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Rotator Cuff + Instant Recovery???

Bodybuilding
#1

This was very strange - last night I felt a big twinge & a flash of pain in my left shoulder. Testing ROM and as expected, I felt a lot of pain & weakness during abduction and flexion of the shoulder (my arm was shaking at horizontal) and the back of my shoulder was very sore to the touch

It was so painful I was thinking I’ve torn something again (had a partial supra tear in the right shoulder 2-3 years ago) and this time felt at least as bad.

So I ice it, keep it & moving a little so it doesn’t get that “locked up” feeling.

This morning it feels almost fine almost all movements are pain free through a full ROM - I just feel a slight twinge occasionally which doesn?t recur when I repeat the movement. I’m a bit perplexed by such a rapid improvement. Is it simply a case of the swelling causing a very painful impingement, and once the swelling had gone, so did the impingement?

Any ideas what happened & what I should do? I figure I should ice it for another day or two and then start heat and maybe have an ART session just to be sure.

#2

[quote]MookJong wrote:
This morning it feels almost fine almost all movements are pain free through a full ROM - I just feel a slight twinge occasionally which doesn?t recur when I repeat the movement. I’m a bit perplexed by such a rapid improvement. Is it simply a case of the swelling causing a very painful impingement, and once the swelling had gone, so did the impingement?
[/quote]

Probably. I had the same thing happen, only much worse, after using one of those stomach-exerciser wheels and going all the way to horizontal for a total of 30 reps or so. The next day my shoulder was throbbing and I could only raise it about 20 degrees. By the second day, it was completely frozen and throbbing terribly. Three days later, it suddenly got better. In the course of about four hours I got back full ROM. The next day it was perfectly normal.

#3

Hey larry,
What you had sounds pretty much exactly what I have right now. My left shoulder started hurting after I assembled one of these ab thingies that my gramps bought. I used it for a while just to see what it felt like and everything was cool until night time.

I got this massive pain in my shoulder and it wasn’t muscular pain so I’m guessing it’s the joint. It’s eased down over the past day but I still have pain on some ranges of motion (such as doing an upright row movement or abduction). I even tried doing a push-up and couldn’t because of the pain. Did the pain go away completely for you?

-ton

#4

[quote]TestosterTon wrote:
…
Did the pain go away completely for you?
[/quote]

Yes, in only a few days after my shoulder un-froze. That’s why I think the problem was only due to swelling, with no real damage.

I have had longer-term bursitis-type problems in the past though, and had to cut way down on shoulder work. I haven’t had those problems lately, and I credit that to the effect of heavy deadlifts.