Shoulder injury 1 year later
It’s been a year since I suffered a Grade 3 AC separation in my left shoulder - 3 ligaments in the AC joint were completely torn, never to return.
It put me out of the gym for about 5 weeks, and the shoulder remained weak for a long time. Looking back through my training log I can see that it took about 5 months for my strength to return for most lifts.
The best advice I received during the recovery phase came from my kinesiologist, “You need to keep the shoulder strong for the rest of your life. That will work better than any surgery.”
To minimize movement and clicking in the AC joint I pinch my shoulder blades together and tense my back muscles prior to performing most movements. It’s very effective but it’s tiring. However, it’s now something I do instinctively and I don’t even have to think about it - in fact, I think it enforces good form.
1 year later, my bench press is at 180lb (up 25lb) and my deadlift is 265lb (up 60lb). Overall, I’m pleased with the progress that I’ve made.
The following exercises were most affected by the injury
- Shoulder press: It was 2 months before I could perform an unloaded bar lift
- Lat pull-down: 2.5 months
- Bench press: 3 months
- Dumbell flyes: 4 months
- Dips: > 1 year
I had to start from zero with each of these exercises, and I had to work really hard to pinch my shoulder blades and tense up my whole back to avoid any ‘clicking’ in the shoulder joint. During the rehab phase I would stop any exercise at the first click.
Incline bench presses were much easier on the AC joint than the flat bench - I was able to perform incline presses only 5 weeks after the injury but I still had to start with an unloaded bar.
I was able to deadlift after 5 weeks without too much discomfort, but I still took it easy.
Dips are by far the most affected exercise. I can kinda do them, but I do not get the full range of motion before I start to feel a lot of stress in the AC joint. Once my upper arm reaches parallel it feels like the joint would pop out entirely if I went any lower.
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