Exercising with muscle injuries

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Isrn2
Isrn2 Posts: 160
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm struggling with how to modify certain exercises ... or whether to just give them up ... because of my torn rotator cuff. I had surgery on it 4 years ago, and it's re-tearing again. I can't afford to take the time off work to have it fixed again, so I'm trying to just do the best I can.

The challenge is that I'm over 300 lbs, and exercises that are the bread and butter of a lot of exercise programs, like push-ups, planks, etc. are extremely painful to my shoulder. Likewise, I can't do any overhead weight work. My knees are shot, so squats and lunges are out as well.

I'd appreciate any suggestions for being able to do upper body toning within the constraints that I have.

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  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
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    Have you thought about swimming? Very good exercise and very easy on the joints. I'm not sure you are going to be able to do the things you want to without having your rotator cuff fixed. Walking, biking, ellipticals, and swimming may be your best bets since a lot fo weight work seems to be out of the question.
  • _reno_
    _reno_ Posts: 87 Member
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    Do high volume low impact cardio (biking, walking, swimming...), and focus on diet to lower your weight.

    Spend time working on stretching and strengthening exercises to rehabilitate your injury
    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rotator-cuff-home-rehabilitation-exercises

    I don't know what the issue with your knees is, but weightloss, stretching and strengthening will usually lead to improvment of knee issues.

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