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Shoulder injury

Bubba107

Bubba107

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Albatross 2023 Club
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So a trip to the orthopedic doctor today revealed a strained and inflamed muscle in my shoulder. This resulted in a cortisone shot and meds and no lifting or golf for a month unfortunately. I’m thinking this is has something to do with my backswing as the pain is in my left shoulder blade and I can feel the “pull” as my left arm is in the furthest position in the backswing( I’m right handed). With that being said, my question is has anyone else had this type of injury and how did you correct it when you started playing again? I’m also thinking maybe I should take a lesson and see if the teacher sees something improper in my swing to avoid this happening again once I’m able to get back at it. The one good thing about this all is my PA I dealt with today is a golfer and said if everything starts to heal up, I can start with half swings on a simulator or range then work my way back to nine holes then eighteen. It’s like a golf Physical Therapy plan.
 
I've never had that injury before so I don't have any advice besides follow what your medical person says. Glad he's a golfer though so he knows what you can or can't do during the process!

Feel better soon man!
 
Several years ago, I slipped while shoveling some snow. Landed square on my right side with my arm semi extended. Didn't hurt too bad at the time. About a week or so later, I could barely move my arm without any stabbing pain in and around the shoulder joint. EXCEPT when swinging a club. Think of it as a swing groove trainer. If I made a bad swing, quick jolt of pain. A correct swing, no issues. Other than soreness, etc... afterwards.

But I couldn't just play golf all the time (I did think about it, though...), so I had to see the Doc about it. Traumatic Tendonitis in and around the Rotator Cuff or whatever. A nice juicy cortisone shot and 3 weeks of no golf or practice. Just normal shoulder use and such. Pain went away... for 3 months. Same conditions- stabbing pain except when playing golf. another shot, another 2 weeks of no golf. Pain goes away for 3 months... then same thing reoccurs. This time the Doc said- "this is it, no more after this. You might need surgery...". That one worked and pretty much solved it. Until last year, I started having "symptoms", but it wasn't the same stabbing pain, it was more of a sensation. a tingle (pins and needles) from the neck down to the shoulder. My arm would fall asleep just sitting in a chair or walking around. Checked with an orthopedist and turns out to be a "scar tissue" issue from that original injury. The scar tissue is impinging on the nerves in the area. And yet- it STILL doesn't effect my swing (when I swing correctly). He just gave me a few stretching exercise type of things to do to break the adhesions, etc... Still have a twinge now and again, but the majority of issues has gone away.
 
I can pretty much guarantee I've dealt with it in one of the muscles near there. I'm not great at taking time off, but it can definitely put you out of commision for swinging anywhere near full for a bit. Those muscles do not like to stretched like that once there's an issue. I feel like once a couple years ago once I got out there I went with a 3/4 swing with lots of rotation for a few weeks to not irritate it until it was in the clear. Which written out sounds pretty smart. What the heck happend to that guy? lol

Hope it feels better soon and you get back out there well. Sometimes a limitation or injury is a great way to work on a couple fundamentals, too.
 
"The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint, keeping the head of the upper arm bone firmly within the shallow socket of the shoulder. A rotator cuff injury can cause a dull ache in the shoulder that worsens at night. Rotator cuff injuries are common and increase with age. These injuries may occur earlier in people who have jobs that require repeatedly performing overhead motions, such as painters and carpenters.

Physical therapy exercises can improve flexibility and strength of the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint. For many people with rotator cuff problems, these exercises are all that's needed to manage their symptoms.

Sometimes, rotator cuff tears may occur from a single injury. In those circumstances, people should seek medical advice quickly because they might need surgery."

My issue was inflammation in the left rotator cuff. It came on rather suddenly, possibly from handling luggage in an overhead compartment. Rest, physical therapy and an anti-inflammatory drug got me back on the course in about a month. No serious issues since.
 
I've been unfortunate enough to have 2 shoulder surgeries, both in my right shoulder. The first was what they called a decompression and rotator cuff repair. Shaved the bone on the acromion to give more room for the cuff to rotate in the socket. Then repaired the cuff and tendons, and shaved the fraying of the muscle. The second was cleaning up a muscle tear and removal of scar tissue from the first surgery. To this day, I'll never have the flexibility I once had, so I have to live with somewhat of an over the top backswing and reroute the best I can on the downswing. So whatever the issue, PT and stretching is key after surgery if needed. Good luck @Bubba107, hope it works out for you. Lessons for stretching and backswing limitations if you have any might be just the thing you'll need.
 
A few years ago my left shoulder stiffened up to where I lost mobility. Radiology and MRI showed that I had bone spurs. Fine. Cortisone injections and no golf for a month. PT. I had identified the cause. They had gotten new mats at the driving range. The old mats were "forgiving". The new mats weren't. I was a digger and coming in steep with my irons on these mats was bad. They grabbed the club. Consequently I don't practice much with my irons anymore at the range. I mostly hit driver, partial wedge shots (with a slightly open face), and hybrids. I'll hit irons once in a while, but not very often and consequently this part of my game kind of sucks. I'll play off a grass range or just play a round of golf.

If you have shoulder problems don't hit off mats.
 
I wish you a speedy recovery and the patience to do what the Doc says!
 
I had similar (and still do) in my left shoulder the 1st few swings, then it goes away. I saw a DR when it started, they recommended PT but something got screwy between the offices talking so I said to he!! with it & kept on. I can't sleep on my left side but some stretching coupled with prescription grade pills & I'm a new man.
Old Matthew isn't like to the current me but hey, that's a tomorrow problem.
 
