About six months ago I felt pain in on the backside of my shoulder when doing bench presses and flies. I had a physical therapist check it out and he told me that the infraspinatus was inflamed. I had my chiropractor check me out and he told me that my shoulder had rotated forward and that there was some scar tissue on the infraspinatus. Well he fixed my shoulder and I’ve been not lifting for 3 months but my shoulder still hurts (it is getting better).
I was wondering if any T-men have had a similar injury and could tell me how long I can expect it to take for it to heal and if there is anything that I can do to speed up the healing process.
I messed up my rotator cuff back in High School. I worked through it, and it hurt more and more. Basically, almost a year off from lifting, and making some changes to my form helped very much though…I rarely feel much pain now.
In terms of lifting form: I bench closer grip now, which helped tremendously…I didn’t do any overhead presses or flies for a while, but did plenty of forward raises and lateral raises to keep em strong…It’ll take time, but you’ll probably get at least mostly better…
Plenty of “forward raises and lateral raises” probably won’t do much except compound your problem. You may very well have some internal impingement taking place. This is common with someone who has rounded shoulders and a forward head posture. You need to strengthen your lower/mid traps and rhomboids.
Lay off horizontal presses and vertical push/pull for a few weeks and focus on training what you can’t see in the mirror. It’ll pay off in the long run. If the infraspinatus is still bothering you, you might want to see an orthopedist.
I have dealt with my rotator cuff problem fairly effectively by:
decreasing the overall volume of chest pressing work to about 1/2 that of back work
active release therapy for the rotator cuffs
increasing the volume and intensity of back work, esp. rows and anything that pinches your shoulder blades together (counteract the effect of training chest heavy)
performing external rotation r-c exercises
regularly stretching the shoulders, r-c and chest
strict adherence to good form on chest lifts (reduce involvement of r-c)
Hey,
Too bad about your injury, but you need to follow a certain protocol. I understand you’ve had a diagnosis, but you should follow physical therapy as long as possible.
I know of too many friends who have tried to rehab themselves. Don’t make that mistake. See a professional. Believe me, listen to a physical therapist ( a reputable one) before you try a chiropractor or ART. It will make all the difference and these people know what the hell they are doing. They will assist you in getting back to your goals. Trust me, I worked in the field for awhile.