UKC

My therabandits have been deceiving me.

I've been using them for rotator cuff physiotherapy exercises. I bought some cheapo ones from that big uk high street sports shop. They are the flat type, 15cm width, not a double/tubular layer, come in a 3 pack, purple = easy, light blue = moderate, lime green =hard.
I stuck with the easy one for a few weeks to get accustomed to them, + as i even struggled on the moderates to begin with, but after 4 months seem to have progressed to be able to use the hardest band for most of my physio routine, so i was getting good use out of them, especially after reaching a climbing goal through their use.
A few weeks ago i even snapped the moderate one, so tied a knot in it and continued to use it (slightly harder now because it's shortened). The next week i snapped the hardest one too! Golly, i am so strong now, i thought, + made some incredible hulk noises to my cat. He wasn't too scared though, as usual.
I have just bought a new set, of the same brand, and am really disappointed to find that the easiest one seems hard, i can only just do the moderate one, and i can't touch the hardest one!
Perhaps the quality control department is not so good there, and they come off the production line with untested + unequal resistance from one batch to another?
Or, more likely they lose elasticity over a few months use and get progressively easier, and you don't realise how much, until you buy new ones!

Has anyone had this problem too? I suppose it's to be expected from elastic bands. I'd be especially keen to know if you bought the genuine article brand of Therabands, and how long they last, (please state how much you used them, daily, twice daily, less, etc) before you needed new ones, and also how difficult did new ones feel compared to your old ones.

I have some latex tubular ones too, about 10mm in diameter, that i'm going to start working with. Perhaps they will prove to be more reliable.

I suppose the only way to know the resistance is the same, would be to use some weight machine down the gym, but that would be less accessible, and couldn't be used whilst having breakfast, getting ready for work, etc, thus risking not being able to maintain the required frequent use.

I got to a point where my shoulder seemed to be getting ok, but it' been getting worse again recently. Possibly caused by using therabands with progressively less resistance? (unknown to me at that time), but more likely from trying routes that had some hard shouldery gaston moves.

In reply to Rock to Fakey:

My own experience with past rotator cuff injuries has been to just use the red theraband and increase volume rather than resistance. I found increasing resistance just engaged the deltoids more, which was counterproductive. I find they inevitably snap eventually but haven't noticed a drop in resistance prior. I've always gone off 'feel' though and just grip the theraband where the resistance feels right.

In reply to Mr. Lee:

Cheers, are these genuine bands, and where does red fit in with order of difficulty... It's the 2nd easiest in the genuine range i think?

When you say increased volume, did you mean quantity per set, number of sets, frequency per day etc? Perhaps all 3? Some people can fit 3 times a day in!

I was doing daily, often twice daily, but about 1 or 2 rest days per week from therabands, 4 exercise types (inernal, external, prone type of rotation (but standing) + abduction), 3 sets per exercise type, 15 reps per set.

I would start by using the easiest theraband, do 1 set of 15 reps, and use this band to do each of the four exercises. Then use the moderate band with all four exercises, finishing on the hardest band, but only use this for internal rotation and abduction, stick with mod band for prone type rotation + external rotation, sometimes finish with the easy band for a warm down.

I think i will cut the hard band out altogether in future.

In reply to Rock to Fakey:

If you want the cheap, or rather free, version then only bicycle innertubes seem to work quite well. I've not used mine a lot but my impression is that they have a pretty long life. You can vary the resistance by cutting them up and making them thinner or doubling them up for more resistance. Great way to reuse what is otherwise a waste product. If you don't have a bike you could probably get some from a bicycle repair shop.

In reply to Rock to Fakey:

Keep them away from light and dust with a bit of talc or chalk occasionally, however they will still snap eventually.

In reply to Rock to Fakey:


Yes, red is the second easiest after yellow. I should say that it's quite easy to make the red band feel like the green (next strength up) if it's a shorter length (or vice versa). Maybe your new band is shorter and therefore feels harder?


Depends on where you're at I guess. When I was properly injured I was doing all of the above. Now I just tend to do a bit of theraband stuff before training sessions to keep on top of things.

In reply to Rock to Fakey:

So far I have used genuine Therabands. I have snapped a few in my time and I think it's mostly the material deteriorating with age. I usually get at least three years use out of them though and thicker ones seem to last longer.

I've not noticed the band deteriorate quicker with more use. In fact, I once had a heavily used one that was permanently attached in my house and a less used one I took travelling with me. I bought them at similar times. When the permanent one snapped I replaced it with the less used one. I seem to remember that snapped soon after. I have noticed that they often start sticking to themselves a little, a bit like an old rubber band, before they snap.

Mehmet