Shoulder Rehab Patient Exceeds PT’s Expectations
January 27, 2010
I love to ski – the snow, the view, the speed, the excitement – and the danger. Yea, skiing is dangerous. In 1996 I severely separated my shoulder resulting surgery and nice six inch scar to remind me to watch others as well as myself.
Shoulder injuries can result from falling while skiing
That leads me to this email:
…The Rotater is Great
“Gentlemen;
4 words some it up. The Rotater is great.
I originally tore my rotator cuff and broke the head of the humerus skiing in April.
3 weeks after surgery in June to repair my rotator cuff, (supraspinatus tendon) I started PT. after 5 weeks of PT my therapist said I was “falling behind”. My external rotation was terrible and not improving at all. I searched the internet for help. I stumbled across your website and proceeded to make my own version of the Rotater. Having only one good arm, it didn’t come out so good. I ordered your product and in the past 4 months I have surpassed my therapist expectations. He “released” me on Dec. 30, 09.
Great product, and thank you very very much!!!”
Dave Hurlbut
Bristol, CT.
Another Rotater Success Story
December 20, 2009
The ROTATER: The Skinny by Michael James
I first heard of The Rotater from Chris Melton on Twitter. He had seen where after twenty five years of racing motocross I was pretty much done and beaten up. I was dealing with a shoulder ailment and he said he wanted to send me a product he thought would help. I was pretty skeptical at first since I didn’t know where he was coming from but Chris turned out to be the real deal…and his shoulder rehab device, The Rotater, is also the real deal.
First off, the Rotater, like all great ideas, is so simple you wonder why you didn’t invent it yourself. The device in basic terms is used to help people recover from shoulder injuries and or rotator cuff issues. The Rotater allows the patient to use the device by themselves if they are dexterous enough or with the aid of an assistant to help them through the ranges of motions needed for a properly functioning shoulder. I won’t go into how to use the device for space’s sake but you can find all the info you need at http://therotater.com/wp/.
The shoulder is acutally composed of several joints
A little background on the shoulder joint: First off, the shoulder isn’t really a joint like the knee, hip, or elbow. The shoulder is a series of tendons and muscles that pass between, through and around the collar bone, and shoulder blades.
There is no ‘joint’ so to speak and this is what allows the shoulder its 360 degree mobility. Because of this mobility, the shoulder is the weakest joint in the body. It is easily injured and the most common injury among athletes is a rotator cuff tear. When an injury occurs to the shoulder, mobility is limited because pain stops you from moving it in the direction of the injury. The upper shoulder attaches to a host of muscles including the traps, pectorals, and upper back muscles but for now let’s stick with the rotator area. This is where most athletes suffer overuse injuries or like Chris and myself, high speed impact related injuries. Motorcycle racers tend to fall on their shoulders as they roll to avoid injuring more vital areas of the body. Chris mentioned that the idea for the Rotater came to his business partner, Scott Kay, while recuperating from his own shoulder injury.
Necessity is the mother of invention and The Rotater works as advertised. It helped me in early 2009 get from not being unable to lift my arm even to shoulder height because of the tightness and pain in the injured area. It wasn’t a fresh injury but an old one that didn’t really go away. I am not going to say The Rotater by itself healed me; I was already in a rehab for the shoulder but once I started using it the PTs at the well known rehab started telling me they saw quick improvement. I didn’t mention The Rotater to them but each week when I went to them I was worlds better than the week before. Why, you might ask. The Rotater in my case was an excellent stretching device. A shoulder that is too tight and knotted up will not respond to any treatment. Only when my PT Karen mentioned that I had excellent flexibility in the shoulder did I mention that I was secretly using The Rotator during the rest of the week.
She and the staff became curious as to what a “Rotater” was. When I brought the device to them they were as puzzled as to how to use it. After a five minute lesson they all got the hang of it just as I did. Once past the tender stage of the injury, The Rotater is a good tool to start the strengthening phase of recovery. The device has “cut out slots” on the arm to increase or decrease the resistance on your shoulder as you use it. My unit came with an attachment of surgical hosing which helped me gain some strength back after the mobility came back.
