Any ideas re: assistance/rehab work to improve my throwing shoulder?

[baseballdad]

I'm 42, former HS pitcher, and I want to play ball again (over 40 amateur league). I can still throw, but my shoulder has some damage that limits the velocity and causes significant (i.e., searing) pain if I throw too hard.

I've researched the matter, and my symptoms are most consistent with a SLAP tear of the labrum. Other relevant bits:

- I have no interest in surgery, therefore I have not gone to an ortho, or gotten an MRI
- I did the SS LP, and have moved on to the TM. In other words, my upper body work consists of presses, bench presses and chins/pull ups. I am not doing any other assistance work now.
- Pressing seems to have helped a bit by strengthening the shoulder. Not a huge difference, but it's a bit better.

So, my question is, what if anything else can/should I do to make my throwing shoulder as stout as possible? Anyone have experience with this?

Related question - even if isolation exercises are blasphemy around here, do they have value in this specific context (i.e., rehab for a throwing athlete)?

[Dastardly]

Many therapists would argue that isolation have a point here, but if you press them on what they are actually supposed to achieve you will struggle to get an answer that makes any sense. If you search "throwers ten" it will come up with a typical rehab/prehab routine of isolation work.

You have an unstable shoulder, and in honesty it is probably going to stay that way. Both my shoulders are similarly unstable and have always been that way, I have never been able to throw without immediate sprain and damaging internal impingement. Strength work, like deadlifts, pressing and isolation work all increased strength and ROM massively, but thinking my shoulders could ever handle olympic lifts proved disasterous. So despite years of strength work, snatches and cleans fucked my shoulders up even more. Now I accept it, and am content that I can just about deadlift and do chins without excessive shoulder grief.

I would suggest normal strength work, deadlifts, pressing, rowing, shrugs etc... isolation exercises have limited utility but can be used to bring up weaker muscles and improve patterning. After some time you can see if your shoulder feels capable of throwing. I however doubt it, as it is such a ballistic movement where your protective muscle support is not active.

[baseballdad]

...You have an unstable shoulder, and in honesty it is probably going to stay that way. Both my shoulders are similarly unstable and have always been that way, I have never been able to throw without immediate sprain and damaging internal impingement. Strength work, like deadlifts, pressing and isolation work all increased strength and ROM massively, but thinking my shoulders could ever handle olympic lifts proved disasterous. So despite years of strength work, snatches and cleans fucked my shoulders up even more. Now I accept it, and am content that I can just about deadlift and do chins without excessive shoulder grief.

I would suggest normal strength work, deadlifts, pressing, rowing, shrugs etc... isolation exercises have limited utility but can be used to bring up weaker muscles and improve patterning. After some time you can see if your shoulder feels capable of throwing. I however doubt it, as it is such a ballistic movement where your protective muscle support is not active.

Thanks for the helpful response. I am curious - can you describe the isolation work that you found helpful? Which moves, set/rep scheme,etc.? How much weight?