Submitted by: Nick Bryant
The one thing that all shoulder injuries have in common is that you are going to have to exercise your shoulder it at some point in order to get it pain free and moving again. It is up to you whether this is instead of an operation or after an operation.
I tore my rotator cuff lifting some furniture that was too heavy resulting in too much weight being put on my rotator cuff tendons in my left shoulder. They tore. I knew as soon as I did it because I heard a pop. Just a quiet pop but I knew that I had managed to do something bad. This is called an acute tear. It comes about as the result of a sudden force. You can also get acute tears as the result of a fall or knock but the most common cause is sports, specifically sports where you are throwing something, which is why rotator cuff syndrome is often refered to as pitchers shoulder.
If you have an acute tear you need to immobilise the shoulder for a while to let it heal before you begin any king of shoulder rehab exercise. Using a sling is great but definitely avoid any action that causes pain or discomfort or you will end up making the injury worse possibly needing surgery. You also need to deal with the inflammation using anti-inflammatory drugs and ice packs. If the pain persists for more than a couple of days see your doctor who may decide to administer a steroid injection to quickly bring down inflammation. When the inflammation and pain have subsided you can start exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles. These will often be pilates or Yoga based as they focus on restoring control and flexibility as well as strength which is vital to avoid future problems.
A chronic tear on the other hand comes about through wear and tear. It usually occurs in the forty plus age group as our posture changes but can also happen to anyone who repeatedly works above shoulder height. A Chronic tear is caused by tendons getting rubbed against bone in our shoulder. It tends to start gradually with you experiencing pain at night and the pain gradually worsens as the tendon gets more and more frayed. Your shoulder graduall;y gets weaker and you will start to experience pain as you lift your arm. A tendon can snap completely if this condition is ignored but this is fairly uncommon simply because people tend to seek help because of the pain.
With a chronic tear you will again need to focus on reducing inflammation and managing the pain. Trying to avoid painful movements will help but in order to rehabilitate a chronic tear you need to deal with the underlying cause. If this is age related, exercises to improve posture will help. Again Yoga and Pilates based exercises are good as they focus on control and flexibility and also tend to help with core strength which can directly affect your posture. Get your posture back to how it should be and healthy shoulders quickly follow.
My main tip for getting your shoulder working again is rest. Do not ignore this one tip like I did which is why I ended up in pain for six months and facing surgery.
Whatever you did to injure yoru shoulder carrying on regardless will only make things worse. Resting your shoulder is difficult, especially if it is your dominant arm because you use your arms all the time and consequently are using your shoulder as well. Change the way you work to avoid any action that causes pain. Simple things like moving things on your desk at work can make a big difference as can giving up driving for a few weeks. Now I know that is not convenient but it will definitely help in the long run. Only when the inflammation and pain has subsided is it safe to start shoulder rehab exercises.
And once your shoulder is better, keep up the exercises and keep your shoulders strong.
About the Author: If you found this article useful and would like to know what shoulder rehab exercises stopped me needing surgery check out my site at
myrotatorcuffcure.blogspot.com
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