Anyone ever torn a rotor cuff muscle?

[JohnnyO]

So I figured out why my strength has gone in my left arm and I have only been able to sidehop about 6" recently- The doc reckons I've torn a rotor cuff muscle in my shoulder. It also keeps me awake at night with pain. Anyone else ever done this? Apparently it won't heal itself and will need to be sewn back together. All this seems to point to a lot of time off my bike which really sucks :( I'm absolutely gutted.

[Alex_M]

that sucks dude, never happened to me, altho i always hurt my left wrist cuz its weak and i always fall on it biking, playing soccer and hockey, oh welll:h5:

[AgrAde]

sucks dude :(

[hopsalot]

I have this problem. Avoid surgury threw massage therapy, stretching, learning to use your opposite arm for reaching above your head, sleeping with your arm down to your side, ice and heat, advil, physical therapy and the like. There are four rotator cuffs on both shoulders, these mussels are very strong and resistent to damage but when you bruse one they take for ever to heal.

[JohnnyO]

Apparently they never heal on their own, all you can do is strengthen what is remaining. So I have to have an ultrasound and xray to see what the best treatment is and the crappy public health system in New Zealand has put me on a month long waiting list just for the xray. I have made a physiotherapist appointment so hopefully they can help.

[rush]

wtf a month!?

[JohnnyO]

They reckon they are too busy and that there isn't a radiologist available to analyse it.
I am pretty pissed cos it really really hurts!

[JK]

If its completely torn, it won't heal on its own. Partial tear, it will heal, but might take a while depending on blood flow. I partially tore mine 2 years ago. Never stopped riding, healed, but I developed impingement and tendonitis in both shoulders. It's fine for riding 90% of the time, so I'm pretty lucky. Healthy riders hit the gym and take care if you have weak shoulders.

[KERNAL KLINK]

damn thats no good...i have displacia in my right shoulder feels like someone is sticking a screw driver in my shoulder...it makes my whole arm weak so i can kinda feel ya on that one..if it really flares up it takes about 3 weeks before i can really ride again..been doing pt on it for about 6 months but it still sucks, good luck with everything.

[beastoftheeast]

how did you do it?

[MIKE1968]

I haven't been able to sidehop, sleep on my left side (the only side i can sleep on), or use my left arm effectively with it raised up high for over 2 years now :wavey:

Now my left hand doesn't work well :wavey:

[dingus]

great. were all falling apart... and for what? someone remind me.

[MIKE1968]

who cares i get to go on my first private jet on thursday for a day shoot somewhere VIP errything in vegas

[PaulG]

Apparently they never heal on their own, all you can do is strengthen what is remaining. So I have to have an ultrasound and xray to see what the best treatment is and the crappy public health system in New Zealand has put me on a month long waiting list just for the xray. I have made a physiotherapist appointment so hopefully they can help.

just do what every other new zealander does come to australia and bludge off us. ;) it may be quicker to get private coverage wait the couple of months and get the whole thing done is a day if just the XRay is a month

[rush]

who cares i get to go on my first private jet on thursday for a day shoot somewhere VIP errything in vegas


:rofl: Baller put more details in mods forum please. :x:

[smudge]

:rofl: Baller put more details in mods forum please. :x:

WTF mods forum? I feel so left out :wtc:

[JohnnyO]

just do what every other new zealander does come to australia and bludge off us. ;)

:bigthumb: I'm there!
Sounds like this might be a fairly common problem in trials riders.

My wife phoned the doctor yesterday while I was at work and told him that I needed stronger pain killers. So he gave me a script for these tablets that are supposed to be for severe pain. Took them last night. Might as well have been sucking on my thumb!

[denib]

Rotater cuff surgery and recovery hurts like hell! If you get it done you will be sleeping sitting in a chair.

[Giant1118]

just fyi your rotator cuff is built up of a combination of muscles

[JohnnyO]

Rotater cuff surgery and recovery hurts like hell! If you get it done you will be sleeping sitting in a chair.


The more I hear the less happy I am about the whole situation though.

But my wife is awesome and she went NATO at the woman at the XRAY centre and I've got an appointment in 45 minutes!

[Total Uni]

I've had 2 dislocated shoulders over the past 5 months and don't know if im going to be able to ride again. It sucks ass. I did a ton of physical therapy and yet a tiny endo over my mod bars poped it out again (it gets easier to pop out every time). Look into "prolotherapy" for your shoulder, it helps a bunch with the pain.

[MultiRider]

I tore my rotator cuff a few years ago. As with everything, it is a matter of degree. Mine was "moderately severe", but I got by with just rest and physical therapy. The therapist had be doing some kind of strange exercises on a Total Gym -- sit sideways on the board with forearm and 90 degrees and pull from outside to inside, then reverse position on the board and pull from inside to outside, all with the elbow tucked against the rib cage. Hard to describe, but it did a great job strengthening the shoulder muscles. I did it for both arms/shoulders and haven't had trouble since. It took a month of rest before starting therapy, then 2 months of therapy. Pretty much good as new. My range of motion isn't what it used to be, but that just means I can't scratch my back as well as I used to. No biggie.

The therapy place had a really expensive Total Gym; I bought the cheap version from a local sporting goods store for $150. Not as smooth, not as much weight capacity, but did what I needed. I should get that thing out again and work my shoulders more . . .

You could probably do the same exercise with free weights by laying on a bench, though it might not be as smooth and if you overdo it and can't finish a rep, the weight might cause your arm to hyperextend or some other damaging motion. It would be best to go to a physical therapy place that has the right equipment.

Good luck!

[rush]

Piece of flexible stuff tied to a doorhandle with that same movement does wonders.

[smudge]

I just got the call back from my dr about my shoulder...AC joint sprain. WTF...can you have a sprain for 2 years?

[MultiRider]

Piece of flexible stuff tied to a doorhandle with that same movement does wonders.
That's true. They gave me some long rubber tubing (called it "surgical ??" - can't remember) that I tied to a door handle. It was a bit of a hassle because I had to do each exercise in 2 steps because it would get too hard to pull after about half the motion, so I would have to re-position to get the correct tension for the second half of the motion. But that was cheap and it worked. Just took more time and was kind of annoying. The Total Gym seemed more effective as well - smooth movement throughout the exercise motion, seemed to build the shoulder muscles more effectively. I figured I would use it for years, so I bought the Total Gym. And I did use it for almost 3 years. It is just sitting in my basement now, though.

[JohnnyO]

Cheers for the advice. 2 weeks on now and the pain has significantly dropped and i can actually sleep! And I've got out on my mountain bike for a cruise, which felt great.

What exactly is a total gym?