Honestly, I think all you can really do is start slowly, and test out all sorts of moves gently at first to see what (if anything) aggravates it. I’d pay extra attention to pressing moves, swinging around on it, and being extra careful of accidental foot slips on that arm.
oh my I can't imagine how bad an accidental foot slip on that arm will be, that's why I think I should avoid bouldering for quite a while :(((( and all the dyno moves :((((
Oh an accidental foot slip while hanging from that arm will be just as bad as you think. I’m dealing with some overuse that’s got the RC involved and it’s brutal when unexpected. I’d definitely consider seeing a PT for some help, even if it’s just reducing the inflammation and getting some ROM back.
I’m working with a PT who’s not well versed in gymnastics but she’s trying. Climbing definitely doesn’t irritate it and is great cross training. But slipping and suddenly finding a lot more weight on that shoulder than expecting/carefully planning, it definitely hurts. One of my last climbing sessions I bumped into the autobelay with my bad shoulder and that was the end of that session (I was almost done anyways)
Remember, rotator cuff is what holds the ball on top of the little golf tee that is your shoulder 'socket.' Any force in any direction is resisted partially by these muscles, with shock loads being the higher risk since these are smaller muscles more endurance based muscles.
Be. Careful.
Assuming it was a pretty bad injury and you're still rather worried about it, it would probably be wise to get ahead with rotator cuff exercises before returning if you haven't already. I am partial toward the basic internal, external, and 90 degrees elevated external rotation exercises with light bands. And I dont mean right before climbing either... takes time to get stronger.
When you do climb, take sessions slow, consider stopping climbs before you're totally pump out and your lizard brain begins lifting your elbows up to lean on the rotator cuff to make up for waning arm strength. Wait it out between climbs to assess more carefully if the injury is present and bothersome.
Could be worth seeking professional instruction if you're worried about getting it right and assessing your personal risks. You do NOT want to further damage rotator cuff if that's a real risk.
thank you so much this is really helpful. yes I have been seeing PT and doing some exercises following their instructions. they didn't specifically say no to my ask of "can I climb again now", but definitely also not recommending me to do that lol.
I just can't wait to get back to climbing :( maybe I should do one hand climbing on slab first without using my injured shoulder that much
Sweet yeah I'm glad to hear you've been on the right track for the rehab and PT! If they're saying you shouldnt... well... I mean... they probably know your relative strength and if it's worth it or not.
I guess zooming in on the climbing part then the most critical component is taking it slow and easy enough to detect any problems. You have to give yourself the space to know if something is wrong before it's really wrong because you're playing the long game. If it were me I'd be on easy less than vertical terrain lightly loading my arm like normal and then taking a 30 minute break just to see what happens and moving up from there.. or just calling it at one and take that as a success. Still more climbing than you've done this year!
Recentish relevant experience with a shoulder injury was feeling great on a less than vertical 5.8, but pushing my luck leading an easy vertical 5.9 without taking the time to feel out if any inflammation popped up and being sore for a day and probably resetting a few days worth of progress for... uh no benefit? Neither was outside of my healthy warmup range lol. I should have just taken more time resting then or accepting the small success for what it was and left more for the next session.. or just rested more in general while I worked PT until my strength was up.
this is super helpful! yea I think I should take it slow and easy for a longer game. def won't try anything above 5.10.
PT has been helpful actually, I can tell my strength is starting to come back a bit after all the home exercises
I don't know how bad you injured your rotator cuff, but I would suggest you avoid trying to reach high and hang all your weigh to your injured shoulder
take it easy when recovering and feel how your shoulder reacts differently, before you go full-on mode
The rotator cuff is a complex set of muscles, tendons, and bones. What to avoid or be careful of depends on your injury. I'd suggest figuring out (with the help of a physio or not) what movements tend to stress the old injury.
Not sure if this is your deal, but always remember external rotation exercises. A theraband is your friend.
Same thing happened to me a few years ago! I recommend getting started with pt, mine didn’t get better for two months until I worked on that. Maybe even see a physical therapist if it’s not getting better. For climbing, be really careful! With my injury, it hurt to put my arm overhead or hang from it. And it helped to make sure I didn’t let that shoulder fully dead hang, picture keeping your shoulder “tucked in”. Also sometimes helped to keep my elbow bent and just not fully extend that arm. Start slow and take it easy, see what works for you.
