Greetings from
Finland Bill! ( and everyone else reading this forum )
I’m recovering from a SLAP-repair done four months ago and my search for quality rehab advice lead me here… I’ve read everything related to shoulder and / or stretching here and over at T-nation and pretty much everywhere Google has lead me, but I’m still confused how to gain my shoulder ROM back… Well actually it’s pretty much only the external rotation which I’m still struggling with…flexion, abduction etc. are all pretty much back to normal… I would really, REALLY appreciate your guidance…I’m sure I would’ve already booked an appointment to see you if I lived even in the same continent
So…what kind of stretching ( and other mobility work ) would you suggest to someone struggling with surgery induced stiffness? I’ve tried pretty much everything, from mild to very aggressive static stretching, PNF-stretching ( hold-relax ) and also a variety of dynamic mobility work ( arm swings to all directions and active external rotations ). But I’m still confused what methods would be optimal, as I’m not sure what I’m trying to stretch i.e. what causes the tightness? Muscles, ligaments, scar tissue???
I’ve finally been able to get a little progress with very aggressive static stretching combined with 2-3 hold-relax sequences. I’ve used a supine lying position so that I’m able to restrict the scapula movement a little and kept my arm abducted to 90 degrees. Then I’ll just start to press my hand towards the floor ( back ) with a stick, use 2-3 isometric contractions ( antagonist ) on the way down and try to force my hand to the floor at the end and keep it there a while. On a scale of 0-10 I’d rate the pain in the end to probably 6, hard to evaluate really because the whole stretch takes about 2-3 minutes and you kind of “get used” to it during the stretch.
Any advice? I know you’ve had your share of shoulder problems and your input would be highly appreciated… Sorry for the long post BTW
Thank you in advance!
Antti
Finland