# Rotator Cuff Injury



## craigwend (22 Jul 2008)

Any one else had one?

Came off two weeks ago in the rain

_Started about 7:30 pm... still going

I fell off about 8pm ... (first time in along time)

Terribly bad for my hypochondria and scratched my sti's, but luckily abundance of clothing due to weather stopped too many nasty scrapes, shoulder blooming hurts, ibuprofen and alcohol taken as precaution._

Turns out the pain did not go; lost movement in my left arm (can't lift arm up straight out to my side, but now can lift it in front of me -but not for first week)

seen GP, had x-ray one consultant not broken any thing, saw physio (I may also have whiplash explains headaches and general referred pain) 'probably got a 'rotator cuff injury' waiting for ultrasound (possibly pregnant then... erm no male!) peed off entirely, finally getting fit 'this year' rant over

Anyone else experience it and how quick for recovery? (I got the hint I may need surgery)





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## beanzontoast (22 Jul 2008)

Not rotator, but I can sympathise - shoulders take time. I was knocked off in January - x-rayed, nothing broken, but separated the ligatures in my left shoulder. Doc was poised for injections with big needles  every time I saw him. Once I was cleared to do it, lots of gentle weight exercises daily since (never done so much) has brought it to about 90% of pre-crash fitness. OTOH, nodded off watching tv lying on the sofa with my hands behind my head the other day and when I woke up and moved it, boy did that shoulder hurt! 

Good luck with your recouperation, and your rant is justified - probably healthy too! :?:


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## fossyant (22 Jul 2008)

Have you got a turbo trainer to help maintain fitness. Could take a while, depends upon whether you can ride on the road with the injury.


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## ChrisKH (22 Jul 2008)

Have suffered several rotator cuff injuries during my rugby career. That and other shoulder injuries. I recall they used to take a long time to heal (usually meant the end of playing that season if I suffered one). I would add that because of this type of injury I now have two weaker shoulders than I would otherwise have, i.e. I never recovered fully. Physical stress to the shoulder even now some ten years after retiring is painful and I can't lift as much as I could beforehand for example. This may not be the same for you, but it's just a warning how these things can go sometimes.


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## ColinJ (22 Jul 2008)

I injured my shoulder last autumn and it has taken until now to get to the point where it doesn't bother me in day-to-day activities. I discovered that it wasn't fully-recovered when I tried to wipe a whiteboard clean a few days ago. My upper arm started aching again after that.

I didn't visit a doctor because (a) I didn't think it would take this long to heal, ( I don't like doctors, and (c) My brother-in-law has a recurring problem and all they do is fill his arm up with steroids every time!

I realise now that I should have been more proactive so I bought an 'eBook' which describes a rehab strengthening program to treat rotator cuff injuries. It looks very good, but I've only just started the exercises so there hasn't been much change yet. The author is a qualified physiotherapist and clearly knows his stuff. He describes the anatomy of the shoulder and what goes wrong with it. He explains a detailed exercise programme which should sort out most injury problems. He does advise that a visit to the doctor or physio should be your first step if you are in major pain, but he says that in nearly all cases surgery is not required.

You can find information on this problem all over t'Internet but I couldn't be bothered trawling through all of it so I bought the eBook which has it all packaged in a printable form (it's an instant download so you just print it off yourself). It's about 35 pages so it doesn't take long to print. There is a lot of bonus material which is also useful, including a free eBook with stretches for the arms and shoulders. It is priced in US dollars but at the current exchange rate it will cost you about £20+VAT. A pretty small price to pay for some very helpful information.

If you like the sound of it, you can buy _The Ultimate Rotator Cuff Training Guide_ here.

[Just to let you know - I'm promoting this eBook so I get a commission from the author if you buy through that link . You can buy the eBook at the same price but without me getting the commission if you'd prefer to do that - just go to www.clickbank.com and search for it there]

PS The author says that doing the stretches and exercises is a good idea to prevent injuries occurring in the first place. I certainly didn't realise how vulnerable my shoulder was until I damaged it - all I did was overstretch behind me to turn my alarm clock off and BAM - it was buggered!


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## craigwend (22 Jul 2008)

Thanks for all the replies

I have two physio exercises to do at the moment, the physio I saw - said not to do any others (there were four on the sheet) until the ultrasound scan reveals what I have actually done (makes sense)

Yes I have a turbo, and will use it once I have the scan (unless the wait goes on a bit too long) just pees me off having to turbo when the sun is shining / weather is warm, the nights are light... and it is my stress buster / me time.

On the bright side I fell on my left shoulder and I am right handed only visible scar for me is a scab on my ankle and scratched Sti’s on the bike (and bar tape a bit ripped).

I'll definitely keep the e-book in mind once I get a specific diagnosis / prognosis.

Thanks again, a problem shared...


