Post: #1

I donno how the fuck I got this injury, but now it's been like 4 weeks since I last did military and bench presses. I am not exactly sure if it's a triceps or rotator cuff injury. Yesterday I did dumbell triceps extensions, triceps pushdowns and bench dips without any pain at all, but I couldn't do dumbell presses even with the lightest weights. I am absolutely certain it's not a serious injury but it's still not healing, so I was wondering if Multivitamins would help.

Post: #2

4 Weeks? I recommend seeing a doctor, Man.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #3

(11-13-2012 06:56 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  4 Weeks? I recommend seeing a doctor, Man.

Maybe it's 3 weeks, I am not a 100% sure. What about taking Glucosamine?

Post: #4

Where's your pain?
What did you do to cause the pain?
What else aggravates the pain?

Post: #5

Seems weird you don't know if the injury is in your triceps or shoulder..... but consider taking fish oil and bromelain to help with the pain. You could also rub a salve with the herb comfrey in it on the injured area to speed up the recovery.

Post: #6

I had a rotator cuff injury(similar symptoms to yours), but I'm almost completely over it after 6 months of working around it.There are stretches, but resistance bands did better for me.

Post: #7

My right rotator has been killing me for years. At one point I was benching 350ish, now I am down to 315 on a good week.

My system now is that I grab a 2 1/2 or 5 lb weight and stretch the crap out of my shoulder before I bench press. I will sometimes even take up to 20 minutes before lifting, and even between sets.

If you go to the doctor he is going to see $$ and tell you u need surgery.

I also found that resting made it worse for me, I even tried benching twice a week and it actually helped.


captain power

Post: #8

Some general advice on the issue:

I have seen plenty of bodybuilders who have horrible shoulders.

The key is to ALWAYS strength the rotator cuff with proper scapular stabilisation (this often means squeezing the shoulder blades while performing cuff strengthening).

Often the reason you develop shoulder pain is the deltoids overpower the rotator cuff (deeper muscles) which cause the humeral head to superiorly translate (i.e move up). This then causes impingement and pain.

It is CRUCIAL to not only strengthen the internal/external rotators but also retrain the shoulder blade position to 'unlock' the shoulder. Just look at how guys who ONLY train chest and upper arms walk around - when I see that posture I know I'll be making some money off his shoulders shortly.

An exercise I give with great effect is to literally squeeze your shoulder blades BACK while lifting a straight arm (no more than 60deg forward flexion) - and maintain the squeeze.

Another terrific exercise which I'm sure will help the OP is the 'adduction' exercise with a band (below). This retrains part of the cuff to help keep the humeral head DOWN and in position (without over-strengthening the deltoids).

Post: #9

(11-13-2012 06:39 PM)AlbertoDelMuerto Wrote:  I donno how the fuck I got this injury, but now it's been like 4 weeks since I last did military and bench presses. I am not exactly sure if it's a triceps or rotator cuff injury. Yesterday I did dumbell triceps extensions, triceps pushdowns and bench dips without any pain at all, but I couldn't do dumbell presses even with the lightest weights. I am absolutely certain it's not a serious injury but it's still not healing, so I was wondering if Multivitamins would help.

If you can do a tricep extension without pain it's unlikely your tricep is involved.

You haven't really given us much info to work on: Where is the pain? On what part of the movement do you have pain/failure? If it's right at the start of the press, it sounds like rotator cuff.

Post: #10

I think your rotor cuffs (maybe both of them) are screwed man. Your options basically depend on whether you have insurance or not. I'll assume you don't and write what I'd do. If you have insurance, by all means get it checked out!

What I recommend is a slow rehab of wall pushups, arm circles, and handstands. Basically stand two feet from a wall, lean forwards, and do those easy pushups.

Then progress into regular pushups and dips and that sort of thing.

Don't do handstands unless you can lift your hands above your head and press onto a ceiling or doorframe without pain.

This is basically ripped out of convict conditioning but I think it ought to help after a month or three. Handstands and handstand pushups are not as hard on the shoulders because there's a restricted range of potential motion (i.e, your head).

Post: #11

Egoscue. Learn it. Practice everyday.

Post: #12

you need to strengthen the cuffs, ideally using a light weight as possible and slowly increasing to about 5kg in a few weeks.

Post: #13

Strengthening could help but proper body alignment is key to being pain free. Enter egoscue.

Post: #14

Also before you get back into presses do handstands and handstand push-ups.

Post: #15

Go see a doctor so you can have that examined and hope it isnt something crucial that would require surgery. In any case go make sure before the injury and pain get worse.

Post: #16

A few weeks ago, I was doing kick-boxing and heavy dumbell presses, and next thing I know my shoulders and triceps were extremely sore the next day.

It is really hard to pinpoint the location of the pain, but when I do pushups it hurts on the back of my right arm (triceps long head) & right rotator cuff. I recently started taking Vitamin B-Complex, but ain't helping.

Post: #17

(11-14-2012 08:57 AM)MidniteSpecial Wrote:  Also before you get back into presses do handstands and handstand push-ups.

I could never do handstands, as I always had weak shoulders.

Post: #18

(11-17-2012 09:09 PM)AlbertoDelMuerto Wrote:  A few weeks ago, I was doing kick-boxing and heavy dumbell presses, and next thing I know my shoulders and triceps were extremely sore the next day.

It is really hard to pinpoint the location of the pain, but when I do pushups it hurts on the back of my right arm (triceps long head) & right rotator cuff. I recently started taking Vitamin B-Complex, but ain't helping.

If you're now willing to go straight to the doctor: Try rest and a 5 day course of ibuprofen 400 mg three times a day and paracetamol 1 g three times a day. This will knock out the inflammation-pain-inflammation cycle and give your muscles a window of opportunity to regenerate.

If that doesn't sort it out, you'll need a doctor to give you a formal opinion

Post: #19

I went to a physio Alberto who figured out exactly what the problem was and told me the exercises to do to strengthen those muscles, I had rotator cuff issues a few months into doing Muay Thai and BJJ which over time developed into back issues. Now i rarely get these injuries, I'd never done combat sports before so in all reality had probably never used some muscles to the extent that i did in those sessions.

Post: #20

When is the best time to do rotator cuff excercises? I usually do them right before lifting as it helps me warm up, but I wonder if that defeats the purpose. Should I be doing them on off days instead?