Severe Left Shoulder Osteoarthritis Diagnosis

[AussieMikeInLondon]

Male 41
6'1
230lbs

PR Lifts:

Squat: 385 x 5
DL: 463 x 5
Bench: 255 x 5
Press: 155 x 5 (PR - currently not pressing)

Been having an issue with my left shoulder for about 6 months. It all kicked off when I decided to give seated smith machine pressing a try although now that I have a diagnosis of Severe Left Shoulder Osteoarthritis, I know that was not the cause of the root issue.

Currently its a mild hinderance day to day and the pain level is about 2-3/10. It the persistence of the pain that led me to look into it further.

Currently I'm not pressing at all other than a broom stick as it causes it to flare up - again, not particularly painful but not great.

Bench doesnt seem to bother it too much so am carrying on there.

LBBS hurts it a lot and im finding it hard to get the bar in the right position now.

Deadlifting is fine.

Here is the report:

Findings:

X- Ray:

Severe humeral OA with marked joint space reduction, close to bone on bone contact. Prominent inferior humeral head ostephyte of about 25mm in length. Associated remodelling or chronic surface erosion with mild flattening of humeral head contour and shortening of glenoid neck. AC joint shows only mild lipping.

Acromion is relatively flat. Suspected moderate narrowing of the superior subacromial space.

Ultrasound:
The rotator cuff and long head bicep tendons are intact although supraspinatus appears a little thin. No calcification is seen.

Subeltiod bursa is normal thickness without excess fluid. Abduction is limited. No obvious bunching or catching of tissues is seen.

A minimal shoulder joint effusion is noted in the posterior recess and there is a moderate effusion in the biceps sheath. Normal spinoglenoid notch and AC Joint.

===

My doc has suggested a next step is to get it looked at by a surgeon for an opinion.

I feel inclined to try to work around it the best I can but wanted to get some opinions based on the current diagnosis.

Thanks

[Mark Rippetoe]

Looks like you might have some congenital issues here. At minimum, you have a huge (unless this is a typo) osteophyte that needs to be removed. On second thought, this must be a typo -- nobody has a 1-inch bone spur in their shoulder.

[AussieMikeInLondon]

I double checked the report and it def says 25mm so they must have made a typo.

Here are the images

Left-Shoulder-external-rotation hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Left-Shoulder-internal-rotation hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Left-Shoulder-scap hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB
Left-Shoulder hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB

(hoping they load)

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yeah, they made a significant typo. Find a different office to consult about the surgery.

[AussieMikeInLondon]

is there any utility in doing static overhead holds?

For example, setting up the barbell at a height that is almost at full extension of the press and holding it above my head.

The sticking and painful part for me is the transition of the bar from chest to overhead.

[Mark Rippetoe]

What would this accomplish?

[AussieMikeInLondon]

Some work, albeit sub-par, better than no work at all. That was my hypothesis.

Potentially help to preserve some strength and muscle mass.

No?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I'm more concerned about fixing her shoulder.

[Will Morris]

Some work, albeit sub-par, better than no work at all. That was my hypothesis.

Potentially help to preserve some strength and muscle mass.

No?

Why not focus your efforts on movements that produce a distraction force on the shoulder instead of a near pure compressive force on the shoulder?

[AussieMikeInLondon]

Can you expand on that?

Right now I’m benching, deadlifting and squatting. Also thrown in some rows and Lat pull downs.

Rip, I have my consultation booked and want to get it sorted!

In the meantime, would it be better to high bar squat or low bar safety bar squat?

Thanks