| Having injured my rotator cuff about six months back I | | | | exercises and sorting out injured shoulders. I was |
| have spent a great deal of my time researching | | | | sceptical because my arm was painful enough to stop |
| shoulder injuries and shoulder exercises on the internet | | | | me doing most things and the thought of doing |
| and have discovered that exercise alone can cure a | | | | shoulder exercises seemed absurd but I signed up to |
| huge proportion of shoulder injuries. | | | | his programme and started with small exercises on a |
| At the end of last year I tore my left rotator cuff. It | | | | daily basis. It is important not to experience pain when |
| was a nasty tear and I ended up with an impinged | | | | exercising as any pain shows that you are damaging |
| tendon. Basically this tendon got inflamed after I lifted | | | | the muscles further so the programme started slowly |
| something that was too heavy and pulled one of the | | | | and built up over about six weeks until I found myself |
| muscles in my rotator cuff. Because it was inflamed it | | | | with a pain free shoulder that had its full range of |
| was getting pinched or impinged by my collar bone. | | | | movement restored. |
| The pain was excruciating. | | | | Ten weeks on and I have just played my first round of |
| Every time I moved my shoulder in certain directions | | | | golf. The shoulder exercises have not only sorted out |
| my tendon was getting worn against the bone. I tried a | | | | my shoulder injury but they also seem to have |
| three month course of Ibuprofen, a steroid injection into | | | | improved my swing, or is that just wishful thinking? |
| the muscle and cold compresses to reduce the | | | | How did it work? I think that as we get older our |
| swelling. | | | | posture changes, we don't stand as straight as we |
| All of them gave some relief and reduced the | | | | used to, we move differently to when we were |
| symptoms but nothing sorted it out for me. In the end I | | | | younger. I think the shoulder exercises have woken up |
| was offered surgery to shave away a small piece of | | | | some lazy muscles and changed my posture, only |
| my collar bone to free up the tendon so that it could | | | | slightly, but enough to free up the problem muscles. |
| heal. Being based in England, with the NHS waiting lists, | | | | Would I recommend exercise as a therapy for a |
| the operation date was three months away and | | | | damaged shoulder? Definitely! Not every shoulder |
| having already suffered three months of pain and | | | | injury will respond to exercise. Common sense would |
| discomfort I was reluctant to wait that long. | | | | say that it must depend on what you have managed |
| So I started my research on shoulder injuries and | | | | to do to yourself but ten weeks after I was told that |
| shoulder exercise and came across the website of an | | | | surgery was the answer I am pain free and feel great. |
| American Physiotherapist who specialises in shoulder | | | | The surgery is postponed indefinitely at the moment. |