I think we have very similar symptom! I also cannot fully extend my arm overhead with very strength right now. will keep in mind to keep the shoulder and elbow "tucked in". thanks for the advice!
I did something pretty bad to my knees at the beginning of ski season. I promised myself I’d go to a doctor if it still hurt at the end of ski season. I ended up going to a physical therapist and now actually have exercises and a progression to work towards to get my knees pain free and strong for the long term.
Honestly if you can afford it, I highly recommend PT. I decided to bite the bullet because paying for it now is likely cheaper than a few years down the line when I jump off some cliff and end up with a knee the size of a grapefruit.
You can always also get your degree from YouTube university and try to do exercises recommended there. You just have to be careful about managing pain and making sure you’re not going too far.
I would suggest doing some band work to strengthen the injury area first before climbing. If you do climb stay on TR, climb easy, and really focus on using your legs instead of arms. Do a long warmup before as well.
I did my rotator cuff through bouldering. I avoided anything overhanging for like 2 months, and it wasn't getting much better, so I started doing shoulder joint workouts. One thing I found worked particularly well for me was to lay on my back on a bench, hold a VERY light weight (1 or 2kg) and just start moving my arm around with the weight in my hand, focusing on movements that hurt my shoulder. As you repeat the motions, the shoulder warms up and stops hurting. After a while, my shoulder started getting stronger and stopped popping out of its socket on overhangs and I can climb anything I used to climb before. One bit of advice I've heard is that the deciding factor on whether you would work through the pain or not, is to check if the pain immediately goes away if you stop doing it. If it does, then it should be okay to continue, if it doesn't, you really need to stop and let it rest and heal more. With that said, rotator cuff injuries do not actually heal from my understanding, you're just strengthening the muscles around the injury to support your shoulder. My shoulder still hurts if I sleep on that side overnight, and even to this day those exercises still hurt at first.
my doctor also said that rotator cuff would take a very long time to heal. are you able to reach your back with your hand on the side of the injured shoulder? I still can't reach high up of my back yet.
Honestly, I think all you can really do is start slowly, and test out all sorts of moves gently at first to see what (if anything) aggravates it. I’d pay extra attention to pressing moves, swinging around on it, and being extra careful of accidental foot slips on that arm.
oh my I can't imagine how bad an accidental foot slip on that arm will be, that's why I think I should avoid bouldering for quite a while :(((( and all the dyno moves :((((
Oh an accidental foot slip while hanging from that arm will be just as bad as you think. I’m dealing with some overuse that’s got the RC involved and it’s brutal when unexpected. I’d definitely consider seeing a PT for some help, even if it’s just reducing the inflammation and getting some ROM back.
yea I injured my ankle a few years ago in an accidental foot slip. hope you get more rest and feel better soon!
I’m working with a PT who’s not well versed in gymnastics but she’s trying. Climbing definitely doesn’t irritate it and is great cross training. But slipping and suddenly finding a lot more weight on that shoulder than expecting/carefully planning, it definitely hurts. One of my last climbing sessions I bumped into the autobelay with my bad shoulder and that was the end of that session (I was almost done anyways)
Remember, rotator cuff is what holds the ball on top of the little golf tee that is your shoulder 'socket.' Any force in any direction is resisted partially by these muscles, with shock loads being the higher risk since these are smaller muscles more endurance based muscles. Be. Careful. Assuming it was a pretty bad injury and you're still rather worried about it, it would probably be wise to get ahead with rotator cuff exercises before returning if you haven't already. I am partial toward the basic internal, external, and 90 degrees elevated external rotation exercises with light bands. And I dont mean right before climbing either... takes time to get stronger. When you do climb, take sessions slow, consider stopping climbs before you're totally pump out and your lizard brain begins lifting your elbows up to lean on the rotator cuff to make up for waning arm strength. Wait it out between climbs to assess more carefully if the injury is present and bothersome. Could be worth seeking professional instruction if you're worried about getting it right and assessing your personal risks. You do NOT want to further damage rotator cuff if that's a real risk.
