Shoulder injuries represent 4.35% or over 6.6 million of all injuries reported to emergency departments in the US. The most common causes of shoulder injuries include sports and recreation, home structure, and home furniture. They can result to fractures, contusions, and dislocations. Unfortunately, ignoring pain and delaying treatment can lead to significant and long-lasting negative consequences. In addition, it’s critical to adapt training to a shoulder injury for a successful recovery and to prevent further damage ensuring long term shoulder health, in the process. Adapting training also promotes healing and minimizes compensation patterns. Therefore, it facilitates optimal healing and recovery as well as improves range of motion while rebuilding strength and stability.
Identify Exercises and Make Strategic Adjustments
There are many types of shoulder injuries that can occur. A possible treatment option is reverse shoulder replacement, a procedure that has become increasingly common and popular in the US. In fact, reverse shoulder arthroplasty accounts for more than 50% and even nearly 70% of shoulder arthroplasties performed in the US according to sources. Training for a shoulder injury can be quite difficult because it requires a lot of patience, discipline, and close adherence to professional guidance. The shoulder is incredibly mobile but also inherently unstable, meaning that even small deviations in movement or excessive load can easily aggravate injury or lead to compensatory patterns.
An important strategy is to modify grip and hand position. A neutral grip places less stress on the shoulder capsule and rotator cuff compared to palms down or palms up grip. It is also vital to adjust the range of motion opting for a 90° shoulder flexion instead of a full overhead press.
Moreover, change body positioning and exercise angle. It’s also a good idea to use machines rather than free weights as they provide more stability which can be beneficial in the early-stage rehab. As control improves, you can move on to free weights.
Manage Load and Frequency
Load is another critical factor to consider. When there’s too little load, the shoulder will not be stimulated enough to repair and strengthen it. On the other hand, too much load will also re-injure or further damage the healing tissue leading to setbacks, inflammation, or permanent damage. Another reason why load management is vital is to minimize pain. As a guide, pain is the body’s signal indicating that something is wrong. Therefore, training beyond a pain-free threshold or a tolerable level of discomfort as guided by a professional is not advisable.
One of the ways to manage load and progression is to reduce volume and frequency. To illustrate, start with 1-2 sets of less than 15 repetitions and gradually increase the sets as comfort allows. It’s also critical to give the shoulder more rest days between training sessions. Hence, instead of training shoulders three times a week, reduce it to 1-2 times focusing on other body parts on non-shoulder days. You can also use pain guided progression. Ask yourself on a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being no pain to 10 being the worst pain imaginable, what’s your pain level during and after a particular exercise. If an exercise causes pain, stop immediately. Rest, reassess, or try a simpler variation or reduce the load even further.
Applying strategic strategies to adapt training to a shoulder injury is very important to support recovery and minimize the risk of re-injury. Adapting training requires a combination of smart selection of exercises, progressive loading, and listening to the body’s signals.