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Rotator cuff injury

Snake Plisken

Snake Plisken

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Get Shredded!
Hey guys,
Has anyone dealt with a rotator cuff tear? I did one of those Spartan (obstacle course) races this summer and I tore my rotator. Had an MRI and the Orthopedic Surgeon said I should try six weeks of PT before surgery. I'm entering the third week and praying it will work. Doc tells me that if I have to have surgery, rehab is about 6 months before I can lift again. Has anyone gone through this? Wondering if rehab really takes that long for guys in our situation.

Thanks, I appreciate any input.
 
Tore my left one in a car crash about 4 years ago. Had the surgery. I started massage on my shoulder a week after surgery. I cannot stress enough how much that helped me with my rehab. It changed how I lift. Also it depends on your age on how fast you recover. I am in my 40s so I didn't push it. I started back on my road to heavy lifts about 6 months after pt. It still hurts if I put too much stress on the left shoulder.
 
I've had rotator cuff surgery. No way to sugar coat it, the recovery is brutal. 6 months of rehab and PT, before allowed to lift. Took another 4-6 months after that to get back to the weights I was using. You need to come back slow. Avoid surgery at ALL costs.
 
Robcyn said:
It changed how I lift. Also it depends on your age on how fast you recover. I am in my 40s so I didn't push it. I started back on my road to heavy lifts about 6 months after pt. It still hurts if I put too much stress on the left shoulder.
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I am in my 50s so I did take it slow. I agree that even with successful surgery your shoulder will never be 100%. A good physical therapist and committing yourself to the program is extremely important.
 
rotator cuff does not heal itself you will probably need to have the surgery. some guys claim the have healed faster if on gh.
but it 6 months before lifting. and 6 months to get back to where you were. good luck dont push it or it will be even longer
 
jerseydevil said:
I am in my 50s so I did take it slow. I agree that even with successful surgery your shoulder will never be 100%. A good physical therapist and committing yourself to the program is extremely important.
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Absolutely! Of course I also have arthritis built up in both of my shoulders and that does not help...lol
 
Thanks for all the input, brothers. I'm in my late 40's and I think the PT is moving things in the right direction. Time will tell, but I will use all that advice.
 
PT seems to be improving the situation at a snail's pace. It's really frustrating. I'm giving it another a month and then I'm having a serious talk with my OS. Sucks getting old.
 
I had a tear about four years ago. I didn't tear it all the way through so I didn't have to get the surgery. the doc put me on a rubber band routine. just doing shoulder exercise.

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I had a tear about four years ago. I didn't tear it all the way through so I didn't have to get the surgery. the doc put me on a rubber band routine. just doing shoulder exercise.
 
I was thrown off my ATV and landed on my side with my arm outstretched in March 2013. It's hurt like a MF for months. MRI was inconclusive thanks to them trying to fold me in half and shove me inside a little tube for 30 minutes. The doc told me surgery was a last resort and it will probably do more harm than good unless I have torn cartilage in the rotator socket. I plan on doing another MRI in a large platform MRI machine after the 1st of the year.

So far, I've been doing my own rehab for about 6 months. My plan has been to target the supraspinatous, subscapularis, infraspinatous, and tres minor muscles with inner, outer, and vertical rotations twice per week along with careful shoulder work with dumbells to strengthen the deltoids. Everything is done with dumbells now, I tried benching with a barbell last week and nearly had to have someone pull 135 off me. You might think that's not sounding like progress until you realize that 6 months ago, I couldn't lift my arm to horizontal.

I have found a silver lining in all of this though. The pain in my shoulder has made me painfully aware of my own mortality. It has done more to keep me focused on fitness than anything ever has. Like you, I plan on running the Spartan this year with the first attempt being in March in NC. It's an enormous goal for me to achieve and will take everything I have to get across that finish line (crawling across is a distinct possibility).

Best of luck to you. Stay focused and don't let yourself get carried away with heavy weights on that shoulder even if it feels better. The toughest part is going to be wall climbs and the crawls.