The Rotater will help anyone up to and including elite athletes regain their flexibility post injury and send them into the strengthening phase. This in turn will allow them to hit the weight room and full training sooner than later. Once back up to full strength, the only drawback with The Rotater is that is cannot be used soley as a strength training device. It then reverts back to a flexibility device.
As I mentioned I had more or less parked the motocross bike and taken up road cycling. According to the head PT, that is about the worst thing one can do to a shoulder or with an injured shoulder. The necessities of road cycling mean one is hunched over, weight on their shoulders with arms extended for several hours at a time.
This body position wreaked havoc on my shoulder when I tried to get on the bike too soon but semi daily workouts with The Rotater had me back to doing light weights, then heavier weights then actual riding. I battled back from almost three months of being out of work and off the bike to a high point of an eighty-five mile, yup you read right, an 85 mile bicycle ride. I still use mine once a week to keep things fresh and moving smoothly. I didn’t write these words as a writer who gets paid to write things, I wrote these words because this is my personal Rotater success story. Thank you Chris Melton for following through with a terrific product in The Rotater.
Michael James
Who is Michael James?
Michael James
Michael is an avid motocross rider, a hardcore road-racing cyclist and a freelance writer. His articles have appeared in:
- Hudson Valley Motocross News
- Racer X Illustrated (paper)
- Cycle News
- MX East
- MX America,
- mxlarge.com
- motonews.com
- mxnewsfeed.com
Michael James was accepted into the prestigious Major Taylor Iron Riders club in late 2009.
The Rotater included in Tour of DC Barbell
December 1, 2009
Thanks to Jason Pegg
I want to thank Jason Pegg for mentioning the Rotater during his video tour of DC Barbell – the home of Muncie Personal Training. Jason is an accomplished powerlifter who has posted some impressive lifts:
- 915 lb. squat
- 565 lb. bench press
- 725 lb. deadlift
In the video
At about 3:10 of the video, Jason pans across his Rotater and mentions that it’s an “awesome, awesome shoulder device..really helps with the rotator cuff flexibility”.
DC Barbell / Muncie Personal Training
DC Barbell / Muncie Personal Training is located at:
520 S Nichols Ave Suite H.
Muncie, IN 47304
You got questions?
If you have any questions about personal training / powerlifting, you can reach Jason at:
- 765.215.6393
- jason@jasonpegg.com
- http://www.twitter.com/jasonpegg
Imitating, but not Duplicating the Rotater
October 26, 2009
They say that “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”. The Guys over at Homemade Gym Stuff must like the Rotater because they redesigned a pretty good “homemade” version. Hey, you can’t blame a guy for wanting to save a few bucks!
Gym stuff, boxing, mma, fitness, etc.
Anyway, we liked their effort so much that we decided to send them a “real” Rotater to see how it measured up to their version. Here are a couple of excerpts from their article “The Rotater – Revisited“.
…Simple, elegant & stylish – we love ‘em. Dave’s shoulders feel better than ever, Nath now has increased ROM/flexability and my glued-up-mouse-shuffling-key-pushing shoulders are rejuvenated…
…So a heartfelt ‘Thanks’ goes out to two great guys, Chris & Scott for their generosity and dedication not only to the health of the rotator cuff but to the health of ‘er in doors’ too…
Golfer Improves Shoulder Flexibility with the Rotater
September 1, 2009
Shoulder pain while sleeping is common and frustrating
“Back in 2007 I started experiencing pain in my right shoulder mostly at nights while sleeping. Being someone who loves to play golf this became a concern especially since several friends and my wife all had shoulder surgery.
I ended up seeing my doctor and found out I had bone spurs in my shoulder that were rubbing and irritating my rotator cuff. Of course after surgery there’s physical therapy. I was in physical therapy for about 2 months and everything went really well, but I wasn’t back to the same flexibility in my shoulder as before even though I continued to do the exercises.
At the Jan. 2008 PGS Merchandise show in Orlando, I was at the Rotater booth and listened to what Chris Melton had to say about the Rotater. Sounded interesting but I didn’t do anything at first.
Full shoulder turn with no pain
After wallking around the show for awhile, I decided to buy one and give it a try.
I’ve been using the Rotater nearly everyday now and my shoulder flexibility has improved and is greater than before the shoulder surgery. As a golfer this is important for generating distance and control.”
