Hey mate, sounds like a shoulder impingement to me. Can you get someone to try this test out on you? Kennedy - hawkins test

I don't have anyone around right now but I tried to do it on myself, there was definitely some pain there. But does shoulder impingement normally come this quickly and severely? Cause I haven't had any problems with this area in the past and then it just hit last night out of nowhere. Feels like I strained or tore something, like a tendon.

The onset of impingement is very quick and can be quite severe. Normally other shoulder problems result due to a form of trauma such as a fall directly onto the shoulder or a fall onto an outstretched hand. A shoulder impingement often results due to repetitive overhead work whereby the shoulder in constantly in an abducted state. Its hard for me to make a specific diagnosis over the internet so I would get it checked out by a physiotherapist if the pain persists. If they make a diagnosis I can help with a rehab plan for your shoulder. In the mean time here are some exercises which should help:

• Shoulder Inferior Glide
• Shoulder External Rotation

Try and do the inferior glide as much as you can. Try and do the external rotation 2 - 3x a day and go light with regards to weight. If you get any pain with these movements stop and report back to me.

Thanks for your help! It has really loosened up a lot since this morning and is feeling a lot better (I also took some Ibuprofen). I am hoping it will go away on its own and I will definitely try those exercises. Thanks again.

Great advice man. I've never heard of that injury before. My right collar boone has been popping a lot lately. I've been having to do shoulder warm ups every day before I lift.

Hi All

I wondered if I migt jump in here and ask what I can do about my own shoulder problem, as it may be relevant to this thread.

Age 50, weight 82kg, height 6' 2", BF don't know but fairly lean. Been training consistently for over two years now, goals strength gain, flexibility, maintaining or improving condition as I get older. Free weights, bodyweight, TRX.

So I dislocated my left shoulder 3 years ago. Since then I started strength and conditioning training that has got me to where I am today, and I have made particular effort with my shoulders as I believe I had certain weaknesses. One of these was posture, where my shoulders had become too far forward, and another probably overall strength, especially in the rear deltoid area.

Then about 4 months ago I dislocated it again in touch rugby (yes, it was touch!) when I took an body block to my upper arm. After a few days rest I just continued my training and felt fine. I have not had pain in any of the stretching or lifting routines I do, and a number of those are for shoulder flexibility and some rotator cuff exercise which I have done since the first problem 3 years ago.

Amazingly, 3 weeks ago I dis'd it again when doing Scott's TRX oblique crunches, the part where my right arm is under my body and all my weight is on my left elbow. I got back to full training within a week, obviously avoiding the oblique crunches (!) even doing heavy shoulder work (for me anyway..) last week. I can do the Kennedy Hawkins test without pain, although I feel resistance earlier on my left arm compared to right.

Funnily enough after a night's sleep I feel like my shoulders go "loose". Its like I have to readjust my posture when I get up. The best thing for this seems to be to get on with working out, and after a really good workout everything feels great!

Part of my problem is that I push myself fairly hard and feel like I am bulletproof, even at 50. But I need to be realistic and pay attention to these shoulder issues before something more serious happens! I would really appreciate any any advice on what else I could do to 1) avoid another dislocation and 2) strengthen particular areas to try to sort out this "loose" feeling I have.

Cheers

Mike

Hi All

I wondered if I migt jump in here and ask what I can do about my own shoulder problem, as it may be relevant to this thread.

Age 50, weight 82kg, height 6' 2", BF don't know but fairly lean. Been training consistently for over two years now, goals strength gain, flexibility, maintaining or improving condition as I get older. Free weights, bodyweight, TRX.

So I dislocated my left shoulder 3 years ago. Since then I started strength and conditioning training that has got me to where I am today, and I have made particular effort with my shoulders as I believe I had certain weaknesses. One of these was posture, where my shoulders had become too far forward, and another probably overall strength, especially in the rear deltoid area.

Then about 4 months ago I dislocated it again in touch rugby (yes, it was touch!) when I took an body block to my upper arm. After a few days rest I just continued my training and felt fine. I have not had pain in any of the stretching or lifting routines I do, and a number of those are for shoulder flexibility and some rotator cuff exercise which I have done since the first problem 3 years ago.

Amazingly, 3 weeks ago I dis'd it again when doing Scott's TRX oblique crunches, the part where my right arm is under my body and all my weight is on my left elbow. I got back to full training within a week, obviously avoiding the oblique crunches (!) even doing heavy shoulder work (for me anyway..) last week. I can do the Kennedy Hawkins test without pain, although I feel resistance earlier on my left arm compared to right.

Funnily enough after a night's sleep I feel like my shoulders go "loose". Its like I have to readjust my posture when I get up. The best thing for this seems to be to get on with working out, and after a really good workout everything feels great!

Part of my problem is that I push myself fairly hard and feel like I am bulletproof, even at 50. But I need to be realistic and pay attention to these shoulder issues before something more serious happens! I would really appreciate any any advice on what else I could do to 1) avoid another dislocation and 2) strengthen particular areas to try to sort out this "loose" feeling I have.

Cheers

Mike

Mike,

I have a friend who suffers the exact same problem as you. The main problem is you have shoulder instability. The problem with this is that there can be a few of things that cause the instability such as ligamant laxity, capsular laxity, labrum deficiency, rotator cuff weakness etc. I would highly recommend seeing a physiotherapist as they can assess you more thoroughly. Hope you get this resolved.

Hi Daniel, thanks and appreciate the reply. I figured a physio visit is necessary, presumably an MRI scan would be a good idea too. I am not sure how easy this is here in Tanzania, so may have to wait until I am in the UK next!

Yesterday after I did a short tricep/chest workout I came up with a new rotator cuff exercise to add to the ones I already do. Basically it is a reverse of the Kennedy Hawkins test, using a resistance band under my right foot and gripped in my left hand. I then rotate upward keeping elbow still, ie the reverse of the KH test. Interestingly it felt good to do this and seemed to ease a bit of soreness. This morning my shoulder felt a lot better than it has done for a while after sleeping. May be coincidence, but seems worth continuing this exercise in the meantime. Thanks again for your help, and I will let you know how I get on.

This exercise you have done is basically a variation of what I use in my shoulder rehab programmes. Its basically an external rotation of the shoulder which works the posterior deltoid, infraspinatus and teres minor. The infraspintus and teres minor are rotator cuff muscles so strenghtening these muscles will help with shoulder stability.

Thanks again Daniel. I am now doing 2 sets of 15 reps, twice daily of this exercise.. even if nothing else. I am going to read up more on the various rotator cuff muscles to better understand this whole issue.