Common Shoulder Injuries

Many common shoulder injuries happen to even the fittest athletes, and they can be some of the most debilitating and painful injuries to have to overcome. Anyone engaged in weight lifting must pay particular attention to shoulder care, due to the immense stresses borne by your shoulders during your workouts.

Whether you’re playing baseball, football, rugby or training in martial arts, shoulder injuries can strike without warning and sideline you for weeks or even months. However, just like any other part of your body, staying flexible and training properly can prevent shoulder injuries.

In this article we're going to take a glimpse of some of the most common shoulder injuries for athletes. By learning about the most common shoulder injuries, you’ll be able to take steps to prevent them.

Shoulder Arthritis

Arthritis can strike any joint, but it does show up in joints that are frequently used. Basically, the cartilage in your shoulder is worn down, which causes inflammation and loss of movement, particularly in the morning.

Weight lifters and pitchers in baseball are prime examples of an athlete who is more likely to suffer from this condition, because of the stress they put on the shoulder joint. In less severe cases, once the shoulder is moved around a bit, the pain and stiffness go away.

Using anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, Motrin and Advil, to treat shoulder arthritis is standard practice. Doing exercises that will help strengthen the muscles that support the shoulder is also advised. Shoulder shrugs, push-ups and similar exercises are good examples of exercises that will help strengthen the shoulder area.

Rotator Cuff Injury

The rotator cuff is an integral part of your shoulder. The term refers to the tendons and muscles in your shoulder that allow you to move your arm up and down. Without it, your arm would be pretty much useless. There are four muscles in your rotator cuff, and these are the teres minor, subscapularis, infraspinatus and the supraspinatus muscles. Since your rotator cuff contains four muscles and multiple tendons, it follows that there is a lot of delicate “stuff” in there that could be injured by liftingweights or during various sporting activities.

A rotator cuff can become inflamed, which is the best possible injury, if you can describe any shoulder injury as 'good.' Just resting the injured shoulder, and taking anti-inflammatory drugs will bring down the swelling, and you should be as good as new in a few months.

A torn rotator cuff is the worst case scenario. In most cases, a torn rotator cuff means you’ll need to have surgery to fix the tear, and then endure months of grueling physical therapy in order to strengthen the muscles and regain your flexibility.

Rotator cuff injuries often cause a decreased range of motion, inflammation, swelling and deep achy pain in the shoulder area. If you continue to use your shoulder and ignore the warning signs, there is a good possibility you will also develop shoulder arthritis, compounding the problem.

Strengthening the shoulder area and doing stretches that target your shoulder before you begin to train can often prevent rotator cuff injuries. If you do feel any of the symptoms mentioned above in your shoulder, you should consult a physician immediately.

Dislocated Shoulder

The most common shoulder injury of all is a dislocated shoulder. Dislocated shoulders are usually caused by an impact, which in turn pops the humerus bone from its socket. This type of shoulder injury is common in rough sports, such as rugby, hockey and American football.

Dislocated shoulders can cause intense pain, numbness, swelling and weakness in the arm. If you think you've suffered a dislocated shoulder, you should see your physician immediately. In most cases, they will perform an X-ray and make sure that your shoulder isn't fractured.

The humerus bone will have to be popped back into place, and you'll have to wear a sling to keep your arm immobile for several weeks. Once the pain and swelling decrease, physical therapy is usually a good idea, to help gain back your range of motion and to strengthen the shoulder area, especially if you’re an athlete who depends on their shoulder.

While a dislocated shoulder is a common shoulder injury that isn't life threatening, they do reoccur. Once you've dislocated your shoulder once, it tends to stretch the tendons in your shoulder, making a reoccurrence more likely in the future.

The best thing you can possibly do to prevent these common shoulder injuries is to warm up and strengthen the area around your rotator cuff. You can do this by doing these simple exercises at least twice a week.

• In a sitting position, use 3-5 pound weights and raise your arms to the sides and lower them slowly. Do 3 sets of 10 reps at least twice a week.

• Lie horizontally on your side with a weight in your free hand. Your elbow should be touching your hip, and your arm should be bent at a right angle, holding the weight at the floor. Now rotate your arm upward, and pivot your elbow as you lift the weight. Slowly lower the weight back down to its original position. Again, 3 sets of 10 at least twice a week is ideal for strengthening the shoulder, which will prevent the common shoulder injuries mentioned above.

Now that you're aware of the three most common shoulder injuries, and how they can be prevented, it's time to get to work! Don't let these common shoulder injuries sideline you



Return from Common Shoulder Injuries to Weight Lifting Tips