[mark s]

Had a niggle for 3 months now.1 shoulder,middle to front of it.when doing stuff (climbing,trainning) it hurts in certain directions.sort of bringing arm front side to pointing forward.someone said muscle imbalance.I try all parts of shoulder equally.
Its one of those things that just goes eventually I hope.
Anyone been to physio's with shoulder pain?and what have they said?

[heelhookofglory]

I've had similar niggles for a while, Mark, and a friend who had problems with his rotator cuff gave me some exercises to do which strengthen up the underused shoulder muscles / tendons. Check this out for more info:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=119

I'm not saying that's what it is but it may help.

[mrjonathanr]

They seem a similar set of exercises for the rotator cuff to what I've been recommended. You can also do the internal and external rotation lying on your side on a bench with a dumbell, upper arm for external, lower arm for internal.

[heelhookofglory]

You can also do the internal and external rotation lying on your side on a bench with a dumbell, upper arm for external, lower arm for internal.

Yes, I've seen those too.

Are you seeing any positive results from the exercises? I've been doing the rotator cuff ones 3-4 times per week for a few weeks now, it still feels tweaky but also more stable.

[mark s]

Cheers steve ,nice one,will start some of them.sounds like what I have got.shall give these a good go before trying injections.I've seen lads at gym doing the upper arm out square to shoulder with lower arm pointing straight up.then dropping upper arm forward,keeping upper arm still.I've know which excersises hurt it.mainly chest ones.I can still do plenty of others that don't hurt it.
I know rest would help,but that's easier said than done.
Will do some google action on it also.

[heelhookofglory]

As climbers, the fronts of our shoulders become so strong when compared to the backs and this can cause large imbalances. There are quite a few articles out there on rotator cuff imbalances, I'm not that clued up on it but I am aware of the implications.

If you suddenly start hitting the gym / weights then this might have triggered off something, too, as you'll no doubt be stronger on rows, for example, than you would on a bench presses (as it's closer to a climbing movement). If you're anything like me then you might have jumped in at the deep end on the latter expecting similar results as the former.  :weak bench:

[mark s]

I'll always do 2 differant excersises for front middle back delts.I don't think a very sudden massive gain in strength I had not long before it 1st happened helped.
I've got one of those big rubber bands I've started doing bits on that today.
Shall take it easy for a few weeks and train around it.
Found some interesting stuff on youtube about fixing it.

[Gus]

That natural 4 stone weight belt that you're climbing with might be making your shoulders hurt a bit??

Just a thought.

[oversee]

You can never be sure how serious a shoulder injury is. The first doctor said it was tendonitis and I should keep it immobile, so I wore a sling for a week. It got worse. As time went on, I couldn't lift my arm more than about 45 degrees. One doctor said it was the rotator cuff. The fourth doctor said it was frozen shoulder syndrome. It took over 2 years to get better and it still gets sore. I think wearing the sling was the worst thing I could have done. I suggest you keep moving it in all directions to keep the tendons loose. If it gets worse, you should probably have it checked out by a doctor.

[heelhookofglory]

I spoke to a physio at Cliffhanger this year about shoulder injuries (he was a climber and seemed quite well-up on his shoulder stuff), he told me that "we don't wear our bodies out, they rust from lack of use". Don't know how true that is but I quite like the sound of it.

[Jim]

I'll echo the 'never put your arm in a sling unless you can absolutely help it' mine was in a sling for about 4 weeks after my bicep was stitched back on and my shoulder was fuct for ages after, only starting to be back to normal now 6 months on.
that quote about bodies rusting from lack of use is absolute bullshit, especially when you're talking about knee's and elbows.
Shaz, get yourself a theraband and do some of the exercises down the bottom of thsi page:
http://www.moore-chiropractic.com/rotator-cuff-injury.html
and lay off pinching piles of OTE's with yourself on the cover

[dannybrownclimb]

Enjoy sifting through all the information - an easier solution is see a physio. www.919clinic.co.uk is staffed by experienced climbers who are all also physios (one of which is me).
We also run FREE injury clinics every couple of weeks at Sheffield walls - the next one is Monday at The Foundry, 7-9pm.
Cheers

[mark s]

Haha jim,sort of thiong J.B or grimer would say.
Cheers for link,will check later,I have one of the bands.