I am sure there are a few here who have more of a medical background than I and could give you better info, but I dislocated my shoulder a number of times a few years back which ended in a requirement for surgery.

I was told at the time if you have any sort of shoulder dislocation and are over the age of 24 you will almost certainly require surgery at some stage, the older you are the higher the likleyhood. I did try to avoid it, did lots of shoulder exercise etc but it still kept coming out.

Recovery - rest, rest and more rest, then start back with gentle exercise to firm the muscles around your shoulder, and take it easy. One thing about shoulders that I found is they are usually either in or out...I never really got an indication that the shoulder was about to let go, it just did. So thats why I say take it easy and don't rush the rehab cause it will only make it much worse.

Sounds terrible! But I want to know about rotator cuff injury, not dislocation or dismemberment!!



Hey did I tell you about the time I was torn limb from limb by hammerheads??

Ah, what's the point, you'd never believe me anyway...

Couldn't make out from your note if you had been properly diagnosed, and then surely he would have given you more details than the generic term "cuff injury". There can be partial or complete tears, specific or a group of tendons involved, impingement, etc. This is a complex area that's supposed to make the shoulder stable - it's not simple.

Get diagnosed, follow instructions. Do not generalise from other people's afflictions, including mine

While you wait for proper diagnosis, play it safe. Mild exercise, perhaps anti-infs, bit of ice, etc. Do not aggravate, not worth it.

I had it to the stage where I couldn't sleep at night; not bad, but not too much fun.

Physio with a rubber bungee fixed it pretty damn well, then I found out that if I sailed my Laser (which requires your arms on the tiller and mainsheet to do the same sort of movements as the physio) often enough I'm fine.

Big problem is that if I took time off work to get it better it would also mean I'd have to go out Laser sailing and bosses rarely seem to think that's okay....

I had major reconstruction in my days (Bristow repair) and had plenty of time on my hands not windsurfing. 3 months in a sling, 2 years not sailing, 3 years not competing. Not fun, don't chance too much.

I'm sure in the end a bit of physio (after diagnostic) will fix ya, but take it easy in Vietnam mate!

Willy,

Anit-inflammatories may offer you some help. Be careful buyin in asia as the drug doses are different (and you can buy all kinds of medication over the counter - so to speak). If you have a rotator cuff complaint then you should also get some relief from massage to the back of the shoulder and neck. you can try and go to a legit massage place and try to describe this or ask around for a traditional bone setter - there is a good one in vietnam that i know, as well another in china / hong kong. But very difficult to give directions - and english is non-existent with both.

Back on topic if your rotator cuff is the cause of your pain then the massage will hit some trigger points in 3 of the 4 cuff muscles - this will not fix you! But it will give you some relief. By the way the massage should hurt like hell. they may even manip your upper back / thoracic spine which could also help.

Tell me more how you injury started and what symptoms you have - the mechanics of windsurfing are not usually the cause of such injuries - unless you have had a big get off and landed on the shoulder straining various soft tissues. then it is possible to either directly tear a cuff muscle - which the above advice will not be as effective, or your cuff has become dysfunctional due to pain, resulting in a secondary condition. complicated I know.

The advice i have given is based on a gradual onset of shoulder pain.

If you want more specifics you will need to explain your symptoms more.

Darryl

Willy,

Certainly sounds as if you have a rotator cuff tendinopathy (fancy word for tendon pain / problem). If the problem has been there for more than 2-3 weeks it is unlikely that anti-inflammatories will help, but you can try them. If no relief after 4-5 days then stop taking them,cause they ain't helping.

The massage that i described will give you some relief. In the meantime find yourself a golf ball and place it in the middle of your shoulder blade (flat triangle shaped bone known as the scapula). Press the ball between your scap and the wall and roll around until you find a point that makes your eyes water (at least). Hold pressure over this point until the pain reduces by 50%, then move onto another. there are usually 2 main ones closer to the middle of your back and one in the middle of your scapula. If you have access to heat then put some on otherwise hot shower will help.

Tiger balm and pain reliving creams will also help - as will some asian arthralgia patches. Chilli patch or musk patch - they look like a big band-aid but are impregnated with liniment and herbs.

There are exercises to avoid - those that hurt (common sense i know). Stretch your neck and upper back. You can try a rotator cuff stretch as below hold for 1 min repeat 3 times 3 /day.


basic strengthening is as follows


Now it unlikely you will have a theraband - so modify this and lay on your good side and perform the movement holding a 1 kg weight and slowly increase the weight as your strength increases 3 sets of 10-12 reps twice per day.

This should get you by until you make it to a western country, where you can get to a physio. For a little more info check out the following link - this will have a few more exercises as well.
au.yahoo.com/?p=us

Best of luck. Enjoy vietnam - try a balau if your game

Darryl

When I do yoga, the Sun Salutation bit where you slowly raise your arms from your sides to over your head, HURTS at one or two points. But I keep thinking "it's yoga, it must be good, as long as I take it slow it's gonna help the muscles"...this is crap, right? If it hurts, I shouldn't do it, right??

Great info Dam71. been waiting for you to chime in

Use both those before & after tennis.
If you haven't got a theraband...try an occy strap - a loose stretchy one & don't over do it

Have you had an ultrasound? There are several things that can produce similar symptoms in this region and the management is different. If you have subacromial bursitis you could get some relief from a bursal injection under ultrasound guidance. It doesn't hurt - the bursa is only mm below the skin surface. If you have completely torn a tendon (the supraspinatus is the most often injured) then nothing will fix it except surgery. If you have a partial tendon tear, then you risk a full thickness tear if you don't reduce your activity...

Usually RC injuries are treated first by antiinflammatories...if that doesn't work by physical therapy (with a possible cortisone injection as well) and if that doesn't work, surgery. Whatever the situation, physical therapy (with special excercises to strengthen certain small muscles in the shoulder) is a great idea for preventing reinjury.

I've had both shoulders operated on...one "open surgery" the other arthroscopic. Followed in both cases by 6 months of sports physical therapy. I was told I'd be able to sail after 4-6 months after surgery, but in both cases I wasn't really ready until a year afterwards.

If you're facing surgery drop me a line on my blog...I can go into detail.
www.peconicpuffin.com/

Wet Willy said...

Anybody had this? What did you do to recover? Any advice?



I'm waiting for medical science to make full body transplants possible. Back, knees, shoulder - what's next?