my shoulder still fkd up

tank766 · Oct 12, 2005

guys can anyone give me some advice or atleast a little peace in mind. i am freaking out here. i have done zero chest or shoulder exercises in 8 weeks, 8WEEKS!!! my chest looks like a 10 yr old boy and my shoulders which always sucked have disappeared. If you dont remember i posted 8 weeks ago about an AC joint seperation. the doc wont send me for an MRI, just keeps saying these things need time to heal. he is not even sure that is what it is just simply guessing based on the symptoms. Any suggestions, how long is long enough. i cant take it much longer, the thought of having to start over againg is killing me. tank...

rAJJIN · Oct 12, 2005

Id go see another Dr. theres gotta be something they can do.

Is it just weak? Or are you in pain from it?

VulgarDisplay · Oct 12, 2005

Definately get a second opinion. There could be more going on than just an AC separation such as rotator cuff tear or glenoid labrum tear and the only way to definatively diagnose soft tissue injury is with MRI. If left without sufficient treatment a very common result is frozen shoulder and a shoulder that will never be the same.

STORM SHADOW · Oct 12, 2005

If you're in an HMO... you can appeal anything the Dr says.

SS

I had a Lipoma *sp* on my forehead... Kaiser didn't want to send me to a plastic surgeon to have it removed... said "let's wait 'til it gets bigger" I know how they play this so I said "I can't wear my safety gear at work, it's too painful" that did it... they had no choice "oh ...it's for safety...ok we can do it"

Truth be known...it didn't hurt at all...just looked bad and I didn't want women staring at it when I was trying to flirt.

tank766 · Oct 12, 2005

it hurts with bench press and inc bench, shoulder press , however does not bother me when i do back ( pullups and rows etc.) or when i do lateral or front db raises. i does have a little twinge, if you know what i mean when i do tricep pressdown. i just want to know what the fuck is wrong. i know my doc pretty well, im a nurse and work with him often maybe i should just tell him that i want him to send me for an MRI or i will see someone who will. the problem is he knows i have lifted for years and that is why he just thinks it needs time to heal. Doctors are reluctant to treat weight lifters because the think we are stubborn asshole juice monkeys well the could be right. tank...

lynx · Oct 12, 2005

When I messed up my shoulder I couldn't do barely anything upper body wise. I don't know what you did, but I did mine doing negatives barbell benching. I went to a chiro that does ART (Active Release Technique) and that did the trick for me.

Ivan · Oct 12, 2005

ok bro

You HAVE TO BE PATIENT with shoulders my man. I seperated my AC joint 2 yrs ago playing ball...it was a level 2 ALMOST a 3....listen to the doc man. Shoulder take a ridiculously long time to heal, and if you do not give it sufficient time, like doing even light weight benching, you are setting yourself back WEEKS.... and could be worse months if you re-injure the SOB.

Ok with that said, you will develop a small bump in your shoulder where it happened, and it will hurt you from time to time. I can bench now but every once in a while the fucker pops and will get strangely weak for a day. This is rare, but now and again it will fuck with me. This type if injury generally DOES take about 6-8 months to FULLY heal....after 8 weeks you should feel better and have movement w/o too much pain at all....but for it to be 100% it takes awhile bro...

Lastly, an MRI is usually a grand right off the bat. You had X-rays right? Did they have you hold these little weights in your hands? If you had cuff damage or an even worse seperation/tear YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO JACK with that side of your torso...hell even sleep would be difficult. I think an MRI would be a waste of $$$ -- in the X-ray you should be able to see that little "gap" where the AC joint seperated....if it is even 1/2 inch it will scream atcha....I know it feels like something is seriously wrong, but lemme tell ya bro, it can be MUCH worse, a torn cuff will make you walk around all slanted to one side lol! You would not be lifting at all, much less shaving or brushing your teeth, do you see what I am saying? You will be fine bro, rest, rest, rest.....hit your legs hard....just do not do squats...

TBrunson · Oct 13, 2005

Tank, you said:

it hurts with bench press and inc bench, shoulder press , however does not bother me when i do back ( pullups and rows etc.) or when i do lateral or front db raises. i does have a little twinge, if you know what i mean when i do tricep pressdown.

I'm not going to do any keyboard diagnosis but the problem you describe mirrors my own. Do some research on impingement and see if your symptoms are listed there.

I've had two surgeries on my right shoulder and it's still not "fixed". But I think at this point I have some biomechanical issues that appear to mimic impingement. The painful bench press and relatively unpainful back work sure sounds like impingement to me.

I'd get a copy of the seven minute shoulder repair guide, it's something like that, and it'll really help you understand the shoulder structure and do a lot of self-diagnosis.

I'm seeing a sports medicine guy on Monday and I'm trying to get to see a shoulder specialist in the hopes of getting my shoulders permanantly fixed.

Best of luck with everything. Let us know how it works out.

TimB.

Thor · Oct 13, 2005

TANK

Listen to Ivan, I have had shoulder problems similar to yours before. In fact it seems to happen every few years if I don't warm up enough before benching I reinjure it. The first time it happened I couldn't bench for 10 weeks at all! If you don't lay off the exercises that bother it it will never heal and may get worse. The book you should get is called "The seven minute rotator cuff solution". You can get it from www.home-gym.com for $19.95, it has helped me very much to understand and rehab my shoulders. I highly recomend you read it cover to cover, and do what they tell you to.

mickey · Oct 14, 2005

Tank,

You mentioned flat/incline benching and military pressing hurts the shoulder, are these movements barbell based? Try doing dumbell version to see if that minimize the pain.

If I feel more shoulder irritation at a particular workout, I reduce the number of total exercises/sets, it helps me get thru the workout with worsen the damage.

Mike

tbonus · Oct 14, 2005

lynx said:
When I messed up my shoulder I couldn't do barely anything upper body wise. I don't know what you did, but I did mine doing negatives barbell benching. I went to a chiro that does ART (Active Release Technique) and that did the trick for me.

I am going to one now and feeling a lot better after just a couple of weeks. Well worth looking into, especially if your insurance will cover.

tank766 · Oct 15, 2005

thanks

thanks guys for all the info, if anything it gives me hope. ATTN THOR, this is the second time it has been like this in two years, maybe same type of injury, so i am hoping that it is just stressed and will heal. im giving it another month before seeking a second opinion and im going to order the rotator cuff manual thanks again guys.

Thor · Oct 16, 2005

TANK

Glad to help, keep us posted. I know how bad it sucks to not be able to bench woithout pain. I should mention that in the book it says NOT to flat bench at all,also they say no upright rows or behind neck shoulder presses. I stopped doing all those and have been doing there little excersises and it's helped alot. Good Luck. Also as someone mentioned using dumbells more helps too.