UKC

I tore my supraspinatus in Oct, i had physio, i had an impingment and my muscles in my shoulders are ok for day to day stuff, however as for climbing. Now I can't do a hands forward chin up without it getting tight and sore in the shoulder.

Can anyone recomend excersizes to do to help get this strength/function back?

I've been to an NHS physio and since I can now do day to day stuff I've been discharged. I'm just looking to get climbing fit again.

In reply to paulmcg:

I'm recovering from supraspinatus palsy and had shoulder impingement- starting climbing more but haven't tried chin ups, deadhangs etc. Probably a good idea to cut that out if it hurts until your shoulders have a chance to build up their strength better.

for exercises, the old theraband classics are good for rotator cuff- there was an article about shoulder health on this site a while back that detailed them.

For the supraspinatus, my physion gave me reverse rows to do; i.e pushing out the arm in front of you against resistance rather than pulling towards.

In reply to Max_01:

Had problems with my shoulders two years running .. Rotator Cuff Tendonitis.

I found the exercises from the UKC article you mention actually made my shoulders worse .. in hindsight I believe the exercies are aimed at prevention of problems rather than rehabilation.

Instead I used http://www.climbinginjuries.com/page/shoulders

Found the info there much more usefull .. I followed the instructions from the site and it's accompanying video. Fixed my shoulder issues great. When ever I feel my shoulders twinging now (usually when I've over trained) I just go back to this site.

Obviously this was just my experience and others mileage may vary.

BTW I agree I'd guess doing chins and feeling pain won't help.

In reply to paulmcg:

Extended layoff is best way to help rotator cuff! If it still hurts i.e. Pain then you have not rested enough.

Otherwise just be really really careful for a long time i.e no dinos and masive dynamic moves. Otherwise its back to square one mucko

Or worse an operation.

In reply to paulmcg: Do climbers do turkish get ups for this? I looked on the web and they seem to be the thing to do but I have never heard of climbers doing them. I gave them a go and they seemed to settle my shoulders better than my theraband attempts have done in the past. I'm about as far from being a training guru as you could imagine though.

In reply to paulmcg:

I did exercises with very light weights (2.5Kg) that in no way whatsoever caused any strain on my rotator cuff tendonitis, but simply increased blood flow to the shoulder muscles, and the surrounding area. If it hurts the injury stop.

I did things like lying on my back, and pushing the weights straight up at 90 deg to the floor. And standing, pushing weights straight up towards the ceiling from the shoulder. No sideways strain, just straight. Until you get muscle burn, then stop, breathe deeply to get lots of oxygen in your system, and repeat.

Then massage in some ibuprofen based gel - anti-inflamatory, plus the massage - and finally go to bed with a hot water bottle on the injured shoulder.

NB If any of the exercises make the injury twinge, then stop. They are not to strengthen muscle around the injury, or to exercise the injury. They are to increase blood flow to the injured area, to increase capilliarity, which aids your body's natural healing processes.

I had a persistent left shoulder pain for months until I tried the above, and it was gone in a couple of weeks. Not sure if you'd get the same results if the injury is fresh, then again you may not be able to do the exercises if the injury is fresh.

Again, if it hurts the injury, then stop. Find an angle where you can do a light exercise that does nothing but increase blood flow to your shoulder.

||-)

In reply to paulmcg:


ah! this is so frustrating to read!

I seriously strained my rotator cuff 9 months ago, but didnt realize, the pain went away, but just recently i have triggered it and just had it diagnosed...

i cant stop climbing for months! its getting sunny!

In reply to Mckenzie: get out and do some hillwalking, it's better than just getting blootered and sad about it.

i did a bit of the latter but got a poke in the ribs off the mrs and it helped me feel better even though the shoulder was still sore.

In reply to paulmcg:

well im looking to get into road cycling a little - i've always wanted too so... i consider this the silver lining!

In reply to Mckenzie:

Easier grade outdoor trad won't shouldn't be too hard on your shoulder's. Maybe you could do some mountain routes.

If doing something hurts though, then you should stop doing it.

I found that the most important aspect of shoulder rehab was good posture, and I would recommend this over any exercise.

JT

In reply to Mckenzie:

I hate to stain the silver linging but road biking aggrevated my rotator cuff/supraspinatus when I tore it. Puts you in a bad posture. Maybe it will be okay for you though, and my bike at the time was the wrong fit.

I second the previous comment about getting your posture and shoulder alignment sorted to prevent impingement. Correct stretching (for the lats and trapezius - it's overdeveloped lats in climbers that roll the shoulders forward and cause impingement) and Pilates sorted me out. Push ups too, focusing on good form and pulling the shoulders down.

Good luck!

In reply to The_JT:


Yeah, my physio suggested that to help my impingement. My shoulder was rounded rather than square.

Anyway, I did some googling for shoulder posture tips and came across an equestrian site. They recommend for ladies who're horse-riding with rounded shoulders to imagine they're wearing a bra with a little black bow in the middle on the front and to improve one's posture one should try and raise the little black bow.

As bizarre as it sounds, walking around lifting an imaginary bow on an imaginary bra, it did help my posture and my impingement. I still like to imagine the bra, but that's for another thread perhaps.

In reply to The_JT:

ok - because i do slouch a lot - so this could be a good start for me! cheers

In reply to Mckenzie: remember the bow on the invisible bra!

In reply to paulmcg:

sorry what?