Bad Shoulder Injury

[sportskid13]

Hey guys, I started seriously lifting for the first time around November of last year. I was gaining some notable muscle and size, going from 120 pounds to 145 within a few months.

My injury happened 8 weeks ago from tomorrow. I had finished a shoulder workout and a few hours later went to a basketball game. I've played basketball after lifting before and it wasn't a problem but during the game I was going for a steal and my left arm bent awkwardly across my body. I felt a twinge in my shoulder but the pain wasn't too bad. I was able to finish out the game without much pain, but that night the pain became pretty intense. In the morning I couldn't even lift my arm straight out in front of me without intense pain. I've iced it and taken ibuprofen to try and reduce any inflammation, and the pain did subside a but not entirely. Over the past 8 weeks it seems like my shoulder (left shoulder) has been getting better, but very very slowly. Also, I did keep playing basketball about once a week for about a month after my injury, but I'm right handed so I didn't aggravate my shoulder too much. Although it has definitely improved, Its still not 100 percent. I haven't been back to the gym since the injury, and 8 weeks without lifting is really taking a toll on my body.

Currently, I can go through all my daily activities with minimal to no pain (sometimes a dull pain) in the shoulder, but if I stretch my arm all the way out as far as it can go there is still some discomfort, and I feel like if I were to lift right now it would aggravate the shoulder. Has anyone else had a similar injury, and what did you do to get better and get back into the gym? Does anyone know anything I can be doing to help strengthen my shoulder, in particular my rotator cuff? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[element0]

I had a very similar injury happen. I was playing hockey, took a slap shot, but my stick was stopped in the middle. I felt like my shoulder got very weak for a second, and it started to hurt. After about 30 seconds the pain went away, and I continued with the game. Later that night, it was very sore, and I had trouble lifting my arm over my head. It would be sore for 3-4 days, and by game time the next week, I would feel ok. Although every week I would re injure it the same way, and it was getting easier and easier to do it. This went on for about 4 months.

Any type of lifting was tedious, as I didn't trust my shoulder, and the one time I pushed myself a little bit; I re-injured severely while doing push ups. Which stopped me from any lifting or hockey for about a month.

After that month I felt I was ok to something with my shoulder, so I bought myself a set of resistance bands, and started using them in place of free weights. I also went back to playing hockey weekly. So far it has worked out well, and I haven't had the problem in 3 months. But I still haven't gone back to the free weights as of yet.

 

[sportskid13]

Yeah, sounds like our injuries are pretty similar. Did you ever see a doctor about it? I'm hoping to get back in the gym as quickly as possible.

 

[element0]

I never went to a doctor, but I have a friend who is a physical therapist. He said it was most likely "shoulder subluxation," google it there is plenty of information. He advised me to give gym/sports a break for a bit, and rest it. Then start back slowly into the routine after about a month. He also said if it become chronic it could require surgery.