Rotator cuff injuries

Both my arms still work...I s'pose that's positive...and that's about all I can say. It's Xmas time.

Had a tear in my Supraspinatus when my shoulder got hyper extended whilst surfing. At the time, i thought if i just rested it, it would slowly heal. I was struggling with the pain at work. It slowly got worse, to the point i couldn't raise my arm above my head without excessive pain. I had to work on a raised platform to keep my shoulder movements restricted to a lower angle.
I was told by a customer, that they had similar pain and that it was swimmers arm, or something. They went and saw an osteopath, and saw positive results within a short time. So i followed suit, enduring around five weeks of expensive sessions with no results. I had to change my plan. I went to see an acupuncture fella, he gave me some relief from the pain, but it didn't last long . The pain would return within a few hours. I eventually went to a doctor(haha)(should had done this first). He sent me to get a cortisone injection, and I've had no pain for four years, also did some pilates stretches using a roller.

Yep I tore my supraspinatus twice.
I recommend doing all the physic/osteo rehab and try and correct any muscle deficiencies or hypertonicity that makes you use your shoulder out of position. e.g. tight pecs with weak rhomboids will pull your shoulder forward and when paddling, swimming, bowling etc, could lead to impingement.

I did a bit of rehab the first time round but didn't really do it properly (or with intent), so was quite weak for certain muscles around that shoulder over time.
Then when I got knocked off my bike by a car I landed on my forearm and redid it. Had the benefit of road insurance covering physio and I worked really hard the second time round and it's better than it was before my first injury. I keep working on it now without physio.

Use a mirror blowy, I know you'll like that. And maybe give Uplift a call ;)

I've been told I have bursitis, and have some pretty persistent knots in the rotator cuff muscles. It was definately hindering my surfing.
I've been doing physio with dry needling for about 6 weeks now. And an added exercise program for strengthening the rotator cuff muscles.
I haven't been surfing and I've changed my training to accomodate the injury. But it's pretty hard to avoid work, I've got a pretty physical job, and driving seems to aggravate it.
A few guys I know have recommended the cortisone approach but is this fixing the problem.
Any way. Looks like another couple weeks out of the water and some rest over Chrissy and hopefully I'm good.

Well known issue with swimmers and surfers and as such there are equally well know solutions.
The doctor route is good to get proper diagnosis with a MRI scan but then the good doc is likely to want to give you a jab of cortisone. Physiotherapists should give good advice on specific stretches and exercise particularly where work and swim/surf activities compound the problem. Ultimately for us ageing gents a proper maintenance program is good and that's where the guidance from the physio combined with a surf specific yoga program comes into its own. Yoga really does help with all that muscle balance and realignment stuff. All of the above is based on my experience where I couldn't lift my right arm above shoulder level. Good as gold now.

Just thought id elaborate that i was out of the water for over a four month period with my injury, and i had also discounted the idea of a cortisone injection as a band aid solution that may lead to a more serious ongoing issue. I spent a lot of time and money with the physiotherapist , osteopaths and other alternative therapists . I still do a lot of stretching before my surfs and at work. Im sure all this work contributed to my ongoing happiness today.
The turning point in my case unfortunately was an injection of cortisone . Like flicking a switch. The radiologist and doctor who performed the dead, said my shoulder was super constricted , had to give it 2/3 goes at it couldn't even get the stuff into where it should've gone.

Hey Blowin, for what it's worth a couple of years ago I had a massive crash on my motocross bike and destroyed my shoulder. Tore 2 of the three shoulder muscles off the bones, had an 85mm tear around the rotacuff, severed the top of the bicep so badly they had to cut it off and screw it back onto the bone, basically fucked it big time. After surgery, a hell of a lot of pain for months, assisted daily movements and exercise, and 7 months of intense physiotherapy, I got back in the water to learn to paddle a board again. It took another two months of paddling in flat water three times a week before I achieved a decent range of movement and enough strength to actually paddle properly. Couldn't do a push-up on my knees for about 10 months. Anyway, eventually I was able to resume surfing and now it's as good as new. It's actually better than my other shoulder. I'm 55 and surf nearly every day. If you have a real problem with your shoulder see a specialist surgeon and get it fixed. Sometimes they just won't heal and just get worse. You will be out of action for 7 to 9 months but when you start surfing again it will probably be the only part of your body that doesn't hurt.

The damage to rotator cuffs can usually be seen fairly easily with ultrasound, and the best thing I found to help recovery was the use of strapping tape, though you will probably need someone who has an idea of how to do it properly.

Hanging from a bar is terrific for loosening it up and preventing injury.
Theres a fair amount of stuff on the Google about it.

The theory goes that as a once arboreal species, the joint is designed for a far bit of hanging... mind you, the shoulder design has prob changed a lot since those days. Feels good anyhow.

I sit at a desk most of the day.. plus ive played sports like hockey and cricket (as a bowler) so ive had a few issues with rotator cuff that I think i am now on top of.. so more prehab for me now.

Ive got a big rubber band thing that i tie to a door handle then do external rotations. Not always in my jocks like this bloke though.
http://www.bodbot.com/Images/exercises/hi-res/realname/external-rotation...
Been also doing an exercise where i lean into a wall with one hand and on the wall i hold up a basketball type thing. Then for x amount of time make small movements with the ball in circles. Has helped with shoulder stability a fair bit.
Another exercise that i was pretty crap at was chin ups. considering i was in good shape other wise it was a sign that i had a weakness on the back of my shoulders. probably from crap posture at my desk.

Lastly ive done fair bit of stretching like trying to grap hands behind the back. On my good shoulder its not so hard. but for my bad one it was no way possible. So i started by using a hand towel to pull the lower one up to increase the stretch. Now that shoulder is a lot better.

so stretching and strengthening has helped me a fair bit from avoiding these issues again.

Good vid udo.
Lots of info to work through.

Shit yeh....Christ after watching that i have Shoulder Flexibility of 3/10.