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Infraspinatus injury (Read 2348 times)

mrjonathanr

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Infraspinatus injury
November 04, 2018, 11:42:03 am
Physio says I’ve damaged my infraspinatus insertion. Hurts raising arm across the body. Apparently this is the most common type of rotator cuff injury after supraspinatus.

Does anyone have any experience or tips for recovery? 3 weeks of rest and it’s still sore.

Thanks.

nick63

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#1 Re: Infraspinatus injury
November 04, 2018, 12:44:29 pm
Wow your physio must be a genius. No offence intended but to be that diagnostic is extremely difficult. The rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres minor(+subscap)) tendons as they pass under the acromion effectively blend in to one large tendon. Actual diagnosis is very tricky with regards to shoulders even with eh benefit of MRI and US, in fact many people have cuff tears and are pain free. If your shoulder is painful on taking your arm across your body this is more in keeping with an ACJ ligament problem. You could try Speeds test and Yergsons test both available on YouTube. former vaguely tests long head bicep tendon and the later poorly tests for SLAP. I've been no help so far but tendons only get 'better' when exposed to load. Question is how much load? Disclaimer without proper assessment I feel that any advice must be taken with caution. However if you have some discomfort that resolves within 1-2 hours and pain is no more than 4-5/10 then that should be ok. The issue is what exercise is most appropriate and this needs to be given in person. Just for clarity I'm a physio who works at the RJAH orthopaedic hospital and have a clinic at the Boardroom climbing centre. Sorry not much help!

mrjonathanr

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#2 Re: Infraspinatus injury
November 04, 2018, 12:57:49 pm
On the contrary, that’s very helpful. I’ll look into those suggestions, thanks.

duncan

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#3 Re: Infraspinatus injury
November 06, 2018, 08:01:59 pm
Wow your physio must be a genius. No offence intended but to be that diagnostic is extremely difficult. The rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres minor(+subscap)) tendons as they pass under the acromion effectively blend in to one large tendon. Actual diagnosis is very tricky with regards to shoulders even with eh benefit of MRI and US, in fact many people have cuff tears and are pain free. If your shoulder is painful on taking your arm across your body this is more in keeping with an ACJ ligament problem. You could try Speeds test and Yergsons test both available on YouTube. former vaguely tests long head bicep tendon and the later poorly tests for SLAP. I've been no help so far but tendons only get 'better' when exposed to load. Question is how much load? Disclaimer without proper assessment I feel that any advice must be taken with caution. However if you have some discomfort that resolves within 1-2 hours and pain is no more than 4-5/10 then that should be ok. The issue is what exercise is most appropriate and this needs to be given in person. Just for clarity I'm a physio who works at the RJAH orthopaedic hospital and have a clinic at the Boardroom climbing centre. Sorry not much help!

+1 to all that. However many practitioners and some patients feel uncomfortable without a 'diagnosis' so names tends to get said... 

3 weeks is not all that long for a soft-tissue injury when you're not 21.

As well as local management you should look at your training patterns and other lifestyle factors.

mrjonathanr

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#4 Re: Infraspinatus injury
November 06, 2018, 08:07:24 pm


3 weeks is not all that long for a soft-tissue injury when you're not 21.



How very dare you.

It can be tricky to be consistent with family, job etc. Have built a board though so should get a bit easier from now on.

Once I can climb on it, of course :wall:

bigironhorse

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#5 Re: Infraspinatus injury
November 07, 2018, 08:07:42 am
I have found a couple of exercises very useful for acute tweaks and chronic rotator cuff injuries. The sleeper stretch is pretty good, you'll be able to find images or videos explaining it. Another exercise I really rate is lying on your left side with the upper right arm held against your side with the elbow at a right angle. Then take a weight in the right hand, can of beans is enough to start with, and twist your upper arm to lift the weight off the floor, always keeping your elbow pinned against your side. You should do as many reps as you can, probably around 30, then switch sides. If you can do way more than that increase the weight. It shouldn't be painful but I think it specifically targets rotator cuff muscles which should feel very tired (almost like powering out). You can do a very similar exercise standing with a theraband but a i have found the lying version much more effective.

In terms of prevention and reducing pinching i found found any exercises that move the resting position of the shoulder down and back to be very useful. Such as rhomboid strengthening exercises and pectoral stretches.

mrjonathanr

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#6 Re: Infraspinatus injury
November 07, 2018, 06:36:31 pm
Cheers dude.

 

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