Deltoid weakness or is it just me?

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holly_v
holly_v Posts: 292 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
can someone help me understand the relationship between the rotater cuff and the deltoid muscles? when i google it its all very scientific and i dont understand. i have been doing chalean extreme for a few months and i have increased my weights except the ones that use the deltoids. i have trouble lifting 5lbs for 6 reps. i have injured both rotater cuffs years ago and i wonder if there is a relation. could scar tissue be hindering me? do i need to strengthen something else before i can work on the delts?

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  • o0oAliciao0o
    o0oAliciao0o Posts: 70
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    Ha. So I take a break from studying the anatomy of the SITS and deltoid muscles and guess what I find :P Rotator cuff muscles (SITS muscles) are related to the deltoids in the types of movements that they do. For example the supraspinatous muscle (it's been claimed) is responsible for the first 15 degrees of a lateral raise (abduction) and then the deltoid does the rest of the movement. It could be true that if you had a rotator cuff injury you may have trouble doing deltoid exercises but I don't know enough about what you could do to fix the problem. Probably need a physiotherapist or a sports medicine doc to answer that for you. Sorry :(
  • holly_v
    holly_v Posts: 292 Member
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    thanks for your response, still kinda science-y :wink:

    i went to my doctor today regarding knee issues and she has sent me for physio! i hate physio, its so boring!!!! but i can ask about the deltoids at the same time i guess...
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
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    To make it as non-sciency as possible...

    You probably overuse certain muscles due to the past rotator cuff injuries. This can lead to muscle imbalances and restrict your range of motion. You probably overuse those muscles to the detriment of your deltoids (and likely deeper muscles). If you do this long enough, you might have trouble even getting those muscles to "fire" without significant help from other groups

    I have this problem with my glutes. I was SO quad dominant, that I had to have my physical therapist TOUCH my glutes so that I could build up the mind-muscle connection that was necessary to get them to fire during squats and other exercises.

    I would have a friend come over to watch you work out, and feel the muscles you're using when you work out your shoulders. Also look on youtube for exercises that isolate all of the muscles of the shoulder, and work on these slowly and carefully.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    Rotator Cuffs:

    SupraspinatusBack.gif
    Infraspinatus.gif
    TeresMinor.gif


    Deltoids:

    DeltoidAnteriorFront.gif
    DeltoidLateralBack.gif
    DeltoidPosteriorBack.gif
  • holly_v
    holly_v Posts: 292 Member
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    To make it as non-sciency as possible...

    You probably overuse certain muscles due to the past rotator cuff injuries. This can lead to muscle imbalances and restrict your range of motion. You probably overuse those muscles to the detriment of your deltoids (and likely deeper muscles). If you do this long enough, you might have trouble even getting those muscles to "fire" without significant help from other groups

    I have this problem with my glutes. I was SO quad dominant, that I had to have my physical therapist TOUCH my glutes so that I could build up the mind-muscle connection that was necessary to get them to fire during squats and other exercises.

    I would have a friend come over to watch you work out, and feel the muscles you're using when you work out your shoulders. Also look on youtube for exercises that isolate all of the muscles of the shoulder, and work on these slowly and carefully.

    this sounds very possible. when i injured my right rotater i did the whole physio but gave up atfer 3 weeks because its so boring. i tried to do the exercises at home. when i pulled the second one, i didnt tell anyone (i was 15 :noway: ) because i didnt want to go to physio again! the left delt is the one i am having most trouble with and the same side as the rotater cuff that i did nothing for.

    shame on me.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
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    this sounds very possible. when i injured my right rotater i did the whole physio but gave up atfer 3 weeks because its so boring. i tried to do the exercises at home. when i pulled the second one, i didnt tell anyone (i was 15 :noway: ) because i didnt want to go to physio again! the left delt is the one i am having most trouble with and the same side as the rotater cuff that i did nothing for.

    shame on me.

    You will also likely need to do a LOT of stretching on whatever muscles you are overusing as you "favor" your past injuries. I'm not a physical therapist, so I have no idea what muscles you may be overusing, but you should really get into physio.

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