Shoulder pain from accident

[TempestTenor]

Coach,

I slipped and fell on the ice 2-3 weeks ago and dislocated my left shoulder. Shoulder pain from everyday movements ceased a couple of days after the accident, but I am still to this day unable to rotate my shoulder back in order to get into position for back squats.

I've been doing the SS program sans squats (an oxymoron, I know) since the injury and I don't like it. Everytime I go to the gym I try to get into low bar squat position, but my left shoulder hurts too much. High bar position wasn't much help either. Widening my grip lessened the pain, but I had to widen it to an unacceptable width.

Switching to front squats might work, but I'm still a strength training newb and have not yet mastered the back squat. I would be reluctant to jump to the more advanced front squat before getting the back squat down.

Is there some other adjustment I can make that would allow me to do back squats? Should I do a replacement exercise instead? Or should I just forget about squats for now?

Thanks.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Why don't you get a shoulder x-ray/MRI? Have you had one?

[TempestTenor]

No I have not. What kind of actionable information can an X-ray/MRI tell me? I mean, even if they found out exactly what happened, would the doctors tell me anything other than "do rehab" or "stay off it" etc?

[Mark Rippetoe]

There are a few shoulder injuries that actually require surgery to fix. It could be one of those, since you are still not healed.

[Steve Hill]

Mark,

I'd like to follow this up by asking a similar question. First things first: I feel like my choulders are a bit weak for SS low-bar squats at the weights I am capable of squatting. The video you saw of me @ 315 showed me straining a bit - but not because of legs - it was my shoulders (lack of flexibility) and keeping my elbows back (and straining to do so) that seems to be my problem.

So I set about trying a novice-style progression, and had moved up gradually to 365, but it wa a struggle. Last Friday, as I was working on either 2nd or 3rd rep of my last set, I felt a pop in my right shoulder (about the level of popping a knuckle joint), and the bar slipped a little bit (might have been the other way 'round), a short stab of mild pain, then nothing - numbness for a bit, finished the set. Did my deads and ab work, then went home. That night the shoulder was sore, with point pain seemingly in the joint just forward of the end of the end of the collarbone.

Today, while doing 365 again, felt no pain while doing the squats (other than the usual strain to hold the bar in place - flexibility and strength again), but when I set the bar down, had radiating pain from the same location in a line down the side of the bicep, and in my forearm near the elbow. This pain was rather intense, but went away after 2-3 hours (ice, ibuprofen). It's still gone, though I can feel some very mild irritation there now.

Since I had been struggling with the position (low bar / elbows back / hands and wrists unbent) I have been doing a lot of stretching (dislocations, and lots of early reps with no weight on the bar / low weight on the bar), but I think I may have pushed the weights too far.


I'm interested in your thoughts and suggestions.

[Heather]

I had a shoulder injury last year that wouldn't let me barbell squat for a while, so I worked on weighted pistols. Probably not an ideal substitution, but it's something to do in the meantime. My shoulder is "healed" now, but I still can't use the low-bar position because of it.

[TempestTenor]

Well I should add that I had not been following the rehab procedure in the injuries sticky until right before I made the first post in this thread.

I've done two 25 x 3 rehab sessions of OHP so far and I was able to perform shoulder dislocations (hold a light stick in dead hang position then swing your arms in a backwards 360) with a wider-than-normal grip yesterday. I had not been able to do so in the weeks before.

Still think an x-ray/MRI is warranted?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Steve's deal I don't know about. Sorry. TT sounds like he's healing, so the MRI is now optional. Heather is cool.

[TempestTenor]

Thanks. I will continue with the rehab program.

[jacob cloud]

I didn't see the most obvious answer posted - widen your grip and keep squatting.

It took me almost a year after shoulder surgery (a simple cleanup scope) to get flexibile enough to allow my previous grip width as prescribed in the book, but that didn't keep me from setting new PRs and getting stronger.

I don't have a particularly pretty squat, but here's a vid where you can see how wide my grip was a couple months ago (in the very beginning of the vid as I set up): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMv6a...eature=channel

Not sure if you can really notice, but the first movement I do (8-9 seconds into the vid) is a great shoulder stretch as well and I do it before every warmup and work set. Not sure if it's officially Rip-approved, but I can now move my grip in to the scribe marks with comfort, and I think this had quite a bit to do with it. It feels nice, at least.

FWIW, I avoided shoulder dislocates for the most part in my recovery, good or bad. I also had to start with a slightly higher than prescribed bar position and gradually work it down to where it "should" be for a low bar back squat.