[toto]

shame half the posts on the training sections are about injuries. anyway i've had this pain in the top of my bicep on the inside, its been there for about two months. went to the doc today, he tells me it is caused by muscle imbalances in the shoulder and by the fact that the bones in my back are misaligned (one shoulder hangs slightly lower than the other and hence the bones in the back follow suit). he gave me some exercises to do and i have to wait six weeks for physio. anyone had anything similar, or got any good exercises to sort this out. even a get well soon card would be appreciated,
cheers

[dave]

there used to be a good article about this on topbouldering.com but its long gone. i think the jist of it was loads of injuries are caused by muscle imbalances in the back. one of the excersises it suggested was the ol theraband reverse-bullworker thing.

[a dense loner]

i would do some weights for the affected area. if it was the front of the shoulders grab a bar n pull it in a straight line up to your chin or a couple of dumbbells n do some forward raises to just above your shoulders, no point goin any higher. while ure there do some side raises to just above the shoulder line. no need to do any weights for back of shoulders or back. the band things are all well n good if ure comin back from surgery or the like, but wouldn't provide resistance to a gnat. if it's a muscle imbalance just balance it with weights. i am assumin that you climb quite a bit to get an imbalance

[Simon S]

The book Training For Climbing by Eric j Horst has some good exercises for curing/preventing muscle imbalances. You can get it from amazon.co.uk and is well worth a read. Get well soon!

[toto]

cheers folks for the replies, it's starting to get a lot better now.

[cofe]

The book Training For Climbing by Eric j Horst has some good exercises for curing/preventing muscle imbalances. You can get it from amazon.co.uk and is well worth a read. Get well soon!

this man speaks the truth - this book, unlike most others, is actually helpful.

where do you want the card sending? :wink:

[Ste]

Having spent £!!!!!! on various Physiotherapists over the year I sympathise with your situation.

The aim of your recovery should be to stabilise the joint as this would prevent further damage. Don't get this confused with training opposition muscles because in my experience its not as simple as that. If you start bench and shoulder pressing this usually doesn't solve the problem. You need to build up the smaller muscle groups which hold your joints in the correct orientation, such as the rotator cuff muscle. Also don't think that because the pain is in your elbow that this doesn't relate to an impinged nerve in your back or neck.

A good test.
If you lay flat on the floor, face down with your arms bent at a right angle above your head (your upper arm runs past your ear and your lower arm should be at a right angle in front of your head) you should be able to keep both your elbow and shoulder on the floor and still be able to lift your forearm off the floor! If you find this difficult then you are going to have problems eventually.

A good exercise is to stand upright with your hands loose by your side thumbs pointing outward. With your shoulders relaxed pull your shoulder blades down and squeeze them together (this is difficult as it requires quite a lot of control.) Hold this position for 15seconds and relax repeat for 5 sets. You will start to build up the small muscle groups which tend to waste away at the bottom of your shoulder blades. After a while you will loose that Ironed your shirt on a wok look.


Steve..

[toto]

cheers for the advice bros, 'tis all very useful. started doing the shoulder balancing exercises out of training for climbing, plus another one that the doctor gave me; lying face down, lifting one shoulder just off the ground and then using that arm to lift a light weight with your palm facing upwards, seems to work pretty well.

big pimpin'.
word.

[toto]

good test.
If you lay flat on the floor, face down with your arms bent at a right angle above your head (your upper arm runs past your ear and your lower arm should be at a right angle in front of your head) you should be able to keep both your elbow and shoulder on the floor and still be able to lift your forearm off the floor! If you find this difficult then you are going to have problems eventually.

i failed this unsuprisingly, but i got my brother, who don't climb to try it and he 'failed' to, how do y'all fare?

[erm, sam]

I tried it and was surpirsed by finding it really easy.. So easy I thought I had got something wrong.
I have been doing shoulder stabilizing exersises for a while now, so maybe they actually work....