How long does it take a rotator cuff to heal?

[me2dammit]

Take

3 weeks off from everything. Than come back and start doing some rotator cuff exersices while not benching for at least a few months.

Do close grip benches, big fucking difference and before you know it(6-8 months) your weak rotator will have healed (hopefully) and your triceps will be much stronger.

Move to hammer for chest if you got to, slowly move back into flat bench. Avoid shoulder presses.

 

[norr]

I had my rc injury two years ago, and it's still not 100% healed, it still flares up if I try to do flat benches... so I don't. You learn to work around it, stay away from the pain this is one instance you don't wanna be a tough guy and work thru it. My list of Do Not Do right now is: flat bench, dips, upright rows, behind the neck delt press. What I do compared to before is lying L-flies and in general more rear delts.

 

[TraxZBT]

same boat as you. I hurt my shoulder and thought it would heal in 3 weeks. Went back to the gym after three weeks and it still hurt like I damaged it the day before. It's been 3 months now, pain is still there when doing flat and decline. Only thing i can do now is incline, cables and flyes. Hardest thing was admitting to myself that this thing ain't going to heal in a week. My doc gave me 4 month supply of celebrex and it's working on the pain. Do some RC exercises and you should be able to speed up the recovery.

 

[StoneColdGold]

you guys that are talking about taking months off and avoiding some of the most beneficial exercises out there are doing yourselves a grave injustice.

please please please read the link i posted above.

 

[me2dammit]

dam

nor you hit the nail on the head. Kept flaring up my rotator for years even when not benching and it was upright rows and sometimes barbell curls doing it(thats usualy when its real bad).

You just have to swallow your pride with the rotator and it took me years to do that. When I first started doing close grip benches(you wont feel rotator pain with these) they were like 75lbs weaker than my flat bench and I had to swallow my pride, a year and a half later I'm hitting 370 for 10. I can not tell you how important the time factor thing is on this. Just when you think you are healed you are not and you tweak it again, just because the pain leaves doesn't mean the injury is gone.

I don't know how tall you are but the longer your limbs the more the flat bench is going to destroy your shoulders. Go to testosterone.net, they have some awsome rotator routines. For some reason dumbell presses dont destroy the shoulder. Hammer machine declin is also good. Most the rotator injuries happen because the muscle is underdeveloped, work on it til it is up to par with other muscle groups. You are only as strong as your weakest link and when that can't take the weight, injuries happen.
See a doctor and see if you have scar tissue, cause if you do no matter what you will most likely have pain even when the rotator gets strong.

 

[TraxZBT]

you guys that are talking about taking months off and avoiding some of the most beneficial exercises out there are doing yourselves a grave injustice.

please please please read the link i posted above.

Yup, found a level 3 instructor in the NYC area. Gonna make an appointment soon, will post up details..

 

[Bullfrog]

I got the ticket!!!!!

I did Shoot Fighting a couple years back and I was on cycle at the time. A arm bar and a energetic new guy took my shoulder out for at least a month. Here is how I repaired it......

There is a book called "7 Minute Rotary Cuff Solution". It is the most fantastic book I have ever read dealing with shoulder injuries. It got me on track in three weeks. This is no cheesy book either. It is about 200 pages and has a yellow cover. Mine is soo worn out. I am sure that if you do a search on Amazon.com you'd find it. I dont have the Author name... as I am away from my home.

Hope that I helped someone.....

Bryan

 

[norr]

Bullfrog said it, that book is the shit, I have it too. Very good (and easy to understand) descriptions of shoulder anatomy and mechanics. Makes you understand why rc injuries occur in the first place so you can avoid running into similar probs again. Of course lots of info about recovery, exercises, treatment etc.

 

[rm2738]

OUch, I know how you feel, I have tendonitis and a bone spur in my shoulder. It's not quite as bad but I still suffer. Try heating up your shoulder about 30 minutes before you work out, even if you work out legs, HEAT IT UP!!! that'll keep it loose and ice it down EVERY NIGHT for about 15-20 minutes. You'll notice a difference in the first few days. Try to stay away from anything that aggravates it too much and try some excercises. I found that you can work the shoulder real well on the cables. good luck!!

 

[Delinquent]

I had my rc injury two years ago, and it's still not 100% healed, it still flares up if I try to do flat benches... so I don't. You learn to work around it, stay away from the pain this is one instance you don't wanna be a tough guy and work thru it. My list of Do Not Do right now is: flat bench, dips, upright rows, behind the neck delt press. What I do compared to before is lying L-flies and in general more rear delts.

You shouldn't be doing upright rows or behind the neck anything anyways. Those are very high risk movements that strain the hell out of your RC. For some wierd reason I strained mine doing DOrian style bent over BB rows.