Weight Training to reduce or prevent shoulder injury?

[vidyogamer]

I have been playing disc golf since 2004 and have enjoyed it quite a bit. Well in October of 2005 I was playing a doubles match and on my tee shot my shoulder rolled up and back and then came back to normal. Being stupid I kept playing the round and did it again about seven holes later. After this I took a few months to let my shoulder recoup and came back in March of 2006 for the beginning of tournament season here locally. First throw my shoulder acts up again and to make a long story short I did it several more times during the year until October of 2006 when my shoulder rolled badly again and I lost feeling in my arm for about a half hour. After that I decided to step away for a while and have now been playing again for about two weeks with no problems. Are there any weight lifting or other conditioning items to help prevent this issue again?

 

[smyith]

weight training will cause inconsistency and possible further damage, except shrugs really. push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, and etc. will be more beneficial and work your natural stabilizing muscles.

 

[TalbotTrojan]

You might try something slightly different than weight training like Pilates. It should be something like the previous reccomendation that forces you to build up the muscles that keep things stable.

 

[sidewinder22]

WTH is a rolled shoulder? Did you dislocate, or sprain it? Are you throwing overhand, forehand, backhand? You may be throwing with bad technique causing injury.

Shoulder rehab typically consists of resistance training, calisthenics, and some plyometrics as tolerated, but you should consult a dr.

 

[JTacoma03]

I agree that you should probably consult a doctor since this is a reocurring problem.

Keep in mind I'm not a doctor, but this is my experience after I subluxed my shoulder playing basketball:

Weights at this stage probably won't help you, they're something you'll need to build up to. There are plenty of PT exercises that you can do with a PT band (looks like rubber tubing). These exercises will isolate the shoulder and build its strength - and more importantly - the range of motion back up. Once you've finished that however, lifting weights can't hurt if you're healthy enough otherwise to do so.

 

[Technohic]

Last summer, I was having all kinds of issues with my shoulder hurting after playing a round or 2, which I just chalked up to an old football injury. Well' after a while, I worked on some form and quit using my arm so much on my throws, and havent had any issues since.

I dont know that this fits everyone though, and it is rough cause I still am just getting back to where I can reach the same distance I used to arming it, but its nice that I dont have to take a whole week or even 2 weeks off playing cause my shoulder hurts so bad.

 

[DiscJunkie]

1. Go see a doctor. If you haven't seen a doctor, you may find out you need surgery. The sooner you get this thing looked at, the better your chances of recovery.
2. Throw with your other arm or use a different motion. I've seen a few guys throw with the other hand after injuries. It has helped their game.
3. Get a pro or a good player to look at your throwing motion. He/she may recommend changes that may help you avoid injury. (See Technohic's post above.)
4. Make sure you stretch that arm and do flexibility excercises before you throw. Loosening up that arm will help prevent injuries.
5. When it hurts, STOP. Rest up and try another day. Eventually, all that injury will catch up with you if you don't rest when it hurts. That pain is your body telling you that something is wrong.
6. Throw at 75% instead of 100%. This will help your game and your body.

 

[Jay Dub]

I have major shoulder problems, luckily with my non throwing arm. I destroyed my shoulder in a stupid accident about 8 years ago, I now have Adhesive Capilitis (frozen shoulder) and never see it improving.

Consult a doctor before accepting any other advice. Physical therapy is of course important, they have you do weird exercises but they work.

I would suggest seeing a doctor and after that a therapist if the doctor thinks it'll help, which I bet they do.

 

[Dthunderchicken]

Even though it's been a while I'd get to a doctor. When I broke mine I figured that this must be what a dislocated shoulder feels like. If your arm has rolled out of it's socket, the socket may be fractured. If it is, and you're lucky, it has healed on it's own like mine. If your arm still rolls out of the socket, you may need surgery. I hope not. I'm told that the recovery really sucks.

As for exercises to tighten your shoulder, I wasn't given any. I used a couple of dumbells and did shrugs, rows (upright, bent and side) and saws. As for DG, I dropped all my disc weights to 150. I still throw 150 drivers. (Although now that's it's been three years, I might be able to handle heavier stuff again. My mids are 165.)

I still get pain after a long course or throwing two rounds in one day. I hope things work out for you.

 

[Jay Dub]

I hope not. I'm told that the recovery really sucks.

It does, it took me 2 years for the pain to stop.

 

[vidyogamer]

WTH is a rolled shoulder? Did you dislocate, or sprain it? Are you throwing overhand, forehand, backhand? You may be throwing with bad technique causing injury.

Shoulder rehab typically consists of resistance training, calisthenics, and some plyometrics as tolerated, but you should consult a dr.

