Rotator Cuff Inflammation - Fight Forum - MMA - UFC - Boxing - K1

stickman · 05-09-2008, 01:55 PM

Hey Ya'll,
I kept injuring my right shoulder when rolling. This was a reoccuring injury it seemed, but would usually heal after a day or 2. Recently I took a week off of my training and the pain hasn't gone away. The doctor told me i have rotator cuff syndrome and then i will need to meet with an orthapedic surgeon and get a shot of cortizone and i have to take a month off of training. I almost cried- i had big plans for May to be a hardcore month of training, i have my test for my first BJJ stripe coming up in a week, and I had recently started training in boxing and vale tudo at a new gymn. Any comments/ suggestions/ encouragement, is it really that bad? do I have to refrain from training, if i do will it make it a lot worse? ANy experienced people here that have had the same problem?

Gygax · 05-09-2008, 03:02 PM

First off, who gave you the diagnosis? It obviously wasn't an orthopedic, so that diagnosis is weak at best. General practice docs will generally err on the side of caution and overestimate recovery times.

See the ortho and you'll get a much more straight forward, realistic answer. Is it really RC inflammation/tendinitis? Or is it something more severe like a Bankart or labral tear? Or something even more minor?

Generally speaking, a steroid/cortisone injection does not require a month of rest. With my patients, we generally give them 2-3 days off before resuming normal activity. Physical therapy would also be a huge help, as I'm sure Smashing Machine would agree.

SmashingMachine · 05-10-2008, 08:50 PM

Yes, I would agree. Like Gygax said, see the orthopedic doc 1st. He'll at least be able to give you an accurate idea of what is going on. 2-3 days after a Cortisone shot and you should be able to resume activity...or Physical Therapy; which is what I'd recommend. Take advantage of the decreased inflammation, from the shot, and get it rehabed. It would probably only take a few visits over a couple weeks to get a good base established and then they'd probably set you up with your own home exercise program to continue rehabing it at home. Building up the muscles of your upper back, around your shoulder blades, is also a good idea, in addition to strengthening the rotator cuff. As part of your shoulder blade, the glenoid fossa, makes up the "cup" of your shoulder joint. It's the thing the ball of the humerus spins on...and the rotator cuff puts it in best position. Long story short, if the glenoid is where it belongs it'll place less stress on the rotator cuff. Of course, this is all provided that all that is going on is tendonitis/bursitis. Ice would be agood idea after your workouts too. Just make sure to not ice over bare skin, place a towel between the ice and your skin. 20 mins ice, 20 mins off and then ice repeat. Ice loses it's max effectiveness after 20 mins. But first and foremost, go see the Ortho. You have to know what is going on for sure before you can begin treating it.