Training with shoulder injury

[xenithon]

Hi Guys,

I got diagnosed with Rotator Cuff Impingement Syndrome. I got a cortisone shot which really helped, and now I am on my way to recovery. I have certain stretches and strengthening exercises for home which I do everyday, but also some exercises for the gym, which I will do 1-2x per week (as per doctor's orders). I was told I can train around the injured area, eg. legs.

My current split is: (2 on, 1 off, 3 on, 1 off)
Chest + Abs
Shoulder + Calves + HIIT cardio
Rest
Back + HIIT cardio
Bis + Tris + Abs
Legs

Anyone have some advice on how I should change my split. I don't want to stop altogether - afraid of gaining back fat and losing muscle - but I also don't want to do anything which may worsen the problem - I know how important it is to recover from shoulder injuries! So its sorta a dilemma

Should I cut back to 4 days and change the split? Should I not train shoulder AND chest altogether??

Anyone who has been in this situation and recovered please hlpe me out. Any imput and advice appreciated!

Thanks

[rob35145]

Hey,

I have the same problem. When you train chest or shoulders make sure you use dumbbells and shorten your range of motion a little. Don’t go down to far. It will help. Make sure you do your rotator cuff exercises everyday. When I stop, even for a short period of time I can really feel it. You probably won’t be able to do a lot of stuff with the straight bar (chest, shoulder press, etc.) because of the angle your upper arm will be at in these exercises. It sucks but you can train around the injury. I would do your chest then your back workout and your shoulder workout after your rest day. Because doing chest also involves doing your shoulders. The day rest in between will allow your shoulders to recover. I do a similar workout and find my shoulders never hurt when I let them rest. They hurt when I do back-to-back workouts which involve the shoulder movements. Hope this helps.

[biggnik56]

rob's right. i tore/pulled my rotator cuff, and took some time off. when i asked my doc he pretty uch said what rob did

[xenithon]

Hi there,

Well the doc said pretty much most things can be done as long as it does not involve the hand going to and above shoulder height. For this reason I am pretty much cutting away shoulders day - I think they need the rest, and the are worked quite hard with the elastic stretching home exercises and rehab exercises he gave me.

I am still sceptical/scared of things which target the problem areas, such as bench press - thats actually where I get the most pain normally. I will try very light, only dumbbell and machine work, not going past 180 degrees.

I guess its just a matter of mixing and matching and experimenting - I just would rather be safe than sorry especailly with such an important joint

[xenithon]

Well, I sat down and tried to find a happy medium for working around the injury as well as doin the rehab and giving the shoulder sufficient rest. How does this look as a plan:

Monday - Chest + Abs
Tuesday - Bis, Tris, HIIT cardio
Wednesday - off (normally just some abs done at home)
Thursday - Back + HIIT cardio
Friday - Rehab workout + abs
Saturday - Legs
Sunday - off

Anything which you guys think needs to be moved/swapped/added??

[rob35145]

Looks good. I would just switch Friday & Saturdays workout. Your back involves shoulder movements so it could put strain on the shoulder, especailly since there is a problem there. Give it one day rest from back then do rehab exercises. Just my opinion.

[kiro]

hey Xeny,
what's HIIT cardio and what does it do
thanx
kiro

Monday - Chest + Abs
Tuesday - Bis, Tris, HIIT cardio
Wednesday - off (normally just some abs done at home)
Thursday - Back + HIIT cardio
Friday - Rehab workout + abs
Saturday - Legs
Sunday - off

[nmk85roll]

When i messed up my rotator, my doc said i could pretty much do anything as long as it didn't hurt. Just listen to your body. HOWEVER, he said i needed to stay away from DIPS. He said that those are horrible during the recovery of a rotator cuff injury.