I'm considering HGH as I've been reading about it helping with joint injuries. I have not settled on an effective dosage yet though. 10iu/day is good for muscle building but that's a ton of $$$. Plus, I'm not looking for HGH to build any muscle for me, I need it to help heal


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I work with a guy that had the surgery. He says his shoulder is worse now than it was before! Of course I dont think he is the type of person to put alot of effort towards rehab.
 
linuxian said:
I was thrown off my ATV and landed on my side with my arm outstretched in March 2013. It's hurt like a MF for months. MRI was inconclusive thanks to them trying to fold me in half and shove me inside a little tube for 30 minutes. The doc told me surgery was a last resort and it will probably do more harm than good unless I have torn cartilage in the rotator socket. I plan on doing another MRI in a large platform MRI machine after the 1st of the year.

So far, I've been doing my own rehab for about 6 months. My plan has been to target the supraspinatous, subscapularis, infraspinatous, and tres minor muscles with inner, outer, and vertical rotations twice per week along with careful shoulder work with dumbells to strengthen the deltoids. Everything is done with dumbells now, I tried benching with a barbell last week and nearly had to have someone pull 135 off me. You might think that's not sounding like progress until you realize that 6 months ago, I couldn't lift my arm to horizontal.

I have found a silver lining in all of this though. The pain in my shoulder has made me painfully aware of my own mortality. It has done more to keep me focused on fitness than anything ever has. Like you, I plan on running the Spartan this year with the first attempt being in March in NC. It's an enormous goal for me to achieve and will take everything I have to get across that finish line (crawling across is a distinct possibility).

Best of luck to you. Stay focused and don't let yourself get carried away with heavy weights on that shoulder even if it feels better. The toughest part is going to be wall climbs and the crawls.

I'm considering HGH as I've been reading about it helping with joint injuries. I have not settled on an effective dosage yet though. 10iu/day is good for muscle building but that's a ton of $$$. Plus, I'm not looking for HGH to build any muscle for me, I need it to help heal


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I'd look into tb4/tb500 or igf lr3 if ligament/tendon repair is all u seek.
 
More research coming up. Thanks for the tip, I'll certainly look into it.


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Good luck on the Spartan race. If I could offer you some advice (I did the Toughmudder, also, the year before the Super Spartan) concentrate on free body exercise and cardio (mixing high intensity (sprints, hills) with longer runs (5 miles). Really work on pull ups, pushups, core, lunges, etc.. Also, bring your weight down; the lighter you are, the easier it will be. Train hard, it's actually pretty satisfying finishing one of those races (and beer after tastes pretty good, too).

As for me, I'm happy to report that I am noticing some progress with my rotator tear. I do my PT religiously, and the pain has gone down alot. My Ortho told me I should try lifting again to see where I'm at, so I am going back to the gym tomorrow. Going to take it easy, at first, of course. I'm hoping for the best. Like anyone, I reallly want to avoid surgery and the 6 months it will knock me out of training.

Also, I just went to my Dr. the other day and inquired about HGH. He told me that, yes, it could very well help the injury but the cost is enormous (insurance does not cover it). He is open to writing me a script, so if things don't continue to improve with PT and light training, I will try that before surgery.
 
^^That's awesome! It's a tough injury for sure.
I'm mixing some x-fit in with my gym routine to prep for the race. It never ceases to amaze me how sore I can get from some of the crap we do there.

Thanks again!!


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Soreness is my constant companion. My kids joke about how Dad always has ice packs wrapped around various body parts! Feel free to ask any training questions you might have about the Spartan and take care.
 
Get Shredded!
I had to have surgery in 2010 the ligament was almost torn off the bone, shown on the mri . the had to cut it open on the front delt to get under pectoral muscle, stretch it over and attach to bone on shoulder. After surgery, 10wks of physical therapy ,stretching etc. which hurt like hell . I could lift 10 lbs over my head. part of pt was very light machine work . I got back into lifting very slowly started with push ups light overhead presses laying lateral raises and lots of stretching . I am now 55 yrs of age ,have used deca in every cycle. only have done 5 cycles so far. I just did my personal best barbell bench press . I dohave somewhat limited range of motion but my strength is 100% . I work construction also and would say the surgery was successful . just my experience
 
As someone with a less severe but similar injury, in what ways have you found the deca to be most beneficial? Have you tried HGH as well?


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in all honesty cant say how the deca helped . I have read It is used to prevent muscle wasteing for those with certain disease , it is good for joint comfort and the immune system. I know when I lift heavy wthout t get pain. using the deca I can go heavy for longer periods with no joint pain
 
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