Rotator Cuff Strain

[Conan15]

Hey, for about a month now Ive been suffering from pain in my right shoulder.
Ive had an xray on my neck and spine, and an ultrasound on my shoulder that confirmed that although I have no tears, I’m currently carrying a rotator cuff strain, which is somewhat of a relief.
Id ask my physio for advice, but at $100 a session from a completely incompetent practitioner in a small country town, I’m not getting very far.

So my main question is what is the best way to go about healing this? Aside from obvious laying off the bench press and military press, any tips from any knowledgeable bros who have gone through the same would be great. Thanks

[Noles12]

The only way they were able to find the tears in my shoulder were through MRI using contrast dye. They found multiple partial tears in the rotator cuff muscles as well as my labrum.

If they have truly confirmed no tears then your best bet is to avoid use or strain on your shoulder as much as possible for a while. I would not do any motions that apply any stress to the joint.

Take some time off and recover. The few weeks you spend now are a lot better than the few months you will spend when you completely tear it

[Conan15]

When you say lay off for a while, what sort of time frame roughly would you say?
I was advised to do simple rotator cuff exercises with a light DB, and rows with a light resistance band. Should I scrap these for a few weeks as well? Thanks for your advice so far mate.

[Kenlie]

You might also want to be careful with shoulder moves and do a proper warmup / stretching when working with shouldes. I suggest going to high reps for now when doing shoulders.

I wouldn't describe it as "relief" when you have rotator cuff issues. I could not lift weights for 15 years because of it, and it's the most annoying problem of all, and usually problem for a lifetime.

My doctor more or less ordered me to surgery, but I have postponed it further and further. The moves that hurt your shoulder most, are most likely sideraises and frontraises, when you do the sholdermoves. Never do these without good warmup, and you might want to do light, and reps all the way to 20.

Usually with rotator cuff issues, when you raise your hand, you tend to "cheat", and not raise your hand directly, but sort of "raise your shoulder too", avoiding using all the muscles involved. Sometimes this can lead to "tight shoulder", which can be repaired with surgery, where doctor makes more room to your shoulder. This is what my doctor ordered for me, and I will be having that surgery in 1-2 years. For me, it means 3 months out of work and 6 months out of gym. I can't do that now, because I just started in new job and I want to keep it.

So, just heads up, don't take rotator cuff issues lightly at all. It could as well be a lifetime problem for you.

[Conan15]

I use the word relief in the sense that I'm very thankful I haven't suffered a very serious tear or anything to that effect, at least not yet.
I've suffered from hypermobile shoulders in the past (7 years ago),
but I've been lucky not to have it come back. Well until now I suppose, the pain in the shoulder is very reminiscent of that past injury.

Let's say I do make a full recovery, what will I need to focus on to reduce the probability of the injury reoccurring? I've been advised the shoulder looks somewhat dropped. Should I focus more on my rear delts in the future to possibly correct that? And is glucosamine worth taking for this? Cos so far, ibuprofen is doing jack shit.