what did i do to my rotator cuff?

G

gangster33

Rookie
I started strengthening my rotator cuff which is part of my fitness programme. It said to start off with 4 pounds max but i only had a 5 pound dumbell so i used it anyway. I felt some pain the next day.

Now when i serve and hit my fh i could feel some pain in my shoulder. I also feel pain when i push some areas around my shoulder.

What did i do to it? How long would it take to heal?
thanks
 
Maybe you rotated your rotator cuff? (lol I hurt my rotator before and my friend was like "what's wrong? rotate your rotator cuff?" lol)

Like Rickson said, ice it and try not to move it a lot.
 
adding to rickson.

Put down the racket and weights!!

nothing worse that exacerbating (worsening) the situation by stupidly stressing it more.

most pains will heal in time. prolly a week or 2. if it's still there i would definitely go see doctor.

and when you do start training again start slower, do less if you have to prevent getting injured again.

my rotator cuff pops when i move it certain ways. it's been like that for years now after playing tennis one day. but i stupidly kept playing thinking it was nothing. don't be like me!, be smarter!
 
But i thought stretching was important for recovery??
If i feel very very little pain during groundstrokes, should i continue playing casually with no serving?
 
Absolutely untrue! Stretching is important for improving range of motion after you've recovered. You'll develop some scar tissue at the injury site so you'll want to improve your range of motion, but guess what happens when you stetch a strained muscle. You further strain the muscle. Wait until your fully healed before you start a stretching regimen. The 2 biggest mistakes people make when they're injured are they apply heat to the injury site and they stretch. They may sound like the right things to do, but they're only right once you've recovered. And for you last question. No, playing with an injury only prolongs the injury so if you want to play painless tennis sooner than later, don't play tennis at all for now.
 
gentle movement. no need to stretch unless it is stiff and shortened which you will only know in a few weeks time. best recovery is ice and rest.

you have heard all the above people as well. if it is still painful in two weeks after injury and you have done the above (rest and ice) then see a doc.
 
Gangster33-How old are you and what rotator cuff exercises did you do and how many sets and reps? When doing cuff exercises, always best to start with 3 lbs. at first , doing only 2-3 exercises, 2 sets of 10-15 reps and see how you feel the next day. Real easy to do too much at first and feel pain next day. Continue to ice, and take advil, and if pain is not too bad can probably gently stretch, but only if pain is mild. You should be fine in a few days.
 
Gangster33-You used too much weight! The article says to start off with 3 lbs. and you used 5. Continue to ice , especially after playing and warm up and gently stretch area if discomfort is mild before you play. If pain is more severe, stop playing, continue to ice and take advil until pain goes away. Next time you do the cuff exercises do only one set with just 3 lbs. and adjust based on how you feel the next day. Even with 3 lbs you may feel mild pain which is not unusual when doing cuff exercises but should go away soon and should not prevent you from playing-good luck!
 
Might be strain in labrum

You may have suffered some small trauma in the labrum, inside the cuff assembly. Reps will work for you, not increasing the weight. Rest the joint for 2-3 weeks, then start slow and small.
 
i've already rested and iced it for a week now. Shoulder is mildly sore but the area between my neck and right shoulder above the chest is kinda painful. Is that normal for a rotator cuff injury?
 
A rotator cuff injury is a nasty one to have. It has kept sharapova out for 6 months now. My coach tore his rotator cuff when he slipped and propped himself up on the edge of a table. He's been out for almost a year now and following surgery (which he said was more painful than all three of his knee surgeries combined) he has had to go through intensely painful physical therapy. Get this checked out for sure even if you don't think its anything big, because thats exactly what happened with my coach. This is really a terrible injury to have so I wouldn't mess around with it until I knew everything was right.
 
Gang, what happened was that your supporting muscles overcompensated for your injury and now the supporting area has become slightly strained. This is not uncommon for an injury, but now you should ice the newly swollen area too. Now you know why you're supposed to rest an injured muscle. You're creating new injury sites because the supporting muscles have to pick up more slack than usual. BTW, don't stretch.
 
i just went to my physio and he said my interior shoulder muscle was alot stronger than my exterior which means imbalance, which means pain. He also said the pain was a muscle pain, not joint pain. He said i should start training my exterior shoulder muscle by doing the exercise where you lie on your side.
I'm glad it wasn't a serious injury. Thanks for all the help.
 
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A lot of people have that kind of imbalance from overemphasizing the muscles in front. Did your physio give you any tips on how to recognize the imbalance and how to remedy it?
 
he told me i would be fine if i strengthen my exterior shoulder muscle and he gave me an exercise for it. I think this muscle is the deltoid ? Because after the shoulder workout thats where its sore.
 
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