Bill Raines – Kennedy Space Center, NASA
A Valuable Tool for Every Baseball Pitcher
July 22, 2009
“I was recently in attendance at a sportsmedicine conference, and I happened to come across The Rotater, developed by Joint Mechanix, LLC. I was immediately intrigued by its design, and had Chris take me through its use.
"The Rotater would be a valuable tool to keep in the bag of every baseball pitcher"
Since I am the coordinator of athletic injury care for a large local school district, in addition to having a private practice specializing in rehabilitation, I immediately purchased one to try back at my office.
The Rotater has proved to be a valuable adjunct to use in caring for my shoulder patients. Whereas, teaching patients self-administered flexibility routines for the shoulder rotators has always been somewhat of a challenge, the easy to use Rotater now allows me to teach patients a simple and very effective way to perform self-stretching routines. Furthermore, I can now send them home with a device, and feel confident that they will continue to stretch in an appropriate manner.
The ability to connect exercise tubing also makes it an effective strengthening device. In addition, I believe that The Rotater would be a valuable tool to keep in the bag of every baseball pitcher. It would be a great adjunct to warmup and cooldown routines.
I want to commend Scott on a great design concept, and I look forward to continue using your device in my rehabilitation programs, as well as with my athletic teams. Great Job!”
Yours in Health,
Kenneth T. Cieslak, DC, ATC, CSCS
Doctor of Chiropractic/ Sports Injury Rehabilitation
61 E. Main Street
Bogota, NJ 07603
201-390-1816
Athletic Trainer Amazed with Rotator Cuff Stretching Device
July 22, 2009
“When I saw you guys in Atlanta in 2006, I was fascinated by how this device (the Rotater) could provide such a good stretch of the rotator cuff. Usually if an athlete is going to try to stretch the R.C. (rotator cuff), they need another person to stretch it properly for them.
Shoulder flexibilty is essential for baseball players
I, being a former baseball pitcher, found that it provided a quality stretch in which the athlete or person using it could determine how much or how little of a stretch they wanted.
During baseball season I showed it to several players and they found this tool useful in giving them the type of stretch they desired. We hope to use it with more teams this upcoming Fall 2008 season.”
Thanks again,
Jonathan D. Drisko, ATC, LAT
Head Athletic Trainer
Algonquin Regional High School
Shoulder Stretching is Daily Routine for PGA Pro
July 21, 2009
Stretch your shoulder - the golf pros do!
“I was very glad that I stopped at your booth at the PGA show. The Rotater” has become as much a part of my morning as my cup of coffee.
It is easy to stretch out my shoulders from all directions to maintain my flexibility. Having had rotator cuff surgery on my left shoulder in 2005 I know how important stretching is.
Thanks for a great product!!”
Perry R. Green
Director of Instruction
Director of Golf Operation
The Golf Club at Wescott Plantation
Rausch Physical Therapy Recommends the Rotater
July 14, 2009
“It has been a few months since I met the Rotater gang at the APTA conference in Denver, CO. I was quite intrigued with their product, and purchased one for use in my clinic. Since then, the Rotater has been used daily and I am in need of a new one or three.
Kevin Rausch of Rausch Physical Therapy
The Rotater itself has proved invaluable to my patients’ shoulders and their subsequent recovery. It has been used for a variety of overuse, sports, orthopedic, and post-surgical conditions to date, and on a large group of patients as well. Everyone from grandma with adhesive capsulitis to the major league baseball pitcher has reaped its benefits, and I look forward to many more.
In fact, I am currently planning a youth baseball camp for the little leagues in my area. I plan on performing mechanical examinations and coaching; rotator cuff, scapular, and core strengthening; and shoulder stretching (with the Rotater of course). I’ll keep you guys updated with the progress on the camp.
In summary, great job guys! I truly appreciate your ingenuity in creating the Rotater. It has been a great addition to my clinic. Keep up the good work.”
Sincerely,
Kevin Rausch, MPT, CSCS
Rausch Physical Therapy, INC.
www.rauschpt.net
Shoulder Rehab Tool Puts Senior Golf Pro back on the Links
June 2, 2009
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.
Falling on an outstretched arm can injure your shoulder
Physical therapy to the rescue
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!
Found the Rotater and back on the links
Hitting 'em long and straight with no shoulder pain
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
