We don’t think it will happen to us - but it’s got to happen to someone - that’s just the way it is - statistics don’t lie.

A study led by Dr. Steven B. Cohen, assistant team physician for the Philadelphia Phillies and reported on the website Science Daily, revealed the following:

• 45% of baseball players who have shoulder or elbow surgery were able to return to their previous level or higher
• players who had elbow surgery were more likely to reach their previous level of play or higher than players who had shoulder surgery
• for AA, AAA or major league players, only 18% were able to make the comeback

Prevention is the Key to Long-Term Success

The study was also reported on in the Tucson Citizen, where Cohen and co-author of the study, Dr. Gerard Varlotta said, “stretching and strengthening exercises are key for preventing injuries in professional - and recreational - players.”

Take the time to warm-up and cool-down, stretch and strengthen your shoulder.  It could make all the difference for you and your shoulder.

A separated shoulder is usually the result of:

• a fall onto an outstretched hand (my separated shoulder occurred as the result of a fall while skiing)
• a direct impact to the shoulder (often seen in football, rugby, lacrosse, or any other contact sport / activity)

(photo used courtesy of Neil Rickards)

Dr. William Pennington has been one of the developers of a new arthroscopic technique which results in less pain and less scarring. This procedure is specially designed to treat shoulder separations that are at least three months old.

Shoulder Separations are Distinguished by Severity of the Injury

The following data is used courtesy of Wikipedia – Shoulder Separation

Type I

A Type I AC separation involves trauma to the ligaments that form the joint, but no severe tearing or fracture. It is commonly referred to as a sprain. Most doctors treat this type of dislocation with anti-inflammatory drugs, pain medication and the placement of the arm in a sling or an immobilizer.

Type II

A Type II AC separation involves complete tearing of the acromioclavicular ligament, as well as a sprain or partial tear of the coracoclavicular ligaments. This often causes a noticeable bump on the shoulder. By pressing on the sternal aspect of the clavicle you force the acromial end down, and by releasing, watch it pop back up (eliciting a piano key sign due to the tearing of the AC ligament)[3]. Severe pain and loss of movement are common. Treatment is typically an arm sling, bedrest, ice and heat therapy, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Most people recover full motion of the shoulder and arm within 6 to 8 weeks, often with the assistance of physical therapy.

Type III

In a Type III AC separation both acromioclavicular and coracoclavicular ligaments are torn. A significant bump is formed by the lateral end of the clavicle. This bump is permanent. The clavicle can be moved in and out of place on the shoulder. It may take 12 weeks to heal, and physical therapy can be beneficial. It may take even longer for the shoulder strength to approach feeling normal. The injured shoulder may not be able to take the abuse that it could previously, but for most purposes it will be quite usable and sufficient. However, there still is controversy as to whether or not surgery may be necessary for optimal shoulder use in sport.

Type IV

This is a type III injury with avulsion of the coracoclavicular ligament from the clavicle, with the distal clavicle displaced posteriorly into or through the trapezius. This injury is generally acknowledged to require surgery.

Type V

This is type III but with exaggeration of the vertical displacement of the clavicle from the scapula. This injury generally requires surgery.

Type VI

This is type III with inferior dislocation of the lateral end of the clavicle below the coracoid. It is extremely rare and generally only involved with motor vehicle collisions. This requires surgery.

A Short Video Explaining Shoulder Separation and Treatments

No one realizes how much they depend on their shoulder – that is until they’ve injured their shoulder, have surgery and can’t use it. Frequently people want to know how long their particular shoulder injury will take to heal.

Answers that don’t help.

Imagine that you’ve sprained your shoulder and you want to know how to treat this injury. You could look at these suggestions for your shoulder information. However, these comments are the thoughts and advice of laymen who may or may not know what they are talking about.

Here is a thread from the Injury Update Forum that seeks to answer the question – How long will it take to recover from shoulder reconstruction?

Here is a discussion on the issue of How long to heal from a dislocated shoulder that resulted from being hit by a car.

Would you let your friend work on your $40,000.00 automobile?

It should be obvious by now that everyone has an opinion about everything – including your shoulder injury. But who are you going to trust with the care of your most versatile joint? Where can you find credible shoulder information? What you need is believable information about your shoulder and there are a number of sources that are quite extensive.

See a Doctor – an Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in Shoulder Repair!

(photo courtesy of soldiersmediacenter)

Visit Shoulderdoc – this is a vast web site filled with:

• Medical Educational Material – What’s the difference between SLAP, SLIP and SLOP? Do you want to purchase a book about shoulders? This is the place to look.
• The Latest Shoulder News – Do you want to read about the latest research in shoulder surgery techniques or shoulder rehab?
• Rehab Protocols – this is an immense section of information about shoulder rehab procedures.
• Much, much more.

