Arm exercises with old shoulder injury

flexi99
flexi99 Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I got a shoulder injury (don’t know how) - it was a rotator cuff injury. For about a year I was left with not being able to reach behind my back, straighten my arm above head, and had trouble putting arm in sleeves etc, much pain etc It used to affect my sleep, could not lie on it at all. I eventually got rid of it after physio, which was such a relief. It is about 90 per cent better in terms of flexibility, but no pain, and has been this way for about 10 months, so thought it had gone.

My arms are now untoned as I could not exercise them. So I did a small online workout this week (no weights), and now my arm is showing stress where I had the pain before. I figure I cannot do any arm toning exercises where my arm goes above my head, or tricep dip type exercises, with pain and stress the next day. I really do not want the injury to return.

So I am now at a loss. What toning exercises can I do which work on the triceps which do not involve weights, dips, or overhead moves? Or is that it for me now, flabby arms are with me now for life?

Anybody else had the same thing, or any physio or personal trainers know the right moves for me?



Replies

  • astod4
    astod4 Posts: 49 Member
    The thing with the shoulder is there could be one of a dozen different things. It could be that you need to strengthen the muscles that stabilize your shoulder blade, or it could be you’re tight in the pec, or even impingement or rotator cuff tendinitis. Those are just examples, so really in order to know and give specific exercises one would have to know the exact diagnosis of your previous injury, and do an actual assessment and special tests to narrow down what’s going on. I would recommend getting in to see a physical therapist to understand what exactly is going on.
  • flexi99
    flexi99 Posts: 8 Member
    It was a rotator cuff tendinitis
  • astod4
    astod4 Posts: 49 Member
    Did you stick to your exercises outside of therapy? I would still recommend you see a physical therapist for testing and treatment.
  • Alinouveau2
    Alinouveau2 Posts: 6,419 Member
    Get help from a physio therapist, they'll give you exercises. It takes awhile to retain strength. I had a rotator cuff repair in October 2019 and only just now feel like I have all my strength back
  • flexi99
    flexi99 Posts: 8 Member
    I did my physio for quite a long time, even when it was no longer hurting and my flexibility returned. Until I did the exercise earlier this week I thought it had gone. I thought I was back to normal.

    My husband had a shoulder injury at the same time (a coincidence!). He also had physio and it went. He had not played golf for the duration (he does not play regularly), but after it went he decided to play once and his shoulder injury came back temporarily but he won’t play again. He said it was the swing, anything above shoulder height. Similar to me I think.

    I am hoping the burning and localised pain will go if I treat myself kindly. But it seems my shoulder no longer wants to be exercised, however low key the exercises are.
  • astod4
    astod4 Posts: 49 Member
    The burning description makes me think possibly something nerve related. Go see a physio. That would be the best thing to do
  • I2k4
    I2k4 Posts: 188 Member
    edited August 2021
    Agree with advice to nail down the medical situation. There are a lot of variations on the classic garden-variety pushup, changing hand placements toward triceps and lowering resistance by pressing up from flat prone or knees, or varying wall heights. Push up and down can be slowly for time under tension or more explosively, even pulsing with limited range - the object being to increase performance very gradually without aggravating joints.
  • anaidjo
    anaidjo Posts: 3 Member
    I had frozen shoulder develop in 2015. My primary suspected frozen shoulder sent me to a physiatrist who well, basically tortured me for 9 months before declaring I had fibromyalgia. Same day appointment at an ortho and it was correctly diagnosed and within 30 days I had 80% of my range of motion back.

    I did PT on initial referral and then again for ortho and again after the surgical manipulation. And then I did at least weekly PT for almost 2 years to even get back to 75% of my previous arm strength. And then I got hit with a chronic illness (but not fibromyalgia) which set me back again. 😬

    I still do a fair number of my shoulder stretches regularly because my shoulder still feels frozen occasionally. Odds are you need to continue either the PT or at minimum the stretching and strengthening exercises they gave you. If they did not give you strengthening exercises I’d recommend making an appointment and telling them you need to know how to strengthen the muscles there *without* causing further (or another) injury. Be clear about your actual needs and how you measure success. I told my PT gal until I could carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood by myself or lift a 50# feed bag I wasn’t what I’d consider better.

    If long term PT isn’t an option (because most insurance companies would rather fix a broken body rather than prevent it from breaking), set up a one off appointment with the goal of getting the exercises and knowledge you need to work on your own. Some personal trainers may also have good knowledge on similar injuries and preventing them, however personal trainers vary in quality significantly, so definitely investigate their qualifications before using them.

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