Shoulder Injury

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I've been weight training for 6 years. In December last year I hurt my right shoulder doing dumbell flye on a bench. Though I've stopped excercising my upper body and taken anti-inflamation medicine, it has never really recovered. My shoulder aches all the time. And it hurts when I use my arm just to do everyday things like opening a bottle or a car door. It's been almost 4 months. Howcome it takes so long to heal? (I'm 39, maybe I'm too old?) I need to excercise my upper body again. Please tell me what to do.

-- Kat Chira (krapizoid@yahoo.com), March 15, 2001

Answers

Hey Kat, I also have a shoulder injury just like yourself. Whenever I try to drive, open doors, and bottles etc. there is intense sharp pain. I am only 19 years old, but my pain has also lasted for over 4 months. I am heavily into bodybuilding and this is definately pissing me off, as of today I have read 6 articles on shoulder injuries, and they all say to STOP DOING ANY UPPER BODY EXERCISE THAT CAUSES PAIN IMMEDIATELY. With soft-tissue (I hope like hell it is soft-tissue) injuries, doing anything that aggravates the injured area will only prolong the time it takes to heal. What I suggest is that you try using 5 pound dumbells with various slow rotating shoulder movements. I find these are helping a bit, I've been doing them for about a month and I have noticed decreased pain. I hate not being able to exercise my upperbody, but now I can focus on my legs which I have majorly neglected. The shoulder injury has helped me go from 160lb leg extensions to over 305lbs, and my squat has gone from 180lb to 400lb. Use this downtime to upgrade areas you usually neglect, it will make you feel good about your body, and at least your doing something productive with your time instead of nothing at all.

-- Ryan Park (amillionaire@home.com), May 31, 2001.

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