Rehab After Injury (Tearing Rotator Cuff)
Rehabbing After a Rotator Cuff Tear
wMost people assume that personal trainers are just for people who want to lose fat or gain muscle, but a large part of our job is improving people's quality of lif,e from helping people in their seventies to be able to move better, getting rid of chronic back pain, and rehabbing injuries.
After tearing their rotator cuff it's people will suffer from a lack of mobility and strength after tearing their rotator cuff. This is in part because of poor aftercare, but it doesn't have to stay like this.
The NHS is particularly poor when it comes to the aftercare it offers due to a limited budget. I had personal experience with this when I fractured my knee. The NHS was so slow to get me booked in to see a physio, and then there was a massive gap as I was booked in to see them for a second time. I ended up only seeing them once before realising I was better off doing it myself. Fortunately, I had the knowledge to do it, and I regained full strength and mobility in my knee to the point that I can't always remember if it was my right or left knee that I injured.
I currently have a client who has torn his rotator cuff twice. I asked him what aftercare he was given after surgery, and he told me he was given a few exercises, and when he asked them how long it would take, he was told it could take months or years. He did what they told him to do, and the result was that he ended up with was severe strength and mobility issues. The exercises they gave him were inadequate.
When he came to me, he couldn't lift his arm to his side without twisting his body, and couldn't lift his arms overhead. He was in constant pain and was often in agony when he moved it. He hardly got any sleep as a result and lived off painkillers. He wanted to fix it, but hadn't received much help, and didn't know how to improve it, and was worried he would make it worse and injure himself again.
He has been with me for six years now. He has two personal training sessions a week where we work on a combination of strength and mobility work. He was given extra mobility work to be done in between sessions as well.
At the start, he was extremely limited in what strength work he could do. He wasn't able to press anything over his head, or do any exercises where the elbows went past his body, like with the bench press.
To start with, all we did was dumbbell floor presses, split squats, hamstring work, and lots of single-arm back and rear delt work. None of this aggravated his shoulders, and he could perform them safely without having to twist his body. Gradually, over time, as his mobility and strength have improved, we have been able to add more exercises.
The increase in strength and mobility has been remarkable. Most importantly, his quality of life has improved outside the gym. He has gone from not being able to lift his hands high enough to put money in the car park metre to being able to lift his hands overhead and touch each other. Simple daily activities that were difficult before have become much easier, and he finds he's not as limited while playing with his son.
After tearing their rotator cuff it's people will suffer from a lack of mobility and strength after tearing their rotator cuff. This is in part because of poor aftercare, but it doesn't have to stay like this.
The NHS is particularly poor when it comes to the aftercare it offers due to a limited budget. I had personal experience with this when I fractured my knee. The NHS was so slow to get me booked in to see a physio, and then there was a massive gap as I was booked in to see them for a second time. I ended up only seeing them once before realising I was better off doing it myself. Fortunately, I had the knowledge to do it, and I regained full strength and mobility in my knee to the point that I can't always remember if it was my right or left knee that I injured.
I currently have a client who has torn his rotator cuff twice. I asked him what aftercare he was given after surgery, and he told me he was given a few exercises, and when he asked them how long it would take, he was told it could take months or years. He did what they told him to do, and the result was that he ended up with was severe strength and mobility issues. The exercises they gave him were inadequate.
When he came to me, he couldn't lift his arm to his side without twisting his body, and couldn't lift his arms overhead. He was in constant pain and was often in agony when he moved it. He hardly got any sleep as a result and lived off painkillers. He wanted to fix it, but hadn't received much help, and didn't know how to improve it, and was worried he would make it worse and injure himself again.
He has been with me for six years now. He has two personal training sessions a week where we work on a combination of strength and mobility work. He was given extra mobility work to be done in between sessions as well.
At the start, he was extremely limited in what strength work he could do. He wasn't able to press anything over his head, or do any exercises where the elbows went past his body, like with the bench press.
To start with, all we did was dumbbell floor presses, split squats, hamstring work, and lots of single-arm back and rear delt work. None of this aggravated his shoulders, and he could perform them safely without having to twist his body. Gradually, over time, as his mobility and strength have improved, we have been able to add more exercises.
The increase in strength and mobility has been remarkable. Most importantly, his quality of life has improved outside the gym. He has gone from not being able to lift his hands high enough to put money in the car park metre to being able to lift his hands overhead and touch each other. Simple daily activities that were difficult before have become much easier, and he finds he's not as limited while playing with his son.
If you have an old injury that has left you with strength or mobility issues, get in touch and come in for a chat, and see if I can help you. We also have a physio at the gym that I work with.