Shoulder injury diagnosis

[Jack the(Forehand)Ripper]

I was in the semi finals of my tournament today playing against the number 1 seed (I played number 4). We were warming up and I was fine until we hit a few serves. I could detect some pain but nothing too bad. I was able to do my full motion without it really getting in the way. As we progressed through the match, I was serving at 2-3 and my shoulder was absolutely killing me. I had to retire at 15-0. I feel like I could've won had I been 100%. I also forefeited my consolation match that was scheduled three hours later. I feel pain when I move my arm out and across my body or try to reach behind my back. Any clues on what this could be? Shoulder impingement?

This is the second tournament in a row I've had to forfeit due to injury (Last one was an ankle sprain, bad slide on clay). I have a few small weights (5 and 10 lbs) and some resistance bands in my possession. Once my shoulder gets better I would like to start training to increase my shoulder strength up to try to prevent this from happening again. I'm also up for chest and leg exercises. I'm in pretty good shape, 5'7" 140 lbs. If anyone has any specific exercises I could do, I'm listening. Having to quit sucks.

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[mikeler]

Check out CharlieFedererer's thrower's ten and also Google rotator cuff exercises.

 

[BMC9670]

Did you have any issue prior to this incident? If not, I'd stop playing immediately and go to the doctor. Any sudden onset of sharp pain might indicate a tear of some sort. Play it safe, get it checked out.

 

[Jack the(Forehand)Ripper]

Pain's completely gone now. Not a clue what happened, but staying off it for a week was the right choice.

 

[Doulers]

I was in the semi finals of my tournament today playing against the number 1 seed (I played number 4). We were warming up and I was fine until we hit a few serves. I could detect some pain but nothing too bad. I was able to do my full motion without it really getting in the way. As we progressed through the match, I was serving at 2-3 and my shoulder was absolutely killing me. I had to retire at 15-0. I feel like I could've won had I been 100%. I also forefeited my consolation match that was scheduled three hours later. I feel pain when I move my arm out and across my body or try to reach behind my back. Any clues on what this could be? Shoulder impingement?

This is the second tournament in a row I've had to forfeit due to injury (Last one was an ankle sprain, bad slide on clay). I have a few small weights (5 and 10 lbs) and some resistance bands in my possession. Once my shoulder gets better I would like to start training to increase my shoulder strength up to try to prevent this from happening again. I'm also up for chest and leg exercises. I'm in pretty good shape, 5'7" 140 lbs. If anyone has any specific exercises I could do, I'm listening. Having to quit sucks.

Best regards,
Paul.

You might have what is called a SLAP tear. This is not a tear of the rotator cuff muscles, but rather a ring of cartilage in the shoulder called the labrum. Impingement generally hurts if you are reaching for something well over your head such as reaching for something on a high shelf. You will feel a pinch on the top of your shoulder. But feeling pain when you "move your arm out and across your body or try to reach behind the back" would be more indicative of a SLAP tear. I just had surgery on July 7, 2011 for a SLAP tear and a Bankart lesion. A SLAP lesion is a tear on the upper half of the labrum and a Bankart lesion is a similar tear but on the bottom half of the labrum. I had the exact same pain with the type of movements you describe reaching across the body and behind my back. Rest of my game was okay. But over the last 4 to 5 years the tears got worse and I couldn't serve any more. Labrum tears are common in tennis and especially among baseball pitchers. Get it checked by an "MRI arthrogram" which is a special kind of MRI for detecting these kinds of tears. Be careful because SLAP tears often lead to surgery. Maybe if you caught your's early you can rehabit by rest and exercises.