I haven’t been as diligent as I should be, and I feel like I am not making progress.  I have done some more study and have decided on a more precise plan of action.

First off, I will warm up the shoulder before stretching it, then do stretching, and then mobility exercises.  I have made the executive decision that the exercises will not be the warm up.  I will probably do some light arm circles and the hanging pendulum drill as a warm up.

I have also started to wonder if I may be pushing too far in my stretches.  Based on all the reading I’ve done the stretches should be relatively pain free before moving on.  I should only be stretching to about a “4” on the pain scale rather than the “7-8” I have been pushing to.  The reason I was pushing so hard is because you always hear people complaining that their physical therapist causes them tremendous pain during rehab.  I don’t know; I’m going to have to think on this one.  Maybe I’ll lighten up for about 3 weeks, then push harder again.  The isometric exercises don’t hurt as much as the stretches, but my ROM (Range Of Motion) is at about 60% compared to my uninjured side, but my uninjured side doesn’t have great ROM either (that is the side that I tore in my 20’s and rehabbed on my own).

So here’s the drill:

1. Shoulder Pendulum Swings – clockwise and counter clockwise, 20 reps
2. Shoulder circles – small then large, 20 reps each direction
3. Lateral Rotation Stretch in abduction for 30 seconds
4. Lateral Rotation Stretch with elbow at my side for 30 seconds

1. Lateral Rotation in abduction using a water bottle, kneeling on the floor with elbow on desk
2. Lateral Rotation Isometric for 20 seconds

Shoulder Rehab

I went to see my doctor yesterday for my 6 month diabetes checkup (it’s required by law in order for him to be able to write me a scrip for my insulin and test strips, what a load of crap).  Since I was there, I asked him about my shoulder.  He confirmed my diagnosis, and said I should be stretching it even if I do still have pain.  He said it is not uncommon for this type of injury to morph into frozen shoulder syndrome, especially for people our age and for diabetics.

Here is an awesome link that goes more in depth on what my doctor told me.  http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drryan9.htm

I did one set of one stretch for each muscle, and one set of one exercise.  My shoulder seems to feel better, maybe just because the muscles are warmed up and tighter.  I held the stretches for 20 seconds each, did 12 reps for the infraspinatus and a 20 second isometric contraction for the Teres Minor.