Rotator Cuff (6 months later)

First off, I am in no way hating or talking shit about people who do cross-fit, barefoot marathons, or any other Paleo type shit, but I think Joe Rogan said it best when he said something along the lines of "doing cross-fit to essentially be the best at working out" With that said I began incorporating cross-fit workouts into my training mainly because (as all people who train for fights know) there just isn't enough hours in the day to train all aspects of MMA, let alone weight lifting/cardio workouts (Especially with school/work, etc.)

Long story short, after about a year of consistently doing these type of workouts I developed some kind of strain in my shoulder/trap area. It didn't seem to major and I was still able to workout with the occasional pain here and there and then one day (6 months ago now) I was doing an intense shoulder burnout during a cross-fit workout and I felt an extremely agonizing pain in right shoulder. Over the weekend I felt it go to shit. Here I am now 6 months later with the same issue and pain that never goes away. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I don't need surgery but I'm already done with physical therapy and I'm due back for an MRI next week which will determine how bad it is and the type of surgery needed.

During these past few months I've been doing tons of research and talking to people in physical therapy, gyms, and my workplace about rotator cuff issues and many regret having surgery. Guess it's one of those procedures that isn't exactly guaranteed to fix anything. In some cases it actually makes things worse and takes away strength, dexterity, and range of motion.

Again, I'm not bashing cross-fit or any aspect of our beloved sport, but listen to your body and don't overdue things like I did. This might turn out to be a life altering injury for me and I wouldn't wish this happen to anyone else.

It's true when they say you don't know how good you have it until it's gone, I'd do anything to be able to fight again now :(

sorry to hear about the injury dude, hopefully they figure out a way to help you out or at least get rid of the pain

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How old are you? My dads rotator rotator cuff surgery improved his life tremendously.

Like old Judo guys say, once your shoulders and knees are gone, they're gone!

I injured my rotator cuff years ago and every now and again it comes back to haunt me. Best advice I can give is when it hurts, do NOTHING!!! Even if you wanna train more than anything, it comes at a price, and that price is your rotator cuff health.

Once it's fine and you can use it again, prehab exercises all day long! Strengthen the muscles around the shoulder, especially the posterior deltiod.

So long story short, just rest.

I have heard good and bad about rotator cuff surgery. There is a thread on it here somewhere.
I am one of the fortunate ones, where Jiu Jitsu and weight training seemed to have helped my chronically dislocating shoulder more than anything.

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Originally Posted by stevenbalmer

sorry to hear about the injury dude, hopefully they figure out a way to help you out or at least get rid of the pain

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Thanks Brother.

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Originally Posted by Aaron Gustaveson

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How old are you? My dads rotator rotator cuff surgery improved his life tremendously.

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I just turned 25. Your dad might have healed, but does he require a lot of flexibility, strength, range of motion etc. on a daily basis like someone who trains every day? My biggest fear would be losing all of that.

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Originally Posted by Kurzy

I have heard good and bad about rotator cuff surgery. There is a thread on it here somewhere.
I am one of the fortunate ones, where Jiu Jitsu and weight training seemed to have helped my chronically dislocating shoulder more than anything.

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Did you have surgery for it? What kind?

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Originally Posted by Eddie.Jitsu

Did you have surgery for it? What kind?

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I didn't. When I got into JJ a year ago, my shoulder was falling out of joint on me in my sleep at night. After a few months it was feeling stronger, and now days only extremely rigorous things will make it fall out. (Drunken cartwheels, etc)
It's stronger now than it has been in years (I'm 40).

I was mixed up. The threads I was thinking about were on Sherdog. They are worth reading even though the place is full of douchebags.

In this thread in post #10 I talk about a paricular exercise that helped my shoulder:
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f12...e-bjj-2381863/

This thread I posted a picture of the rotator cuff: http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f12...lling-2323585/


http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f12...lling-2323585/

my dad just turned 52. He works a very physical job and hikes/fishes the high sierras regularly not to mention he does pullups and pushups. The surgery improved his range of motion and flexibility, you just have to do your physical therapy. #1 and this is a million times more important than any other factor, get a good surgeon.

