[Kyoseki]

I seem to have some issues with my left shoulder, it's not nearly as strong as it used to be, not purely in a muscular, shoulder press kind of way, but the whole thing feels really awkward, like if I twist it the wrong way it'll just shoot out of it's socket.

I used to lift a fair amount of weights way back in the day, but haven't really done that much lifting in the past few years (had a motorcycle accident in 98 that royally screwed me up), so my upper body strength has gone completely to pot (fortunately my legs have remained intact).

Should I stick to machines until it strengthens up or are there some exercises I can do with it to help it along? It just generally feels unstable as well as weak (so much so it's even a problem during bench press), so I'm guessing that hitting it with exercises from strange angles ought to help a lot.

I'm a member of Gold's Venice, so if there's a machine or piece of equipment you reckon I should be using, I expect they've got it

Any help appreciated.

 

[LyNx]

give a little more info, sounds like you did a good job on it in the accident OR you might have taken a fall off your bike and not paid it any attention and done it some damage there.
I took a fall almost when I 1st started riding on wet road and landed on my right shoulder and did it in really good, only thing was not totally in, it took something else to bring it out and then I had to go to a physio to get some excercises to strengthen it.

there are lots of excercises you can do without weights to helps strengthen a weak shoulder, but you will also need to do some stretching to really help it along. my right shoulder was so weak I couldn't even bench 70lbs ( my usual warm up weight is 120lbs). when I get some decent amount of time I'll try to post up a couple of the excercises for you. start by doing stretches and excercises that use the shoulder WITHOUT weights, it's gona be a long road back (took me like 6 months)

 

[BadHabit]

...my left shoulder, it's not nearly as strong as it used to be, not purely in a muscular, shoulder press kind of way, but the whole thing feels really awkward..

I think you should be examined by an orthopedist and perhaps be imaged.

I have been investigating shoulder issues and have made an appointment to be examined for what I think is a slight rotator tear, perhaps caused/aggavated by a spur on a collar bone broken 25 years ago (bike). I have read that shoulder damage can be increased by failure to address issues early.

Best wishes.

I am uncertain whether you should be working it without medical clearance. I am pretty sure my recent (just a month) pain was caused by careless pushups when I had become unused to them. (I am an old guy--55.) But your problem sounds a bit different--rotator cuff damage often presents as weakness and inability to lift arm over head. But ligaments and tendons there are complicated.

 

[Kyoseki]

give a little more info, sounds like you did a good job on it in the accident OR you might have taken a fall off your bike and not paid it any attention and done it some damage there.
I took a fall almost when I 1st started riding on wet road and landed on my right shoulder and did it in really good, only thing was not totally in, it took something else to bring it out and then I had to go to a physio to get some excercises to strengthen it.

Well, more info, the motorcycle accident screwed up my back, not my shoulders, it basically knocked me for 6 for a good few years (piled on loads of weight, yadda yadda), but I'm basically over it now.

I think I must have just wrenched it either during my ride on Sunday (I did fall off, but landed on my right side), or when I was lifting yesterday, but the real problem is that it's not been that strong in general, it's always felt a bit unstable when I was doing shoulder presses even on a machine, I'm wondering if I might have done something to it whilst lifting earlier in the year.

 

[LyNx]

still don't have much time now, but I'll reply to BH post. I didn't mean excercises like push ups and such just some kind of more stretching like excercises, but that still also give the muscles a bit of a work out due to the shoulders weakness. Going to a Physio or something is a good odea and where I got the stretches and excercises to do. A few session with the Physio to show you what to do and also to help massage/manipulate it will do a lot of good.

 

[BadHabit]

still don't have much time now, but I'll reply to BH post. I didn't mean excercises like push ups and such just some kind of more stretching like excercises, but that still also give the muscles a bit of a work out due to the shoulders weakness. Going to a Physio or something is a good odea and where I got the stretches and excercises to do. A few session with the Physio to show you what to do and also to help massage/manipulate it will do a lot of good.

Good point--supposedly keeping blood flow to the area is good. I have been told that healing in rotator cuff, for example, can take a long time precisely because blood supply is not great to tendons, etc. Unsure of medical fact. I like the idea of going to a professional.

If it could be rotator injury, it's important not to lift much weight with that arm, and when you do lift something, try to keep your elbow locked into your torso (what I have been told).

 

[Kyoseki]

Good point--supposedly keeping blood flow to the area is good. I have been told that healing in rotator cuff, for example, can take a long time precisely because blood supply is not great to tendons, etc. Unsure of medical fact. I like the idea of going to a professional.

If it could be rotator injury, it's important not to lift much weight with that arm, and when you do lift something, try to keep your elbow locked into your torso (what I have been told).

Hmm, ok, I'll lay off the weights for the moment now and check in with the doc when I can next, I'm working like you wouldn't believe right now so it'll be a few weeks before I can get it examined.

 

[BadHabit]

Hmm, ok, I'll lay off the weights for the moment now and check in with the doc when I can next, I'm working like you wouldn't believe right now so it'll be a few weeks before I can get it examined.

My appointment is next Tuesday. If I learn something useful I will revive the thread then.

Probably almost as painful to stop lifting as it is to lift, eh? Sorry.

 

[Kyoseki]

My appointment is next Tuesday. If I learn something useful I will revive the thread then.

Probably almost as painful to stop lifting as it is to lift, eh? Sorry.

Yeah, sucks, on the plus side it looks like my fitness is coming on leaps and bounds, I went out for my usual lunchtime ride of about 12 miles (all street, a few hills, no time to get to any trails) on my hardtail and barely broke a sweat, I guess riding it on the squishy the past few weeks has forced my body to get fitter, is there usually that much of a difference between FS and Hardtail in terms of efficiency or is my FS just a bit slow ? (I don't notice much bob and I ride with the forks locked out usually).

 

[LyNx]

just to let you know, my shoulder hurt on the side and I couldn't bring a 70lb bench down past a couple degrees bend in the arm without feeling it through the outer part. When I went to physio she said it was coming from my back around the shoulder blade and had me do strgthen excercises for my upper-back and shoulder. Get to a pro sooner rather than later as it will prob take a long while to get it back, I said 6 months but I still even haven't gotten it back to full strength yet - I really haven't done any "real" weights though for fear or F***ing it up and have just relied on elastoband, stretching and once I started to be able to get down to the proper bend for push-ups those too.

Might help is that I found that if I was warmed up I had a better range of motion, so either after a ride or a hot shower/pad on the shoulder is best to do excercises stretches.

 

[fsrxc]

Sounds like a doc/physio is a good place to start. It's really good to know what's actually injured/wrong, what to avoid etc, so you don't inadvertantly make it worse (ask me how I know). They will usually suggest appropriate exercises, and you can take it from there.

 

[Kyoseki]

Sounds like a doc/physio is a good place to start. It's really good to know what's actually injured/wrong, what to avoid etc, so you don't inadvertantly make it worse (ask me how I know). They will usually suggest appropriate exercises, and you can take it from there.

Sounds like this is a plan, it looks like I'm joining another company soon with unbelievable health benefits (apparently this even includes plastic surgery, so a lot of the girls are shall we say, augmented ), so I'll get everything sorted once I'm working there.