Shoulderdoc offers a wealth of information on all aspects of your shoulder. Use this web site to educate yourself.

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“Thanks to the rotater I was able to get back to work and not lose the use of my shoulder in this demanding profession.”
- Officer D. Pesko

Bowhunters need Strong Shoulders

(photo courtesy of sorenson photo)

I live in the deep south, Alabama to be exact. Down here, people take their hunting seriously, so if it’s not hunting season, then it’s a good time to get ready for hunting season.

The Hunt Doctors (they are “real” medical doctors) have written “Strengthening Your Shoulders For Bowhunting” in which they explain a little shoulder anatomy in everyday hunter terms and outline a number of exercises to help you develop your shoulder strength. By the way, some of the bows that serious hunters use can require extreme shoulder strength to pull back and then hold for an extended period of time while you wait for the perfect shot. If you think it’s easy, then go to your local hunting store and give it a try.

Should you “work” through a Shoulder Injury?

(photo courtesy of LollyKnit)

A question posed on Stronglifts.com asks about persistent pain in the shoulder and whether to continue lifting weights. “What should I do?” Mehdi’s explanation describes:

• the muscle involved, specifically the infraspinatus ( good illustrations )
• some of the causes of infraspinatus injuries
• some of the symptoms of this rotator cuff injury
• some of the ways to deal with this shoulder problem

Mehdi concludes by giving this advice:

“Stay away from painkillers. Pain is your body telling you something is wrong. Find out what. Educate yourself. Ask your doctor’s advice. But make sure you treat the causes, not the symptoms.

Take it slowly with weight lifting in the meanwhile. Lower the weight, spend time improving technique & slowly build back up. Don’t worry about strength loss, getting rid of injuries is more important in the long run.”

Tips for Preventing Shoulder Injuries in Young Pitchers

(photo courtesy of wjklos)

Brooke deLench, author and noted expert on youth related sports issues has written “Preventing Pitching Injuries” in which she educates parents on some of the things that they can do. She says that there are a number of things that parents and coaches can do to prevent shoulder injuries which include:

• ensure proper conditioning
• teach correct throwing mechanics
• always warmup and stretch
• place limits on pitches
• don’t allow your child to play through the pain

This is a great article that will educate a parent on how to help their future Cy Young award winner to avoid arm and shoulder injuries. If you are a parent, and your child pitches, then you need to read this article.

Smoltz believes rehab will start soon – by Mark Bowman

Smotz, who went on the disabled list on April 26^th due to inflammation of his rotator cuff and biceps tendon plans to throw from the mound for the first time this Saturday. read Mark Bowman’s article on MLB.com

Rangers’ Bradley out with a sore shoulder

Milton Bradley, the designated hitter for the Texas Rangers was pulled in the 7^th inning of Monday nights game with the Mariners due to a sore shoulder and probably will not return to the line up until Friday.

Prior takes step back in rehab – by Jon Greenburg

The latest on Mark Prior was that is that he was scheduled to undergo an MRI this past Monday to access the condition of his shoulder. Jon Greenburg reports that there is the possibility of a trip to Birmingham Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews, the prominent orthopedic surgeon who performed arthroscopic surgery on Mark in 2007. read Jon Greenburg’s article

Schilling throws from 60

Amalie Benjamin reported that Curt Schilling threw from 60 ft. this past Sunday (May 11th), though Andrew Johnson notes that Schilling “had a sizeable bag of ice” on his shoulder on Tuesday (May 13th).

Schilling’s last blog post entitled Getting the ‘go ahead’ which he posted on May 6^th seemed guarded. Schilling said that he feels healthy and confident, but the “doing it” still had to be done. Personally, I hope he “does it”.

Posada rehabbing in Tampa with Alex Rodriguez

Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada is in Tampa at the Yankee training facility where he played catch this past Monday while rehabbing his inflamed rotator cuff. Tyler Kepner reports that he will be out until at least early June.

I discovered this video on redscrubs.com and immediately began to wonder if cold laser therapy would have the same pain-relieving effects on shoulder pain.

According to Wikipedia, cold laser therapy or photobimodulation:

“…is an emerging medical and veterinary technique in which exposure to low-level laser light or light emitting diodes can stimulate or inhibit cellular function leading to beneficial clinical effects. The technique is also known by the more ambiguous terms phototherapy and laser therapy, which may also be used to describe other medical techniques. The “best” combination of wavelength, intensity, duration and treatment interval is complex and sometimes controversial with different diseases, injuries and dysfunctions needing different treatment parameters and techniques. These are still being explored and increasingly published by the academic community.”   – read the rest

Can Cold Laser Therapy be used to Treat Shoulder Pain?