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## spandex (23 Jul 2008)

I was at work when I did it I was doing a U turn and my foot slipped there was no one at work to cover for me so I had to keep on going. It was 45mins before I got to the walk in clinic and they tried to put butter fly stitches in but they would not hold as my calf's are to big. So I head off to the coffee shop to have 2 coffee's with my work mate's head off to A+E. I needed 13 stitches then I head back to work!!!!!! 


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## craigwend (24 Aug 2008)

After many weeks...

Finally got my ultrasound, turns out I've a rotator cuff injury!

specifically I’ve got a : torn 'blah blah blah' tendon and a partially dislocated 'blah blah blah' muscle, explains all the pain, loss of feeling and some loss of movement.

Physio has been very helpful, though would have been better not having to wait over 6 weeks for the ultrasound (top 'sonographer' though gave me a cortisone injection for pain and swelling etc)

Getting some riding back in (didn’t do any for 3 weeks) now, did first 20 miles yesterday whilst the sun shone.

(Sick of taking ibuprofen though).

Moral of story, get medical attention straight away!!!!!! 
It's not just a shoulder injury


I might be wrong.


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## Riding in Circles (17 Sep 2008)

The only thing to do with a rotator cuff injury is rest it and avoid lifting your arm above your head, I had one years ago after a bad landing from a parachute jump during an operation, obviously at the time there was nothing to do but put up with the pain and the adrenaline helped but a couple of days after we got back my arm became like this dead thing.

The active nature of my job meant that I had an on going problem with it for years, it would flare up and ache a lot, I found acupuncture solved the pain in the shape of an 8" needle inserted at the top of my shoulder straight down into the muscle to the hilt and removed! It would be fine for a couple of months then, it is only since leaving the military that I have been able to give it proper rest and have not had any issues for years.


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## craigwend (17 Sep 2008)

4 days after the cortisone injection I got full movement back (and still have), I was pain / discomfort free for two weeks (though I was living on ibuprofen) - last week I was discharged from the 'fracture clinic'. 

I’m still having physio to help build up the muscle around it and the muscle itself as I haven't really used it for two months and I’m as weak as the proverbial kitten with my left arm.

Luckily my job does not involve lifting, so when I am at work I can rest, however my little 2 years old never got the hang of the fact daddy could not pick him up etc, and the other children generally forgot, so work was my rest, this has probably helped my recovery as well as following the physio regime. 

I wonder how different it would have been if I'd got the cortisone early - or not fell off in the first place...


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## louise (18 Oct 2008)

Shoulders take a long while to heal, I had surgery on mine in June and its still along way off being healed fully, estimates state another couple of months hence why I am planning to take up cycling as recommeded by the bloke that did the slicing and dicing, in order to strenghten my shoulder up


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## craigwend (15 May 2009)

ten months almost to the day since the accident I finally had the operation yesterday.

They have left the tendon for now as there was enough left at this point to not need to repair it, though erm they '_trimmed'_ space around the damage to _decompress_ it and allow healthy re-growth.

eciting '_weeks_' ahead riding no-where on the turbo!


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## fossyant (15 May 2009)

Were you 'awake'....looks messy even for keyhole....urgh.....does it hurt....I only ask as I may at some point need my AC sorted


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## benborp (15 May 2009)

What do you need doing on your AC fossyant?


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## fossyant (15 May 2009)

I took a nasty bang on it in December (i.e. a car) - specialist has confirmed an AC joint injury, and I have constant pain in shoulder and it clunks (so not been swimming with the kids in 5 months). The consultant also suspects nerve damage in spine or neck - that's giving me the pain in shoulder blade and arm/hands. 

Until results come back, I don't know what else they will do. It seems like above, that if you do need an operation, it's a hell of a long wait - they usually see how things heal up..... if I get an op, it will be a 'decompression' to stop the tendon catching.


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## Fiona N (15 May 2009)

Can I join in with my shoulder injury too, please - it makes such as change from knees, ankles and back 
Having sorted all of the above (well, more or less) over the last couple of years, I've now picked up a shoulder injury - not rotorcuff but apparently bursitis in the joint, which gives problems (pain) when the joint is compressed - e.g. moving the arm back and up - just what you do when swimming front crawl. 
I've had one series of treatments at the physio and the pain did go for most things and allowed me to swim fairly well again but just the last couple of weeks it's flared up again for no reason that I can think of. The original injury was itself slightly mysterious but manifested itself after swimming in a (cold) outdoor pool on a cool, windy day, after which my arm was sore and the shoulder slightly stiff. I didn't do anything about it for a year although it did become a bit of a pain with some yoga and Pliates moves. I'm usually not too hypochondriac but this latest flare up has coincided with inflammation in a toe (fairly regular occurrence over the last year) and a finger joint (both stiff and sore) and I'm starting to wonder if this is rheumatoid arthritis  Somebody tell me I'm been a hypochondriac or I shall have to go and see the GP - always a chastening experience


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## ChrisKH (15 May 2009)

Fiona N said:


