Torn Rotator Cuff

[jshouse]

So I'm dealing with some shoulder issues right now, both sides, the right side is worse. I'm thinking it may be rotator cuff, the worst pain is when I throw a ball or lift my arm up to brush my hair or touch my head, but I can pull my bow just fine with no pain. Sounds like all you guys with RC issues also have problems pulling s bow...? So maybe it's not RC? And I sleep in my side so some days (today) it's worse than others.

I know I need to go to a doctor but as a LEO I risk ending up on "light duty" which means being the office ***** and filing paperwork in khakis and a polo until I get released by some low rent occupational therapist in a dirty office in Garland.

So I'm trying to figure this out on my own and see if it's something I can rehab, just looking for some info on where to start.

[RMW]

Also have shoulder issue, only hurts when throw a ball or putting arm behind my back, also when reaching out for something in backseat of truck. Loaded a ton of deer feed yesterday with no problems throwing it up over my head onto feeder. Not sure if it’s Rotator Cuff or something else.

[bowhuntingw]

jshouse,
LEO also. our agency really has no light duty policy unfortunately. im in the same boat as you though. woke up may 2017 one morning with soreness on the front part of my left shoulder (left handed shooter, but not dominate arm). hurts to lay on it some times, sometimes not. have full range of motion pretty much but it gets a little tight if I reach behind my back sometimes. some days I can shoot my bow just fine, sometimes it hurts a little at first. spent over $13k on doctor bills last year out of pocket so im trying to milk it along for now. afraid to hear what the doctor says about it. just don't have 6-12 month window for dealing with the recovery right now RC is the problem.

[jshouse]

Also have shoulder issue, only hurts when throw a ball or putting arm behind my back, also when reaching out for something in backseat of truck. Loaded a ton of deer feed yesterday with no problems throwing it up over my head onto feeder. Not sure if it’s Rotator Cuff or something else.

Sounds like mine, I'm an idiot and have still been lifting and doing crossfit, was able to do overheads with 135 in a workout yesterday with no pain at all, but this morning it's really bothering me.

[jshouse]

jshouse,
LEO also. our agency really has no light duty policy unfortunately. im in the same boat as you though. woke up may 2017 one morning with soreness on the front part of my left shoulder (left handed shooter, but not dominate arm). hurts to lay on it some times, sometimes not. have full range of motion pretty much but it gets a little tight if I reach behind my back sometimes. some days I can shoot my bow just fine, sometimes it hurts a little at first. spent over $13k on doctor bills last year out of pocket so im trying to milk it along for now. afraid to hear what the doctor says about it. just don't have 6-12 month window for dealing with the recovery right now RC is the problem.

Same here, I don't really want to hear what a doctor will probably say and don't want to be on the shelf for months.

[Passafist]

To those of you who have had surgery, how long was recovery? ex. How long off work?

Off work close to 6 months but my employer has short term disability and no light duty. I am required to carry a 85 lb ladder almost daily

[nursejenn]

So I'm dealing with some shoulder issues right now, both sides, the right side is worse. I'm thinking it may be rotator cuff, the worst pain is when I throw a ball or lift my arm up to brush my hair or touch my head, but I can pull my bow just fine with no pain. Sounds like all you guys with RC issues also have problems pulling s bow...? So maybe it's not RC? And I sleep in my side so some days (today) it's worse than others.



I know I need to go to a doctor but as a LEO I risk ending up on "light duty" which means being the office ***** and filing paperwork in khakis and a polo until I get released by some low rent occupational therapist in a dirty office in Garland.



So I'm trying to figure this out on my own and see if it's something I can rehab, just looking for some info on where to start.

Just go to the doctor. At least you have light duty available. It's not gonna get better if you don't do aomething. No light duty for me as an ER nurse. If i can't do my full job including chest compressions, it's a liability for me to be on the floor. I am having surgery on my left shoulder in 3 weeks and had to find myself a desk job to fill in the time I am going ti have to be off...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[banzai]

jshouse, since you have pain sometimes, then don't have pain at other times, maybe nothing is physically torn. Torn stuff hurts all the time, right?

