[philo]

following on from http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,16484.0.html :

Naturally, I am the worst offender of the A2 injury.  about 3 years ago? since i did mine, slight tweak that pulses and throbs on the joint of the A2, tried cold bathing, heat and cold, deep heat, resting it for months, massaging it, stretching - over these 3 months, yet as soon as i get off the motherfucker of a megacrimp I can still feel it.  Advice i would give is to take a couple of weeks off and imply the cold/hot contrast baths.  mix with stretching/ get the blood circulation to it as soon as you can. 

I have a similar injury from surfing, shoulder fucked from a massive wipeout and putting my arm on my board, only to be wiped out again from another wave dislodging my arm over my head (in the wrong direction) and leading to a sore shoulder.  This was a couple of months ago and it still hurts, when I do full movements like taking a throw in at football - this really hurts.

After a brief search for shoulder injuries, I havent found many with a sudden jerk motion (apart from obvious dyno actions) and I think it's time to address my shoulder. 

Apart from the obvious of (going to the GP) resting and making sure to stretch and get the full range of motion (which i dont have a problem with,) my shoulder still aches when I lie on it at night for example; or when i throw a ball in at football, has anyone had any experience in this sort of injury.

Any good physios in the north east that people have had experience with?

[Ged]

Don't just rest it.  You need to start sorting out the strength imbalances that are causing it asap.  Get a theraband, ice pack, and lots of ibuprofen, go tto the climbing injuries website and read the shoulder bit, and get cracking

http://www.climbinginjuries.com/page/shoulders

[The Sausage]

There are 2 basic causes of problems at the shoulder - stiffness or instability. It is unlikely that stiffness is going to be a problem after the sort of injury you sustained. So stretches are a bit pointless.

You need to do some stabilisation exercises. But more importantly, if it's a real issue, you need to get someone to look at it.

[Richie Crouch]

Rather than mak a new topic I thought I'd ask here:

I was at the depot yesterday pressing/locking away with my left arm to bring my foot up inside my hand when I felt the whole left shoulder make a crunching sound, I let go and stopped climbing on it pretty much straight away even though it still had a full range of motion and wasn't hurting.

It's gotten a lot worse since then in that I can just about lift my arm up above shoulder height but with a lot of discomfort (feels swelled/tight). It's less painful lifted straight ahead and really bad out to the side. Moving it behind also hurts a fair bit.

Reading the climbing injuries advice it sounds like a rotator cuff strain rather than a full tear (I hope). Is the best advice give it a couple days first and see how it behaves, then seek a physio asap if it shows no signs of improvement?

[IS2]

Kiwi physio in Lanchester is excellent .... sorted out my shoulder .

[mrjonathanr]

As a joint the shoulder basically doesn't exist - it's 99% muscle and sinew. For that reason I wouldn't consider avoiding paying someone who knew how to diagnose it properly. Unless I wasn't that into going climbing of course.
Alan Raw at Harris and Ross (Manchester) fixes my shoulder - as a physio with Wigan Warriors and Man City I figure he's seen some shoulder injuries. They need intelligent rehab, not just rest. FWIW I damaged my r-cuff (supraspinatus) and it was really painful. AOK now. Good luck.

[Carnage]

my shoulder still aches when I lie on it at night for example; or when i throw a ball in at football, has anyone had any experience in this sort of injury.

From what you've said about how you hurt it, and the from the above it sounds like you may have a SLAP tear. A quick test - Hold your arm out straight out in front of you, palm up. Press down on your palm with your other hand and resist the force with your arm.

Does it hurt?= Possible SLAP.
No pain? = Ignore the above.

Worth mentioning to the physio cos I had this missed for a long time!

[Barratt]

A slap tear is what I'm suspected as having, just had a few scans to find out.

Go see someone who knows what they are doing - the gp will more than likely refer you to a specialist.

[The Sausage]

Do you know if your local (big) hospital has a minor injuries department? If so, that's usually your quickest into a consultant clinic. It's probably worth finding out who the shoulder specialist is at the hospital, and make sure they put you into their clinic rather than just the next available slot, which could be any orthopaedic surgeon.

It sounds like something inside the capsule, seeing as it didn't swell up straight away, and you had full ROM until the effusion (swelling inside the joint capsule) stopped it moving fully. Could well be a SLAP tear - it's a tear in the ring of cartilage (called the labrum) that surrounds the shoulder 'socket'. You definitely need to get it checked out properly - i'd certainly go down the line of getting to see an orthopaedic surgeon.

Good luck
Joe

[gremlin]

I'm currently in the process of fixing my dodgy left elbow which I believe is a symptom of shoulder weakness/instability (a physio confirmed this). I'm doing the routines posted on this thread using a resistance band as well as "wide" pushups and shoulder/arm stretching.

My question is: how long before I should expect to see results?

I'm currently climbing (at an easy level) only once or twice a week at the minute and doing the exercises on non climbing nights.

Should I stop climbing completely?

Ta.

[mrjonathanr]

I'd be doing the exercises every day Gremlin. After all if climbing was helping these muscles you wouldn't have the problem so why skip them on climbing days? Most people seem to view cessation of exercise(ie climbing) as weakening tissues you need to strengthen: I'd  just do it to a level that isn't causing pain.

Please be advised I am not a physio, and that my fee is considerably less than Lagerstarfish's. Payment by Paypal will be acceptable.

[gremlin]

Thanks, I'll start doing them every day