Sorry I haven't responded guys, been dealing with a hectic work/school schedule.

As of right now, I've gone back to the physical therapist and completed 3 months of PT with no real improvement. I've also returned to my actual Sports Medicine Dr. and I STILL HAVEN'T been given an MRI. They said an MRI would only be necessary if I opt for the surgery and only after I try to naturally heal my Rotator Cuff through alternative means. In a way, I do agree with them and would rather not have surgery if there's a chance I could heal up, but it's going on over 5 months now and it doesn't seem to be improving, even with all the PT and exercises. Now I would be lying if I said I was babying my shoulder and not moving it at all, but I'm also not being ignorant about it either. I'm only doing really light exercises like running, shadowboxing, and pushups here and there, but nothing too strenuous. I have not rolled, or wrestled/grappled throughout the entire 5 months either. I'm starting to get very impatient and I've also complained to Kaiser Permanente about my concern and they keep giving me the run-around (procedure this, you're young that, surgery is last resort, etc.)

I'm definitely changing my insurance to a PPO provider after this, Kaiser has pissed me off so many times and many of their "Doctors" could give 2 shits about their patients because they're HMO and Union employees who will collect a check regardless of the shitty service they provide. Anyone in the So-Cal area know of any shoulder specialist?

6 months without my beloved MMA counterpart has put a huge dent on my quality of life, I just hope I get some answers soon.

Anybody under 35 is gonna get the too young run around. Sucks. I had some serious nerve/muscular issues that took me out for a year. All the doctors treated me like a pill junkie. It was extremely annoying. My entire upper left side atrophied and I was lopsided as hell. It all eventually returned. I was 27ish.

With serious muscular injuries I just think of Matt Sera and Tra Telligman. They are completely missing entire muscles and still make it work. Big difference between healed trauma and a constant state of injury.

Good luck man.

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Originally Posted by bobby rivers

Anybody under 35 is gonna get the too young run around. Sucks. I had some serious nerve/muscular issues that took me out for a year. All the doctors treated me like a pill junkie. It was extremely annoying. My entire upper left side atrophied and I was lopsided as hell. It all eventually returned. I was 27ish.

With serious muscular injuries I just think of Matt Sera and Tra Telligman. They are completely missing entire muscles and still make it work. Big difference between healed trauma and a constant state of injury.

Good luck man.

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Was that the issue with Matt Serra's bicep? He always makes jokes about it but I never knew what lead to it taking that shape.

Now that I am getting older and the number of injuries I have had is increasing, the best advice I can give you is to find a doctor in the field who has an athletic background or does BJJ/MMA/martial arts/wrestles etc. it took me awhile to find them. They understand what you are doing to your body when you describe your workouts and can seem to relate to what you want to do and can advise you on the best methods of recovery.

I used to (a long time ago) be into powerlifting. I didn't think it was that bad (rotator) until I couldn't pull the toggle on the right side of my parachute. I was using the mindset to work through the pain which almost killed me. An eye opening experience to say the least. The first DR I went to gave me same kind of anti inflammatory which I had an allergic reaction to. Second guy was a joke, third guy I still use 20 years later. My .02 Is to rest, take some time off. Go to a sports team in your area and see what doctors they use, that is what I did to finally find a good one. Insist on second opinions. keep your medical records with you, I have copies of my x-rays, MRI's, lab tests, etc. I have had hospitals close and doctors offices shut that I have used and the records are no longer available for comparison. I keep digital and paper files, after all, no one cares about my well being more than me. I have an HMO so I feel your pain in getting the referrals done. Maybe think about switching primary care providers to a DR that truly cares. You will know when you find one, the waiting room will be packed and the appointments will be hard to get. I would rather wait a month for a good appointment then get an appointment in a day or two with someone who is just going through the motions.