Re: [Paddlewise] Rotator Cuff Injuries

At 05:51 PM 9/22/98 -0500, Robert Cline wrote:

>I'd be pleased to learn what exercises you were given.  How bad was your
>injury?  Did you wait very long before going to the MD?  I've been
>struggling with this thing for about a month now.  The pain is not real
>bad.  It just doesn't go away.
>
For those interested in rotator cuff problems:  I first noticed a problem
with my shoulder while working out with weights.  Though I paddle
irregularly (every 2nd or 3rd weekend, 2 to 4 days at a time) it didn't seem
to bother me then.  I had other problems as well:  achilles tendons, knees,
and hip.  Nothing was really terrible but the achilles and knees kept me
from running and the shoulder kept me from using much weight at the gym.
The doctor did several things.  She sent me to a physical therapist, she
sent me to an arthritist specialist, she took a blood test, and she took
xrays.  The diagnosis was that I did not have arthritis.

The physical therapist gave me several exercises and stretches to do every
day (argh!).  Altogether, they consumed 45 minutes of my day.  However, just
the rotator cuff stuff should only take 20 minutes or so.  Here's what I
got:  First of all, you need a piece of stretchy rubber tubing.  I got mine
from the therapist people but I've seen them at health clubs, gyms, and
aerobics classes so they must be widely available at workout gear stores.
The thing is about 3 feet long, 1/3 to 1/2 inch in diameter, hollow, with
loops at either end for your hand, a doorknob, etc.  Mine just is tied at
the end to make the loops.  I've seen others with real handles.  Their
probably the deluxe version.

First exercise:  Hook one end of your rubber (sorry!) onto a doorknob,
(close the door), hold the other end with your hand, and stand at a
right-angle to the doorknob so that your problem shoulder is closest to the
door.  Your upper arm should be against your side and your lower arm at a
right angle to your body.  It's like you're using your lower arm as a
turnstile.  The length of rubber should be somewhat taut.  Now, keep your
upper arm against your body and rotate your lower arm across the front of
your body so at the end it touches and is across your stomach.  Don't rotate
your body.  Hold for 1 second and then rotate your arm back to the starting
position.  My therapist told me to hold a towel against my side with my
upper arm.  I think this was to keep me from moving the upper arm out from
my body.  That's an important part.  Do 15 of these.  Adjust where you stand
so that there's a fair amount of effort involved to rotate your arm across
in front of your body.  However, with this exercise and all the rest, if you
experience pain, back off.  It may cause some discomfort but should not
cause pain.

Second exercise:  After completing the first exercise, turn around 180
degrees so that your good shoulder is closest to the door.  Do the same as
before but as you bring your lower arm out from your stomach, keep going
past the straight out point so that it's pointing away from the doorknob.
Don't worry if you can't rotate a full 180 degrees from you stomach.  Just
go as far as is comfortable.  Keep the towel held next to your side with
your upper arm.  With this exercise, the rubber is stretching as you rotate
your arm away from your stomach rather than as you rotate toward your
stomach.  Once you've rotated the upper arm as far out as you can (keep that
upper arm against your side!), hold for one second and then rotate it back
to your stomach.  With each of these exercises, they should be done slowly.
Take a second to rotate one way, a second to hold, and a second to rotate
back.  As with the first exercise, do 15 of these.  Key points:  keep your
upper arm against your side, keep your lower arm at 90 degrees, thumb up,
like a turnstile.

Third exercise:  After completing the second exercise, face the door with
your elbow on the arm you're working straight and the arm slightly toward
the door with the length of rubber somewhat taut.  Pull the tubing straight
back, somewhat past your body.  Hold it for 1 second and then return to the
starting position.  Repeat for a total of 15 times.

Fourth exercise:  Stand on one end of the rubber tubing and the other in
your hand, with your arm at a 90 degree angle.  Bring your hand up while
keeping your arm at a 90 degree angle.  This is a lot like an uppercut
punch.  Stop when your hand is at shoulder height.  Hold for 1 second and
then return to the starting position.  Do this 15 times.

Fifth exercise:  While still standing on one end of your tubing, do a bicep
curl.  Keep your upper arm against your side.  Your palm should face upward.
Hold for 1 second at the top of the curl and then slowly return to the
starting position.  Fifteen reps.

The next two are stretches.  The first works on your posture.  Stand with
your arms down by your sides.  Squeeze your shoulder blades together and
hold for 5 seconds, then let your arms relax to your side.  While doing
these, stand straight and don't raise your shoulders.  Just let them go back
as you squeeze your shoulder blades together.

The second stretch works on stretching your shoulders back.  Stand in a
corner with your arms raised like in the old westerns when the bad guys
raised their hands after the sheriff got the drop on them:  Upper arms
perpendicular to the body, lower arms parallel to the body.  Put your upper
arms against the two walls that make up the corner.  You should be standing
a foot to a foot and a half out from the corner.  Next, slowly lean in
towards the corner.  Keep your back straight and your chin tucked back.
Eventually, you may be able to touch the wall with your chest.  Hold this
stretch for 30 to 60 seconds.

I hope this helps those with rotator cuff problems.  I've had pretty good
results.  Only one of my shoulders bothered me so I only work one arm.  If
you've got problems on both sides, I guess it may take you 30 or 40 minutes
to do these.  I've found that if I start skipping this stuff on some days I
start losing the benefits of it.  If you really want to give it a fair test,
you need to do it 7 days a week.  With the rubber tubing, if you experience
pain, you can make the stretch of the rubber as light as needed.
Bill Ridlon
Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network

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