It happened when I was throwing a backhand drive. It felt like my shoulder rolled up and out and then back in the joint. I never heard or felt a snap or felt any tearing sensation though.

 

[All GUNKed up]

I have had my share of surgeries but my shoulder surgery of january of 2009 is still on the mend and by far the hardest for me to recover from. The shoulder sometimes and in my case is very difficult to heal. Local golfers ask me is the shoulder ok now and i say nope not even close. They cant believe it takes so long to heal but it does . They are a bitch.

 

[gkeberhart]

just because I am lazy and dont want to read through all the other suggestions there are some light weight lifts that you can do to help your shoulder (I know because I have blown my shoulder out in baseball)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkoLvtaVF7Q
Also can be done bench style, use lighter weights like 15lb dumbells

There are also rubber band workouts for pitchers in baseball that would help you as well

 

[sidewinder22]

I dislocated my shoulder once back in college, hurt like a s-o-b! Sorry to use harsh letters. I had to do some rehab exercises with the team trainers and swim with a kickboard for two months until it healed up.

It sounds like you have a more serious recurring shoulder problem and really need see a specialist. It may be awhile before you can play again, and should start from scratch with your form and 150 class discs once your dr. has cleared you to play again. Sorry, but it doesn't sound good.

 

[Jukeshoe]

I actually just finished physical therapy for a messed up shoulder. My issue sounded different than what you describe, but I did have the same numbness sensation. That is what prompted my trip to the doctor. For me it was a pinched nerve, nothing serious, but it can be a sign that something is very wrong. All the exercises I did (over the course of a month) did not involve weights. A lot of it was pretty simple (yet painful) stuff. I had to do one exercise every hour, every day for a month. Several others were incorporated in over time and were done three times a day. Eventually I "graduated" to the set of rubber bands that people mentioned above. They come in varying resistences and you work your way up them.

You definitely should see a doctor. The "rolling" you describe sounds bad...could be a dislocation or something along those lines. Stuff like that needs to be taken care of or it'll only get worse with use.

 

[Incognito1989]

Dont know if you got what you were looking for but i have some expertise in this and ill give you my advice.
I dislocated my shoulder very badly 4 years ago. After 2 years of slings, physical therapy, countless x-rays, weight lifting, weight training, isometrics my shoulder would still consistantly "partially lax" (what happened to you). I went through and had the surgery.

The surgery has both pros and cons. If you have it done through just your local surgeon or even ortho surgeon what they are litterally doing is drilling holes in your shoulder to run stitches through to tie your muscle back into the correct place so that it can grow correctly. Unfortunately the success rating is roughly 60% on this type of surgery. Where i live i was able to travel 2 hours to have the surgery done with a new tequnique that uses a special drill that drills curved holes into your bone. This surgery has over a 90% success rating.

Either way your going to have weeks of not moving your shoulder, months of shoulder pain and **** tons of rehab but after a year my shoulder i can truly say is strong as new.

MY ADVICE: the only thing you can do to try and help your shoulder is isometrics, its what they use to rehab pitchers arms and basically what it does as apposed to regular weight lifting is that it gradually builds the muscle and densifies, this muscle is truly the only thing that will stop your shoulder from rolling out over and over.

You can get the pitcher rubber bands with hand ties that you clip to a fench and do exercises/ you can get surgical tubing tie it in a circle and do exercises/ or you can get different strength bands to work with.

Hope this helps. PM me if you need any further advice

 

[okiebullgod]

Shoulder surgery is much easier to rehab than knee surgery is. Range of motion is more difficult with a shoulder though. Good luck. There's always Decca if you feel you need to strengthen the muscles post surgery, it will also chill the ache. That's the quickest way to get back, but probably not the healthiest.

 

[okiebullgod]

If your shoulder is chronically dislocating on your follow through, I would guess you have some tears to the cartilage in the socket that surrounds ball on the humerus bone. Surgeons typically will open up your shoulder and scrape, and bang around creating the formation of scar tissue, which replaces the damaged cartilage and in turn cups the humerus socket similar to how it did before the cartilage damage. Range of motion will be your biggest hill.

 

[richardmmill]

I weight train likes its my job, and I wish it was. But if you have a shoulder problem weight training is not the answer, it might be the worst thing you could do. You need to let it rest and recoup. Maybe therapy if you continue to have trouble with it. However a few low weight type exercises may be able to help but I am not expert on those exercises and therapies to be giving advice on how to do them.

 

[Dayute]

Your rolling sounds like sublexation (sp?), if you have chronic sublexation you could have a torn Labrum (very bad.) Lets hope not, a doctor will probably get you in PT to strengthen the muscles that hold your shoulder in place. I had to have surgery on my torn Labrum (among other things) and the recovery process is indeed quite awful. Hopefully PT can fix it.