My Shoulder Injury

Just a little under a week ago, June 4th, I was doing some 100m sprint runs as part of my athletic power training. I went out with the goal of doing 6 to 10 runs, taking about a 3 minute rest between each run. I had just completed my 6th run and was definitely feeling it, this was the first time I had done sprint runs, so I wasn’t surprised. As I rested for my 3 minutes I thought “I’ll do one more, just push myself to get in 7 runs.” Seemed reasonable, I was huffing and puffing, but my time for each run was only 1 or 2 seconds off, so I figured I could get one more in. Well, it turns out I was wrong! Right at the end of my 7th sprint a sharp pain shot through my right arm. The pain almost immediately subsided, but arm felt weak for some time after. So I stopped my sprints and took it easy for the rest of the day.

The next day my arm was feeling better, didn’t feel weak at all! However… certain positions and usage of my right arm caused that pain to quickly shoot into my arm again. I did my own Google search, as one does, and figured I probably pinched a nerve in my shoulder. A personal Google search is obviously not the best way to get diagnosed, and I don’t recommend people do that. However, it’s a nice way to get a bit of a base before seeing a professional. I luckily already had a physio appointment booked for later that week, so I just waited it out until then.

The physio appointment was 4 days away, and I didn’t want to just sit around and get lazy. I knew what kind of motion caused the pain, anything where my arm was pulled back, so I had a good starting point! I did some lower body and some core workouts that didn’t put any stress on my arm. I also did some low impact cardio, aerobics really, that didn’t require me to swing my arms aggressively.

Adding in the lower body, core, and aerobics has held me over for a bit, but I’m feeling a bit imbalanced with the loss of my upper body workouts. Luckily I have seen a professional and been diagnosed with the cause; I strained my rotator cuff. Another lucky thing for me is it seems to be quite minor. I have a full range of motion, and only specific actions will cause pain. Armed with this knowledge I can add some upper body workouts to my routine that don’t aggravate my rotator cuff. Also, as a good precaution to my health, if I don’t have any improvements in 1 month, I will make an appointment with my Doctor!

Check out this article for some exercise ideas to strengthen your rotator cuff!
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