> Can I join in with my shoulder injury too, please - it makes such as change from knees, ankles and back
> Having sorted all of the above (well, more or less) over the last couple of years, I've now picked up a shoulder injury - not rotorcuff but apparently bursitis in the joint, which gives problems (pain) when the joint is compressed - e.g. moving the arm back and up - just what you do when swimming front crawl.
> I've had one series of treatments at the physio and the pain did go for most things and allowed me to swim fairly well again but just the last couple of weeks it's flared up again for no reason that I can think of. The original injury was itself slightly mysterious but manifested itself after swimming in a (cold) outdoor pool on a cool, windy day, after which my arm was sore and the shoulder slightly stiff. I didn't do anything about it for a year although it did become a bit of a pain with some yoga and Pliates moves. I'm usually not too hypochondriac but this latest flare up has coincided with inflammation in a toe (fairly regular occurrence over the last year) and a finger joint (both stiff and sore) and I'm starting to wonder if this is rheumatoid arthritis  Somebody *tell me I'm been a hypochondriac *or I shall have to go and see the GP - always a chastening experience



No, far from it. It certainly could be arthritis of sorts. I certainly suffer from osteo-arthritis in several joints, albeit not severely, and the last few weeks has been bad for them. I find that pressure changes and damp cool weather to be worse for the joints than mid-winter, I don't know why. Mid summer and in hot conditions on holiday, my aches and pains are much less or go away altogether. Wish I lived in Lanzarote tbh.


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## craigwend (15 May 2009)

fossyant said:


> Were you 'awake'....looks messy even for keyhole....urgh.....does it hurt....I only ask as I may at some point need my AC sorted



No luckily I had a full general (which did not help my hypochondria / fear of death during the opration!) & then after a fair ammount of morphine...

Yes mine was a de-compression, though before I had at least 6 months physio & 1 cortisone injection which unfortunatlty did not work especially as the cortisone began to ware off

Still sore today & limited movement, I should start physio next week & see surgeon at outpatients in 2 weeks to see how it has gone. 
If not sucessful may still need work on tendon!!!

Looks bad but once cleaned up I'm sure the scars will be small, used strips and not stitches as well.


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## puddleglum (17 May 2009)

I had 2 non cycling falls in 1995 and 2003 and lost a lot of mobility, without doing much about it. The dislocation 'popping' thing started in 2005 and I've had 2 lots of physio since. The 2nd lot, where I was given a big rubber band to pull and hook around the door handle etc has been the most effective treatment. It increased strength and mobility and stopped the painful popping. This however is an ongoing process and if I don't do the exercises, it all flares up again, to the point where turning over in bed can cause an episode.
I still daredn't risk overhead shots in badmonton though, it feels like my arm might fly out of its socket 
I regret not getting it seen to in the first place, cos without surgery it will never be right.


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## craigwend (17 May 2009)

puddleglum said:


> I was given a big rubber band to pull and hook around the door handle etc has been the most effective treatment. It increased strength and mobility and stopped the painful popping. This however is an ongoing process and if I don't do the exercises, it all flares up again, to the point where turning over in bed can cause an episode.



Big rubber bands = dura-bands, still have plenty left over from physio previously, (red, green & blue ones all different tensions, even snapped a couple, though think that was catching them on sharp bits of the door)

At the moment in the words of Vivien from the young ones, _'I'm bored,bored,bored' _may even have to (erm) go out for a _walk_, before it rains again!


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## puddleglum (17 May 2009)

craigwend said:


> Big rubber bands = dura-bands, still have plenty left over from physio previously, (red, green & blue ones all different tensions, even snapped a couple, though think that was catching them on sharp bits of the door)
> 
> At the moment in the words of Vivien from the young ones, _'I'm bored,bored,bored' _may even have to (erm) go out for a _walk_, before it rains again!



Just gor back from DRENCHING walk,


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## puddleglum (17 May 2009)

craigwend said:


> Big rubber bands = dura-bands, still have plenty left over from physio previously, (red, green & blue ones all different tensions, even snapped a couple, though think that was catching them on sharp bits of the door)
> 
> At the moment in the words of Vivien from the young ones, _'I'm bored,bored,bored' _may even have to (erm) go out for a _walk_, before it rains again!



Just got back from DRENCHING walk, so think again maybe!
My one and only dura band is the yellow one which is the 'easiest' as I am so feeble!


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## Fiona N (17 May 2009)

ChrisKH said:


> No, far from it. It certainly could be arthritis of sorts.


Goodness ChrisKH, I can tell osteoarthritis from the rheumatoid sort, believe me. I've had osteoarthritis since my twenties in ankles and feet, now in knees and probably hips too (I'm in my 50s) and it's not a problem beyond a bit of morning stiffness ( lucky I'm a girl) so long as I don't stop moving. But I had an aunt with RH and that's a very different kettle of fish as it's a progressive, auto-immune disease causing severe inflammation of the joints, usually starting in the small joints of the hands and feet. The joints are swollen, reddened and hot to the touch when it's bad. This is, worryingly, all too much like the condition of my toe and finger. Hence my worry about my shoulder too


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