Is it smoke and mirrors or can cold laser therapy treat your shoulder pain?  The following newsclip video is a strong testimonial, but could it be a placebo-like affect?  Watch and judge for yourself.

Are Professional Athletes using Cold Laser Therapy?

I found the following articles that stated some professional athletes and teams are using cold laser therapy – most often noted is Lance Armstrong.

• Cold Laser Therapy Provides New Relief for Injuries by Paula Felps – excerpt – “ …it was widely reported that 10 members of the Patriots sought cold laser therapy treatments to treat minor injuries the week before they won the Super Bowl in 2004.”
• Cold laser improves performance, heals injuries, pain by Melissa Loomis, Editor – excerpt – “Gendron has used the laser on numerous athletes young and old. Shelton High School baseball player Marco Garamella injured his arm. After the laser treatment the bruising was reduced and his strength and range of motion were increased, according to Gendron.”
• Cold Laser Pain Treatment Grows In Popularity - Treatment Used By Professional Athletes

It’s springtime.  The days are longer.  The sun is brighter.  And the world is becoming more alive all around us.  Makes me want to get physical and start teaching my girls how to throw a softball (or baseball), ride our mountain bikes and horses. 

(photo courtesy of foxypar4)

The problem is that although my mind is willing, my body may not be ready – (No! – that is not me in the photo). 

How to avoid stupid injuries

What else would you call them?  I mean, once you hit middle age it’s time to do a little prep work before you do something stupid.  Bruce Mandelbaum (a frequent guest on “The View” and “The Today Show”) wrote an outstanding “get ready for physical activity” article entitled Spring into Spring (but not too hard): A Guide to Avoiding Injuries. 

It’s all about using common sense.  You didn’t get out of shape in a couple of days and your shoulder won’t be ready to throw a fast ball (hard or soft) in a couple of days either.  Take it slow and warmup.  Your kids may make fun of you and be a little restless, but that’s a small price to pay for a pain free shoulder.

How long should you wait to train following a Shoulder Separation?

For me, it was a long time before I went back to hitting the iron.  There are all sorts of issues to deal with.  Some physical and some mental.  You don’t want to start too soon and destroy your orthopedic surgeon’s hard work.  But for a physical person it’s hard to get out of the habit of being physical. 

Dave Draper, the bodybuilding legend was asked a similar question on his web site – davedraper.com.  His advice on this topic it great, but I really love his closing quotes:

“Overall training will bring you back to full power and speed in time. Injury and recovery have a weird way of complementing the musclebuilder….Confidence will grow with exercise-injury understanding and muscle strength and shoulder health.”

The Effect of Ergonomics on Shoulder Pain

It’s no longer a secret – you should be somewhat comfortable when you work.  Now the words “work” and “comfort” are seldom used in the same sentence, but for a person who spends a great deal of their time working from a desk, this concept is important. 

I have been sitting in what I thought was a comfortable chair – but I’m not comfortable.  My shoulders and neck ache and my arms hurt.  After watching the video below that I found in an article posted by Dr. Edward Gould entitled “Pain at Work”, I think there may be a better way. 

Watch this video – I’ll be looking for the Freedom Chair and accessories.

(photo by soldiersmediacenter)

The basic question of the study was:

Is there any advantage to surgically repairing an initial dislocated shoulder on a young, athletic person vs. allowing the injured shoulder to heal in a more conservative, non-surgical fashion?

The conclusion:

Yes, for the group who participated in the study, there were both short– and long-term advantages to having their dislocated shoulders surgically repaired instead of taking the more conservative approach. 

How easy is it to dislocate your shoulder?

As I was doing my initial research into dislocated shoulders, I began to wonder – How easy is it to dislocate your shoulder?  I suffered a separated shoulder (which is a different injury) during a fall while skiing.  What about others?

Bodybuilder dislocates shoulder while closing car trunk

Stew Smith wrote an article entitled “Taking Care of Your Shoulders” in which an avid weight-lifter and bodybuilder wrote in and described how he had dislocated his shoulder while closing the trunk of his car.  Hey, if a big guy like that can dislocate his shoulder that easy, what does that mean for me.  Not much.

Here is a video that demonstrates just how easy it is to dislocate your shoulder

Please don’t try this at home.  I can assure you that it is painful and it takes time to heal – with or without surgery!  And you may be more susceptible to future dislocations as well.