Been dealing with shoulder issues in both left and right shoulders for a long time. Doing certain things and some of my activities cause it to flare up from time to time. Tendinitis in the bicep and rotator cuff impingement syndrome mainly. Physical Therapy helps. Doing the exercises and stretching at home helps too. It definitely hampers my swing because it restricts my range of motion and causes pain. Unfortunately the amount of golf I play exacerbates it too.

Good luck with your recovery.
 
Hold up. You got a cortisone shot and order inactivity for...a muscle strain?

I'm not a doctor but...

Find a new doctor.
 
blugold said:
Hold up. You got a cortisone shot and order inactivity for...a muscle strain?

I'm not a doctor but...

Find a new doctor.
Click to expand...

The muscle is inflamed which she says could be caused by a strain. The issue is It’s all still discovery at this point. The shot was because she believes it’s in that muscle group. The problem is I work out of town often so I’m not a primary doctor kind of guy. This was an orthopedic urgent care, the next step if this doesn’t work is a referral for further investigation into the issue . So far the shot seems to be helping, the pain isn’t nearly as bad so I’m hoping I got lucky.


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Sorry for your pain, shoulders can be a real problem, 24 X 7. About 5 years ago my shoulder was really bad, couldn’t sleep, just non-stop pain although I would still play golf, with meds. Did the whole diagnostic stuff and discovered multiple small tears but a lot of inflammation.

Cortisone shot, felt great but was not told to hold off on golf, etc for a period of time. What I know now is cortisone is tough on tendons, in particular where they attach. Well 6-8 weeks after getting the initial ****, I tore one of my tendons right off my shoulder swinging on a par 3. So whatever you do don’t rush back to golf, give the Cortisone time to be absorbed and spread out in the shoulder..

At the same time I started a round of shockwave therapy on my shoulder, as my sports therapist says it could actually rejuvenate the muscle and they can repair small tears and it breaks down scar tissue. So far it has been a savior. I did have another Cortisone shot two years after the first one but it did not work at all so back to the shockwave and it allow me to play golf relatively pain-free.

So far I have had no surgery which is something I really wanted to avoid although I do have a Popeye muscle so my days of heavy lifting are over for fear of tearing the other tendon right off the shoulder and really being in a pickle. Good luck.
 
Bubba107 said:
The muscle is inflamed which she says could be caused by a strain. The issue is It’s all still discovery at this point. The shot was because she believes it’s in that muscle group. The problem is I work out of town often so I’m not a primary doctor kind of guy. This was an orthopedic urgent care, the next step if this doesn’t work is a referral for further investigation into the issue . So far the shot seems to be helping, the pain isn’t nearly as bad so I’m hoping I got lucky.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I'm happy the shot has helped. I'm going to push back at the no lifting or golf for a month. If it's a soft tissue strain, or even a torn muscle, you can still be active. You just have to modify activity. I sure as hell wouldn't stop lifting.
 
Shoulder pain sucks. I have had my right rotator cuff repaired twice. Luckily that shoulder is now good to go. But I have a torn labrum in my left shoulder (for over 15 years) and it started hurting A LOT about a month ago. I know I need to get it repaired but the recovery is horrible and I don’t want to not be able to play golf for 6-9 months. Funny thing is swinging a club doesn’t really hurt. But sleeping is a b*tch.


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I have had some shoulder issues in my past as well. The book below made a huge difference in my recovery. It isn’t that hard to do and it made a big difference in getting back to things I like to do including golf and water skiing. It is basically hanging from a pull-up bar and doing some light weight exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles. It is worth a try.

 
Chef23 said:
I have had some shoulder issues in my past as well. The book below made a huge difference in my recovery. It isn’t that hard to do and it made a big difference in getting back to things I like to do including golf and water skiing. It is basically hanging from a pull-up bar and doing some light weight exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscles. It is worth a try.

Click to expand...


Thanks, I ordered the book. I had a cortisone shot in my right shoulder two days ago. X-rays and and MRI indicated to my orthopedic surgeon that I have no major damage and that it can be fixed with physical therapy which starts on Tuesday and goes for 5 weeks. I had surgery on my other shoulder 11 years ago(torn supraspinatus and biceps tendon) and wanted to avoid surgery and the painful recovery that comes with it.
 
I have bursitis and tendonitis in my right shoulder. Thankfully, it hasn’t bothered me for the last two years. When it bothered me the last time, thankfully it was during the winter and I didn’t miss any golf. A cortisone shot and some exercises / stretches proved beneficial.
 
Can't help with the injury, just stressing "TAKE IT SLOW."
 
Hopefully you’re progressing well! When I dislocated my shoulder about 8 years ago, my physical therapist gave me a bunch of really easy workouts to do with 3-5lb weights to build up the individual muscles in my shoulder. It helped tremendously and I haven’t had any serious issues since. I’m sure they could easily be found online
 
I had a pinched ulnar nerve in my neck from picking up 5 gallon buckets of paint my whole life. The only doctor that ever got rid of all the pain was a chiropractor but after fighting it for about a year my left shoulder has pretty well said I'm done. Makes hitting irons difficult. For about a year coming back to the course I couldn't hit one decent. I'm better now but have lost a great deal of yardage. Of course being 68 doesn't help.
 
I have had surgery on both shoulders. Let it rest then maybe try some strengthening exercises for that area.
Make sure you stretch before playing, Getting old sucks!

Hope you heal up quick!
 
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