Consider the possibility of a nerve impingement on both sides. Symptoms are pain in the shoulders, that can run down the upper arms, pain while sleeping, but sometimes pain is gone, sometimes there is numbness.

If you tore a muscle, tendon, or a ligament, could you pull a 70lb bow with a bad shoulder?

I've been getting thrashed recently by some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu guys and I thought that they had ripped both of my rotator cuffs. It turned out to be impinged nerves and I am able to self-rehab the pain away so they can continue to attack.

Shoulder nerves get pinched hard when the front shoulder muscles get stronger than the back shoulder muscles, then the arm bone gets pulled forward of its proper position and the nerve gets pinched.

Lots of bench press, push-ups, military press, and front rows, combined with less or no pull-ups, bent-over rows, dumbell rows makes your front shoulder much stronger than your back shoulder.

This imbalance pulls the ball joint of your upper arm (humerus) too far forward in the shoulder joint, pinching the nerve. This is not good. It hurts and makes your shoulder weak.

If this is happening to you, in the short term, you need to get your shoulder joint properly aligned with stretches that pull it back into place to make it feel good and strong so you can work.

Long term you need to balance the strength in your shoulder so that this is no longer an issue.

I hang from a pull-up bar, stand against a wall and move my arms in an arc, and I sit in a chair and stick one arm back over the the back of the chair to stretch my arm behind me. These are the ones that work for what hurts me and lets me keep training. Yours may be different.

Send me a PM if you want to discuss more.

[jshouse]

jshouse, since you have pain sometimes, then don't have pain at other times, maybe nothing is physically torn. Torn stuff hurts all the time, right?

Consider the possibility of a nerve impingement on both sides. Symptoms are pain in the shoulders, that can run down the upper arms, pain while sleeping, but sometimes pain is gone, sometimes there is numbness.

If you tore a muscle, tendon, or a ligament, could you pull a 70lb bow with a bad shoulder?

I've been getting thrashed recently by some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu guys and I thought that they had ripped both of my rotator cuffs. It turned out to be impinged nerves and I am able to self-rehab the pain away so they can continue to attack.

Shoulder nerves get pinched hard when the front shoulder muscles get stronger than the back shoulder muscles, then the arm bone gets pulled forward of its proper position and the nerve gets pinched.

Lots of bench press, push-ups, military press, and front rows, combined with less or no pull-ups, bent-over rows, dumbell rows makes your front shoulder much stronger than your back shoulder.

This imbalance pulls the ball joint of your upper arm (humerus) too far forward in the shoulder joint, pinching the nerve. This is not good. It hurts and makes your shoulder weak.

If this is happening to you, in the short term, you need to get your shoulder joint properly aligned with stretches that pull it back into place to make it feel good and strong so you can work.

Long term you need to balance the strength in your shoulder so that this is no longer an issue.

I hang from a pull-up bar, stand against a wall and move my arms in an arc, and I sit in a chair and stick one arm back over the the back of the chair to stretch my arm behind me. These are the ones that work for what hurts me and lets me keep training. Yours may be different.

Send me a PM if you want to discuss more.

it pretty much hurts every day, but only while doing certain things, like reaching back behind me or bending my arm and reaching up to brush my hair.

it is much better today than it was yesterday.

crazy theory alert--about 6-7 years ago my left shoulder was giving me a lot of problems, was told i needed surgery by the doctor for something involving the collar bone, cant remember exactly what he said, i had everything scheduled and was ready to go. it just so happened that i had started running and eating clean around the same time and prior to my first consultation, i lost about 10lbs (205ish-195ish) and my shoulder stopped hurting, so i didnt go.

over the next 4-5 years they will flare up a few times and it literally always seems to happen when i start putting on weight. i get back to 200 or less and the pain goes away. the last 2-3 months or so they have been pretty bad and i am back over 210lbs again. i mentioned this to a buddy thats pretty hardcore into fitness and he thought it could have something to do with inflammation and that when i start gaining weight, its because i am eating bad, "dirty," and that it could be causing the problems.

i am stubborn and pretty much just push through it, still working out and eating what i want but i am going to really buckle down and see if i can drop about 10lbs and see what that does before i try to the doctor again.

i know sugar and alcohol cause inflammation so that it where i am going to start cutting.