Non-surgical success

Between January 2010 and February 2013 I don’t have much in the way of details dealing with my shoulder injury other than attempting multiple periods of extended rest. This was largely unsuccessful for me, likely because it wasn’t matched with any significant therapeutic exercises. 

During the later half of 2013 life found me taking significant time away from Ultimate. After being one of the final cuts from the Spinners, and without prospects for a good and serious club team I started rock climbing, a much more passive activity relative to Ultimate. I did go to a few tournaments with Jughandle and then Termite’s Entourage, but didn’t end up playing with either for the Series. At this time my wife moved to DC for work, and I was spending a lot of time finishing my Ph.D. thesis at Penn. It was apparent that the time away from Ultimate helped decrease inflammation; the stress of throwing (I’m a handler and puller for most teams I play for) wasn’t aggravating my injury anymore. I was living pain free, although still couldn’t bench press heavy.

In late 2013 and early 2014 I finished my Ph.D. and moved down to D.C., which is when my life started to equilibrate. Completely frustrated with my inability to properly workout my right shoulder, I started a regimented program to combat what I simply thought to be tendonitis or bursitis. I did a lot of light weight dumbbell lateral and forward raises, 12-15 pounds at most, high reps, low weight was key. I used the colored tension bands to do resistance training with my shoulder. A simple internet search will give you a host of ideas for shoulder resistance band training is easy to find. Here’s one link that could be helpful http://www.bodylastics.com/shoulders/, although I was largely self-sufficient, and independent in creating my own program based on prior training and experience. 

My progress was apparent: By the summer of 2014 (this year) I had proceeded to heavier dumbbell lateral and front raises (25lbs) without any pain. There was fluctuation getting to the point. When I felt pain I’d drop the weight and increase the number of reps, but over 6 months of committed work, including stretching, good diet, and appropriate rest, I felt my shoulder was better than ever. For the first time in years I started adding weight to my bench press, getting up to 75#x5 dumbell press. I largely avoid barbell bench press because of the poor biomechanics that the activity forces on your shoulders (http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/bench-press-is-it-a-dangerous-workout-exercise-40883#). This links to a great read on how the biomechanics are problematic and how to modify your bench press to be safer for your shoulder. I won’t go into the details, here.

In August of 2014 I fortuitously found my way onto a mid-level strength Ultimate team (Sparkle Ponies) and instantly found my way in a big role as a starting D line handler. I felt great. I had put on about 10lbs of muscle since last I played, was rested, healthy, and excited to play. The only problem I noticed is that my once 80 yard pull was only 65-70 at most. I believe this was because of lingering shoulder weakness from not having played/practiced my pulls in nearly a year. It was a fun and successful, albeit short season capped by breaking seed and getting into quarterfinals at MA Mixed Regionals.