Shoulder rehab case study

[george_97]

Hello again Sir! I have a question about the shoulder rehab case study I'm working on. I'm a 27-year-old rehabbing a left shoulder injury.

As the weights increase, I'm unsure how to manage the volume and the 10s. Right now, I'm doing 10 repetitions for 3 or 5 sets depending on how my shoulder feels. I'm trying to increase the weight by 5 lbs (2.5 kg) per week. I do rack pulls, eccentric presses, and lat pulldowns. Currently, my weights are 100 kg for rack pulls, 22.5 kg for presses, and 40 kg for lat pulldowns (my grip is slightly closer than shoulder-width for these; usually, I do them wide). In lbs, my lifts are 220 lbs, 50 lbs, and 88 lbs. I forgot to mention the 10 reps are only for the press and lat pulldowns. for the rack pulls i do 5x5.

My question is: how long should I keep doing 10 repetitions per set? When should I start cutting down to 5 reps? I'm concerned that I might not be able to recover from the volume as the weights increase. I’m doing the session with the three exercises twice a week, maintaining the same weight for both sessions. The second session is mainly to check that the shoulder feels good during the session and 1-2 days after. If it does, I increase the weight a little for the next week. I'm just worried that the volume might be too much as the weights increase. What are your thoughts on this and what do you recommend me to do and how should i think when it comes to the total volume still in the rehab phase?

Best regards,
George

[Mark Rippetoe]

Refresh our memories: what was the injury?

[george_97]

I have pain in the front of my left shoulder. I did an MRI scan and it showed nothing. What happened on the day of the trauma was totally my fault, i went too heavy on incline dummbbell presses, full range of motion. 45 kg in each dummbell, after 2 years of not trainming chest because of right shoulder bicep inflammation. The day after my shoulder was swollen and it felt like i actually f*cked something. It felt good during that training session so i increased the weights rapidly that day without thinking. this was a little more than 1 year ago. i know pain in the front of the shoulder is a damn complicated place to have an injury. The MRI was done 5-6 months after the injury.

The answer to your question: I don't know. What i do know is, if i do a push variation, i get pain in the front of my shoulder. If i try to horizontally abduct, it hurts in the front of the left shoulder, like a pinching sensation. Now it's getting A LOT better thanks to your shoulder case study sir!!!!! i have seen a lot of progress for the past 2 months doing the shoulder case rehab study but again im worried about the volume and f*cking something up and starting from scratch again

The MRI in exact words (translated from swedish to english )
MR Left Shoulder
Normal AC joint. The acromion is laterally sloping, and there is somewhat reduced subacromial space. No subacromial bursitis. No full-thickness cuff tear or signs of obvious tendinopathy. No glenohumeral osteoarthritis. Labrum is unremarkable. No capsulitis. The long head of biceps tendon is unaffected. Normal musculature.
signed 2023-10-03

[Mark Rippetoe]

MRI says you don't have an injury. Just do the regular novice program as detailed in the book with whatever weight you can manage.