Training with shoulder injury.

I have a rotator cuff injury while i have no intention of getting on the mat. Any good ideas what i can do to not lose the muscle memory or even improve. I just received my yellow belt.

hobit wrote:I have a rotator cuff injury while i have no intention of getting on the mat. Any good ideas what i can do to not lose the muscle memory or even improve. I just received my yellow belt.

Rotator cuff injuries do not easily repair and can become very debilitating. Rehabilitation incurs two steps:

1. Reserving complete rest (while applying ice if the exact location is palpable, and local anti-infammatory oinment) for a period that equals the theoretical time required to let a tear in a tendon heal: 6 weeks for a first-time injury.
2. Total avoidance of any contact sport during the injury or rehabilitation as one can neither predict nor control what or which movements happen, nor their magnitude, speed or force when engaging in a contact sport. Rehab therefore has to occur in a fitness center using non-loose weights, first three weeks with minimal weight simply practicing range of motion and increased blood circulation and oxygenation, and after 3 weeks adding load.

The above obviously applies only to first-time injuries and to normal people. Obviously if one has to fight an Olympic contest or world championships final next week the challenges are different. In the above suggestions it is also assumed that the not further identified rotator cuff injury merely implies elongations, small longitudinal tears, inflammation and the like. In the case of more serious injuries such as transfersal tears, torn-off structures and anything that requires surgical intervention for repair, specific recommendations provided by the surgeon or paramedical health worker who has access to your medical history and file should be adhered to.

I used a bodyblade for my shoulder recovery and it helped a lot! IT did not totally fix it thought. I was not able to bench press again even after few years but I was able to get back to judo.