# Anybody Ride through a rotator cuff tear?



## Groffball (Jun 7, 2008)

Here is my problem. This is my last summer to really ride and I mean ride 5 days a week for a couple hours at a clip. Next summer I will have a little bundle of joy to handle and obviously won't be able to hit the trails as much. I was just down in florida and injured my shoulder which is beleived to be a rotator cuff tear. Has anybody had this problem and just dealt with the pain and rode through it?


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## SurfSailRide (Dec 18, 2008)

Yup. It hurts a lot when you get a big hit to the front end that travels through the fork, into the bars, and ends up jolting your arms... I think a lot of it has to do with how bad the injury is. I hurt mine over thanksgiving, and it still bothers me to this day. That being said, I've found ibuprofen (since the pain is largely caused by inflammation) and rehab (light resistance training and stretching) helps - NO EXERCISES WHERE YOU EXTEND YOUR ARMS ABOVE YOUR HEAD!!! (i.e. "Military Press," etc.).

Currently, I do everything I used to do before the injury (surf, lift heavy free weights, ride my bikes, etc.), but I still notice a sharp pain if I sleep on it wrong, or if I'm careless when using it. I just can't stand to stop everything all together long enough to let it fully heal, and I've also heard that it never really does heal fully. I have good days, and bad days, but a some stretching and advil BEFORE activities that I KNOW will aggravate it helps.

Ask your doctor. I'm not one. Good luck!


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## Dave In Florida (Apr 4, 2007)

I've had strains and minor tears when I used to lift weights (doing military presses oddly enough). I work on cars quite a bit and if I was laying under a car trying to pull on a wrench, very sharp pain. As soon as I would stop trying, the pain would go away. The only way they ever heal is to stop lifting your arm over your head and trying to push/pull hard. Other than that, you're fine. You may feel it pinch some on the trails, but in my non-medical opinion, you aren't going to hurt it any more than it already is (assuming you don't fall wrong, or have to lift your bike up onto the roof of your car). I say ride, if it hurts, it will only be for a second. When you have the baby, let it sit and heal and you should be fine.


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## scoutcat (Mar 30, 2008)

i rode pretty hard for about 2 mos with a tear but eventually had to stop due to pain and serious decrease in range of motion. still attempting rehab now after 8 weeks of zero riding or lifting. if not improved in 2-3 weeks then i will be scoped for surgery. unless you literally cannot hold your arm out laterally and experiencing popping, then you likely dont have a tear. this is one of those injuries that you should get taken care of - i wish i had.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

I tore mine skiing a year ago. I took about 3 weeks off at the end of the ski season, and started biking as soon as things dried out. I could barely lift my arm to even hold the bars, the first few months were rough and I was eating advil like candy. 

I think the cycling helped. I still have pain and weakness in the shoulder, but it is slowly getting better. 

And scoutcat - it depends on the severity of the tear. According to my doc, very few tears are complete, and most respond to therapy instead of surgery. When I injured the arm, I could not lift it at all, now I can almost lift it over my head pain free. It hurts the worst at night.


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## Groffball (Jun 7, 2008)

Thanks for the responses. 

Right now its been a month and a half since I injured it and to be honest biking doesn't really cause me too much pain as long as I don't fall. Its still a struggle to sleep some nights and getting myself dressed is an obstactle but I'm getting through. unfortunatly advil and pretty much any other anti inflamatorys are off limits to me because of another medication I'm on. So I just have to deal with the pain for now.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

> biking doesn't really cause me too much pain as long as I don't fall


I cased a double last summer and caught myself as I bailed off the bike onto the summer baked hardpack. I heard a pop in the same shoulder when I landed sending shearing pain through my whole body...again. I almost threw up on the trail it hurt so bad.

Hopefully this season I'll be able to pull up on the bars with more strength. I've been doing more exercises at the Y to strengthen the shoulder without surgery. My doc is still optimistic about not cutting me.

Too bad about the pain killers. I couldn't do it.


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## dh1 (Aug 28, 2004)

I tore my cuff 15 years ago and live a pretty normal life. There are some things I can't do, but it hasn't made it worth the cost and rehab of surgery (yet). It all depends on how badly you injured yourself.

For me, I can get occasional numbness in my left hand from it while riding. When lifting weights I can actually feel my shoulder moving around in the joint, and if I try real hard, I can dislocate it. Sometimes dislocating doesn't hurt, sometimes it does, sometimes I have problems for a few days after.

Oddly enough my problems with lifting comes from flat and inclined bench and doing pull ups. Military press really isn't that bad for me. I find it helps if I used dumbbells instead of a barbell because it forces you to balance more and you really can't put yourself in a position where you can lift more than your shoulder...it just won't be stable so you won't be able to finish the exercise. Unfortunately for me, the shoulder is the limiting part of my weight lifting. My strength and endurance can handle more weight than my shoulder can support.

I am looking forward to a career change soon that will have better insurance so I can get the surgery to fix it. For a long time, I figured I would live with the pain...but now entering the high 30's I find myself working out harder than when I was in my 20s.

I have done all the PT exercises, ate right, took glucosamine (did nothing for me). What helps the most with me is regular strength exercise.

I tore my shoulder up when I was 19, playing football with some friends in college. Now I am 36.


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## rugger (Jul 26, 2006)

my response would be similar to dh1's. i hurt mine originally playing rugby and it would flare up every year or two for the next ten years. the doc said when you are ready to retire he would fix it because there was no point to fixing it if i was going to keep playing. so i suffered through. sometimes it was okay and sometimes i couldn't lift my arm to shave. near the end i was getting cortisone shots and they worked great for about 12 months or so and then the cycle would start again. 
Never got the surgery and then 13 years after the original tear i did an endo off a teeter totter into a rock pile and while they were doing the surgery to fix the dislocation the doc fixed the rotator cuff. Man - that was heaven Shoulder feels great. Can throw a baseball again. Sleep with no pain. Nice.
I will add that as the father of two i think you should either get the surgery before the baby comes (mama's going to want you to hold that baby - no excuses allowed) or wait. i found no harm in waiting.


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## Groffball (Jun 7, 2008)

Things are looking up. I operate an 18 hole golf course which does require me to play the game. Yesterday was the first day I could swing a club and hold onto it without dropping it in pain. Of course last night and this morning were hell, but it looks like things are getting marginally better and after talking to some of the old farts at the golf course it sounds like I'm good to wait for a while if I just keep pushing through the pain. Of course if I can't start swinging a golf club soon I'm going to have no choice but to get this thing better.

By the way I am 28 yrs old if that makes any difference and I've been completely off pain killers of any type for over a year and its not really that bad. The nice thing is you never have to worry about pushing your body too hard because you can feel ALL the pain.


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