Protecting your shoulders

[Chuckanut]

Here is a blog and a series of videos on getting the shoulders in shape.
Plenty of reading as Dr. Attia loves to give a lot of details.

How you move defines how you live, Part II -

This experience was at least part of the motivation for the next video series Jesse Schwartzman and I wanted to prepare for you. Both in my own life and in my practice (i.e., in the lives of my patients) it has become so clear that a very proactive strategy is necessary to offset orthopedic injuries as we age. In some cases, like mine, the injuries are brought on by years of overuse. Before swimming, boxing probably did the most damage to my shoulder, having resulted in a dozen subluxations between the ages of 13 and 20. In other cases I see, the injuries are more a result of underuse. I can’t reiterate this next point enough: to pursue physical bliss into your “senior” years (you know, into your 40’s), requires a shockingly deliberate effort and incredible consistency. It’s not “hard,” but you have to embrace that coming back from injuries like mine is much harder than not having them in the first place. Furthermore, there is no assurance that I will manage to escape the next surgery. My goal is to avoid the drama next time

 

[Big_Hitter]

amen

I do a lot of those exercises. I even roll out my shoulder with a lacrosse ball.

My leading shoulder is ragged out from my powerful golf swing, apparently. It hurts all the time.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

The iceman used to use a thick piece of leather to protect his.

 

[madsquopper]

At age 63 I have to cut back on the number of hammers (overhead throws like a baseball pitcher) I throw during ultimate frisbee. Too hard on the rotator cuff.

Larry

 

[Fedup]

Yoga did my shoulders in. I'm slowly undo the problem by stretching. It used to be a lot worse.

 

[stargazer08]

I'm going to watch these videos. I have had shoulder problems off and on since my mid 30s (I am approaching my mid 50s now). February 28th marks the start of "on again" after 10+ years of blissful pain free living. I am in agony and quickly losing what little strength I had.

I have an appointment for steroid injections in July along with an appointment with a chiropractor that does Active Release Technique a few weeks prior to the injection appointment. The only thing that dampens the pain a bit is 800 mg of Advil. So I have to choose between shoulder pain and stomach upset. Guess I need to quit blabbing here and start watching the videos.

 

[Winemaker]

Too late for me, I already have had both rotator cuffs repaired. I'm the $30,000 man now.

 

[imoldernu]

A word, at age 80+...
Some of us imagine that we can still lift, push, twist, carry, and do the same things that we did 15 or 20 years ago. It doesn't always work out the way it's supposed to. 'Specially with regards the shoulders.

The mind is willing, but the body is weak.

 

[Lawrence of Suburbia]

After six weeks of physical therapy for my hurting shoulders (and vastly reduced range of motion; just putting on/taking off a shirt is painful for me), the dr. has referred me for MRI and subsequently to an orthopedic specialist. I fear rotator cuff operation coming.

 

[athena53]

A word, at age 80+...
Some of us imagine that we can still lift, push, twist, carry, and do the same things that we did 15 or 20 years ago. It doesn't always work out the way it's supposed to. 'Specially with regards the shoulders.

The mind is willing, but the body is weak.

Yeah, I'm "only" 64 but wrecked my left shoulder last February while ice skating. I thought I was Peggy Fleming and did some graceful little circles till I lost my balance and broke my fall with my left hand. Nearly 7 months later it's significantly better but that last 5% of function is taking a LONG time to come back.

Knowing it was important to keep the healthy muscles strong and to push past the pain enough to break up the scar tissue, I kept up my upper-body weight machine workouts, scaling back the ones that were too painful. I'm pretty much back to a normal workout, but made a big mistake when I was at the Zoo with my 3-year old granddaughter and tried to entertain her by hanging from a bar they supplied so you could hang like a monkey. Oops. Grandma's shoulder wasn't quite ready for that.

 

[Philliefan33]

After six weeks of physical therapy for my hurting shoulders (and vastly reduced range of motion; just putting on/taking off a shirt is painful for me), the dr. has referred me for MRI and subsequently to an orthopedic specialist. I fear rotator cuff operation coming.

It might "only" be frozen shoulder syndrome. Usually no surgery required, but can be a long painful recovery.

I've had it in each shoulder. I did PT for the first. It was painful, helped me get a little better ROM, but not a full recovery. For the second, I did a few weeks with a massage therapist that specializes in athletes. Then I realized that gentle yoga was helping more so I quit the therapy.

It took almost two years to feel fully recovered [emoji853]

 

[athena53]

I had frozen shoulder 4 years ago- got over it with exercises I found on YouTube.

 

[dirt_dobber]

woodworking keeps me in decent upper body shape. I do practice range of motion shoulder rolls occasionally.

 

[O2Bfree]

I injured my right shoulder several times in my 20s and 30s, probably tore the rotator cuff at least. It seemed to heal fine each time, and afterwards I never had pain in either shoulder even through years of weightlifting, windsurfing, and archery.

So when I went in to have a little grinding checked out (still no pain), thinking it was just a bone spur that could be easily removed, I was shocked to find out I had not only a rotator cuff tear and bone spurs, but also Type 3 arthritis (4 is bone-on-bone)! And on the left side -no pain there either- there was also a big bone spur and a badly-frayed bicep tendon. Had surgery on both shoulders last year.

Wish I'd had some pain earlier on, I might have done things differently!

 

[eytonxav]

I tore my cuff as a teen playing baseball. It was never repaired other than being in a sling for over a month and then I stopped baseball for many years until resuming in my late 40s. I have found that elastic tubing has helped me a lot, doing the movements he mentioned in the rotator cuff video, however, i have not tried the movement with a dumbbell which he demonstrated. I'll have to add that one to my arm maintenance routine that I do 3X week year round, while playing softball from April to October. I will note that when I use the elastic tubing, I do not flail my arms as he mentioned and attempt to keep my elbows in a fixed position. I also use different strength tubing depending on which movement I am doing. I am now 68 and my shoulder health is pretty good.