According to Wikipedia – “The shoulder joint is the most frequently dislocated major joint of the body. In a typical case of a dislocated shoulder, a strong force that pulls the shoulder outward (abduction) or extreme rotation of the joint pops the ball of the humerus out of the shoulder socket. Dislocation commonly occurs when there is a backward pull on the arm that either catches the muscles unprepared to resist or overwhelms the muscles.”

Small group of muscles hold your most versatile joint together

It doesn’t matter how big you are, the same small muscle group holds the ball of your humerus and glenoid (socket) together.  They are the group of small muscles that form the rotator cuff. Here are some excellent images.

Exercises that you can do to strengthen the rotator cuff complex

Scott: (Scott Kay, inventor of the Rotater)

I’ve been using the Rotater every second day and use it while warming up before a round.

I’ve been in AZ for the past month and had an interesting experience. It was a long par 4, 485 yds. I hit driver - lob wedge. Usually I would have driver - 5 or 6 iron.

So the Range of motion increase and the flexibility was noticeable to me. I’ve also had less soreness in the shoulder where my old football shoulder separation was.

It seems that the Rotater is helping breakdown the scar tissue that gave the shoulder some of its stiffness and pain.

Bob Orr, Long Drive Consultant

How can the Rotater help you?

The Rotater can:

• increase your shoulder flexibility
• provide you with greater range of motion � which results in a greater turn
• give you the ability to self-stretch
• put you in control of the degree and intensity of the stretch
• go anywhere, it is portable � many golfers leave it in the trunk of their car and use it just prior to entering the clubhouse

485 yards with a driver and a lob wedge!

Now that�s a long way to hit the golf ball. But he is a big guy, a long drive consultant�and he uses the Rotater!

Do you strike the ball with power and authority? Give the Rotater a try - feel the difference. Develop a smooth fluid turn and get rid of the short, choppy swing that’s limiting your potential.

In September, Scott and I went to the PGA expo in Las Vegas. The PGA expo is an event that brings professionals from the golf world (course owners/managers, teaching professionals, golf shop owners, sponsored professionals, golf publication editors/owners/writers, etc.) in contact with vendors and suppliers of golf-related products and services. These events are not open to the public.

LOT OF INTERESTING PEOPLE

Scott and I have quite a bit of fun at trade shows. We are both �people� people, so it is very easy for us to meet and interact with others while demonstrating the Rotater. For us, a PGA show had been the last venue that we thought would use or benefit from the Rotater. Boy, were we wrong!

We met a number of interesting people there:

• a former amateur winner of the U.S. Open � he uses the Rotater daily
• a long drive champion � another avid user (look for a testimonial soon)
• magazine owners/writers/editors � we have done an interview for one publication set to be released in the spring
• a television show host � who has contacted us about appearing on his show this spring
• PGA teaching professionals

SENIOR PROFESSIONAL GIVES TESTIMONIAL

One of the golfing professionals who tried the Rotater and immediately recognized its benefits was Dusty O�Tyrrell. He has contacted us a number of times and has told us that he has developed some golf-specific exercises with the Rotater. The following is an email that we received from Dusty yesterday.

Hey Rotater Guys,

Just a quick note to tell you about how this thing has worked out for me. As I told you a while back, my right shoulder rotator cuff and shoulder joint were injured in a fall from a chair that had broken. After checking into the surgery aspect I found out that doing surgery was completely out of the question.

So, its into physical therapy and other exercise stuff to get this thing to heal. My Doc had told me that with proper therapies, I would likely heal well in a three to four year period. Why so long you did not ask? Because as a professional golfer, the use of this shoulder is paramount to my making a living. I must play and practice every day. It�s my JOB! And it ain�t that glorious either. It�s a JOB. Hot, sweaty and physically draining. It�s supposed to be mentally draining as well but I�m not very mental. And to think, I gave up an office job for this!

Well anyway, I met you guys and the Rotater and this little beauty has become my three to four times a day shoulder exercise device. My range of motion has improved immensely and I use it on both shoulders, even though only the right one was injured. My Doc loves this thing because it causes the shoulder to move correctly in the directions necessary for the correct exercises. I am now back to playing (and note: the fellows who had surgery NO LONGER PLAY and are on restricted cortisone use!) and my strength and stuff is just as it should be.

As I�ve told you, I tell everyone who�ll listen about it�the Rotater, and let them use mine�but not keep it! Don�t know how many have contacted you but I tell them use my name and maybe you�ll give them a special deal! What the heck�it�s worth a try ain�t it?

So there you go. I�m a great fan of the thing and will remain so.

Best to both of you,

Dusty O�Tyrrell
Senior Professional Golfer
P.O. Box 499
Death Valley, California 92328