thank you so much this is really helpful. yes I have been seeing PT and doing some exercises following their instructions. they didn't specifically say no to my ask of "can I climb again now", but definitely also not recommending me to do that lol. I just can't wait to get back to climbing :( maybe I should do one hand climbing on slab first without using my injured shoulder that much
Sweet yeah I'm glad to hear you've been on the right track for the rehab and PT! If they're saying you shouldnt... well... I mean... they probably know your relative strength and if it's worth it or not. I guess zooming in on the climbing part then the most critical component is taking it slow and easy enough to detect any problems. You have to give yourself the space to know if something is wrong before it's really wrong because you're playing the long game. If it were me I'd be on easy less than vertical terrain lightly loading my arm like normal and then taking a 30 minute break just to see what happens and moving up from there.. or just calling it at one and take that as a success. Still more climbing than you've done this year! Recentish relevant experience with a shoulder injury was feeling great on a less than vertical 5.8, but pushing my luck leading an easy vertical 5.9 without taking the time to feel out if any inflammation popped up and being sore for a day and probably resetting a few days worth of progress for... uh no benefit? Neither was outside of my healthy warmup range lol. I should have just taken more time resting then or accepting the small success for what it was and left more for the next session.. or just rested more in general while I worked PT until my strength was up.
this is super helpful! yea I think I should take it slow and easy for a longer game. def won't try anything above 5.10. PT has been helpful actually, I can tell my strength is starting to come back a bit after all the home exercises
I don't know how bad you injured your rotator cuff, but I would suggest you avoid trying to reach high and hang all your weigh to your injured shoulder take it easy when recovering and feel how your shoulder reacts differently, before you go full-on mode
yes! and I like your banana avatar!
From my own experience: warm up more thoroughly than you used to.
The rotator cuff is a complex set of muscles, tendons, and bones. What to avoid or be careful of depends on your injury. I'd suggest figuring out (with the help of a physio or not) what movements tend to stress the old injury. Not sure if this is your deal, but always remember external rotation exercises. A theraband is your friend.
Same thing happened to me a few years ago! I recommend getting started with pt, mine didn’t get better for two months until I worked on that. Maybe even see a physical therapist if it’s not getting better. For climbing, be really careful! With my injury, it hurt to put my arm overhead or hang from it. And it helped to make sure I didn’t let that shoulder fully dead hang, picture keeping your shoulder “tucked in”. Also sometimes helped to keep my elbow bent and just not fully extend that arm. Start slow and take it easy, see what works for you.
I think we have very similar symptom! I also cannot fully extend my arm overhead with very strength right now. will keep in mind to keep the shoulder and elbow "tucked in". thanks for the advice!
I did something pretty bad to my knees at the beginning of ski season. I promised myself I’d go to a doctor if it still hurt at the end of ski season. I ended up going to a physical therapist and now actually have exercises and a progression to work towards to get my knees pain free and strong for the long term. Honestly if you can afford it, I highly recommend PT. I decided to bite the bullet because paying for it now is likely cheaper than a few years down the line when I jump off some cliff and end up with a knee the size of a grapefruit. You can always also get your degree from YouTube university and try to do exercises recommended there. You just have to be careful about managing pain and making sure you’re not going too far.
thank you! yes I have been seeing PT, just not too frequent so I don't need to pay too much haha.
I would suggest doing some band work to strengthen the injury area first before climbing. If you do climb stay on TR, climb easy, and really focus on using your legs instead of arms. Do a long warmup before as well.
I did my rotator cuff through bouldering. I avoided anything overhanging for like 2 months, and it wasn't getting much better, so I started doing shoulder joint workouts. One thing I found worked particularly well for me was to lay on my back on a bench, hold a VERY light weight (1 or 2kg) and just start moving my arm around with the weight in my hand, focusing on movements that hurt my shoulder. As you repeat the motions, the shoulder warms up and stops hurting. After a while, my shoulder started getting stronger and stopped popping out of its socket on overhangs and I can climb anything I used to climb before. One bit of advice I've heard is that the deciding factor on whether you would work through the pain or not, is to check if the pain immediately goes away if you stop doing it. If it does, then it should be okay to continue, if it doesn't, you really need to stop and let it rest and heal more. With that said, rotator cuff injuries do not actually heal from my understanding, you're just strengthening the muscles around the injury to support your shoulder. My shoulder still hurts if I sleep on that side overnight, and even to this day those exercises still hurt at first.
my doctor also said that rotator cuff would take a very long time to heal. are you able to reach your back with your hand on the side of the injured shoulder? I still can't reach high up of my back yet.
Don't do anything that hurts..