Rotator cuff injury

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Hi all, going through a nice training program but got a sharp pain in the shoulder joint, it only hurts whilst doing a heavy bench or tricep dips, im trying light shoulder moves to try and strengthen the area but it's taking forever.

Any help or tips would be much appreciated, feel free to add me too.

Replies

  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
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    Hi all, going through a nice training program but got a sharp pain in the shoulder joint, it only hurts whilst doing a heavy bench or tricep dips, im trying light shoulder moves to try and strengthen the area but it's taking forever.

    Any help or tips would be much appreciated, feel free to add me too.

    A bad rotator cuff injury put me out for a while. My advice to you is to see a sports medicine doctor to get a ct scan/xray on that shoulder. You may have a minor tear, and you need to give time for that to heal.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
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    See a physio and stop doing whatever hurts, flat bench press is a notorious shoulder killer and there are plenty of other ways to build a decent chest.

    If you are not already do a ton of face pulls, scapular retractions and band pullaparts.
  • bowerslive
    bowerslive Posts: 12
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    Thanks guys, I think I could do with a scan. Are there any other chest moves I can do in the meantime. I can't bare not to workout. I can do a medium weighted decline bench no problem but I dont want to make it any worse.
  • FoxyMcDeadlift
    FoxyMcDeadlift Posts: 771 Member
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    Train around your injury. so drop the excercises that hurt and find different chest work. Do you arch your bench? You should, its the best prevention technique you can use

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/bench-press-technique.html
  • bowerslive
    bowerslive Posts: 12
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    Yeah I do work round it, just don't want my chest to fall behind. I retract my shoulder blades and arch my back these days but I havent always, so that's probably why I'm in pain now.

    Have you any other chest exercises, I do flyes and declIne bench without any pain, also decline press ups, and alternate dumbbell bench on a medium weight.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    A bad rotator cuff injury put me out for a while. My advice to you is to see a sports medicine doctor to get a ct scan/xray on that shoulder. You may have a minor tear, and you need to give time for that to heal.

    Start with this to find out for sure it's your RC. Could also be shoulder impingement.

    STOP doing flyes. They're hell on your shoulders. Surprised they don't hurt honestly.
    Cut out the dips. And work on your bench form.

    youtube "so you think you can bench"
    See if that fixes it. When I learned to bench properly it took a lot of the pain away.
  • bowerslive
    bowerslive Posts: 12
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    I will give it a try, chest on a Monday so I will see what it's like, cheers mate
  • musclebuilder
    musclebuilder Posts: 324 Member
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    Hi all, going through a nice training program but got a sharp pain in the shoulder joint, it only hurts whilst doing a heavy bench or tricep dips, im trying light shoulder moves to try and strengthen the area but it's taking forever.

    Any help or tips would be much appreciated, feel free to add me too.

    Like others said, avoid what hurts and unless you get it checked out you really don't know exactly whats wrong or what could be contributing to the injury..I have had numerous shoulder injuries like ac joint issues and so fourth ..Try closer grip presses..A closer grip is going to place less stress on the joint/ligament..No wider than roughly 1.5 biacromial width to reduce the level of abduction and rotation at the shoulder joint..You may have to go closer than that as in a true close grip press and slowly but surely over time work your way out as the injury allows. One of my shoulder injuries I could only close grip press with a standard press but I could go out to my regular grip for floor presses which if you can do is a great option. Also neutral grip db presses were tolerated well by my shoulder. Also if you can do push ups..They really activate the serratus anterior which is a shoulder girdle muscle which attaches to the medial border of the scapula and is a muscle that plays a very important roll in shoulder health..And when you have shoulder pain and dysfunction this muscle is the first to shut down. So activation work for this muscle is likely to be your friend right now..

    As others have pointed out, learn how to press correctly if you don't have good technique.. That can save you a lot of problems down the road..But again, if you know what is wrong you can figure out how to address it..You may need to over haul your entire training program as it may be contributing to the issue. Or over haul it so that its set up to help you work around the injury and help your recovery rather than prevent recovery or worsening of the injury.. You are dealing with a very complex joint with numerous muscles crossing the joint that involves the combined actions of the shoulder girdle and shoulder joint and many factors that can contribute to pathology. My personal view on significant injury is it is a golden opportunity to learn..They force you to re-evaluate everything you are doing and they can be a blessing in disguise.

    Check out any articles you can find by Eric Cressey like his shoulder saver series..He is an expert when it comes to the shoulder joint and puts out great reading material and has forgot more about this joint then I know.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
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    Nice video. I need to try to scoot my feet in more to get some more tension from the floor.

    I've also switched a "thumbs over the bar" grip. As it allows me to tuck my elbows in more. IMHO it puts less stress on my shoulder and more into the tris/chest.
  • invictus8
    invictus8 Posts: 258 Member
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    I had a rotator cuff problem as well. Here's what worked for me:

    1. Don't do the flat bench press. Ever! Instead do the decline bench press, which actually works out your entire pectoral muscles (not just the "lower" pecs) more effectively than the flat bench press. The flat bench press actually puts a lot of strain on the front deltoid muscles and much less stress on your pectoral muscles.

    2. Incorporate more "pulling" exercises such as the T-bar row or narrow-grip pulldown. But avoid wide-grip pulling exercises, since these, too, place considerable stress on the shoulders.

    In short: replace the flat bench press with the decline bench press and incorporate more narrow-grip (not wide-grip) pulling exercises. Worked like magic for me. After 2 weeks with lighter weights I had no problems.
  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
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    Haven't done a flat bench press in a while unless its incline. Some people make a lot of mistakes with the flat bench press. Such as positioning both of their arms like 90 degree angles.Usually the placement is a lot better if your elbows are below your deltoids and your fist slightly below the center of the peck. I find it that dumbells don't pester my rotator cuff personally. Even for bent over rows as well.
  • AZChristy
    AZChristy Posts: 30 Member
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    Shoulder dislocations are great for preventing rotator cuff injuries.