way that doesn't hurt your shoulders. For example, a standard OHP would have a somewhat narrow grip with the bar coming down to the upper chest, but I can't press like that without hurting my shoulders. My OHP takes a wide grip and the bar comes down to about my chin, since I have the wide grip that brings my elbows "below parallel." So my OHP ends up looking more like the form you would see with a seated dumbbell shoulder press, but my options are either doing it that way, or not pressing at all.

SideSteel

Lyle talks about how to safely return from an injury in the last part of this article: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/returning-to-training-after-a-layoff-qa.html

In the long term, you're going to have to learn to press in a way that doesn't hurt your shoulders. For example, a standard OHP would have a somewhat narrow grip with the bar coming down to the upper chest, but I can't press like that without hurting my shoulders. My OHP takes a wide grip and the bar comes down to about my chin, since I have the wide grip that brings my elbows "below parallel." So my OHP ends up looking more like the form you would see with a seated dumbbell shoulder press, but my options are either doing it that way, or not pressing at all.

^ Thanks Rock.

Just as an example, on my bench press when the barbell lowers my elbows basically have to come WAY in, almost tucked against my torso rather than 30-45 degrees. I can use a wider grip with no problems but the bottom of the press is similar to a CGBP.

cedarghost

Thanks. Going to read that now. @Mandy, it was my ortho who told me to start off with machines and go light, but my shoulder exercises are done using free weights.
Honestly, I know my problem was technique, that and the fact that I jumped back into lifting after YEARS off without working my way into it slowly enough.

mmddwechanged

Yeah, listening to your ortho is probably a good idea;)

( I feel a little like the girl in the room who clearly doesn't know as much as you guys but I have been thinking about posture and muscle imbalance like crazy lately and wanting to share my thoughts . )
Also I know many of you guys press quite a bit more than your body weight and probably are very educated on technique and my lifting was on a smaller scale but here goes

Years ago when I lifted, I benched more than half my weight, I often added 6 to 10 reps of 70 lbs on an incline. I did handstands and was working towards handstand push-ups. My goal was always to bench heavier and I was rather proud of myself! And because you're supposed to I also did the "equivalent" in rows. So I rowed the same or slightly higher than I benched and I only rowed because I had to. I think this MAY have caused a muscle imbalance that causes poor posture and increased risk of friction or impingement on the rotator cuff. Physiotherapists prescribe back, posture and rotator cuff exercises for people with tears, tendonitis, and other shoulder issues. Add the fact that in our normal day to day activities we text, work at a desk, drive and basically are involved in activities that are condusive with poor posture most of the time, I want to stress how important rows are! I think stretching for chest and strengthening for back makes a difference.

A few weeks ago someone posted on mfp that as a general rule you should pull three times what you push. I sometimes wonder if I had even been careful to pull even 1 1/2 times more than I pushed and most importantly focused on form and technique and felt my back muscles working I may not be in the situation I am in now.

These are just my thoughts. My Internet research just sites "aging" as a cause for calcific tendonitis:).

(Maybe I'll go and read that article now too!)