Dislocating shoulders

***battlefields*** · Posted On: 4/09/2012 8:58pm

Not sure if this belongs here because of it's specificity to rolling, but it IS a question regarding body, strength and joints, so if it needs to be moved, apologies to the mods for making you do your damn job.

So I have what some might call "double jointed" shoulders, as in I can dislocate them at will. It is a huge assistance when people put me in an omoplata (I don't tap out from pain, but because I a) want to keep my tendons intact or b) am immobilised). It was also a great party trick when I was younger. There was also a point in time where I tore my right shoulder but the doctors said it didn't look like I had done anything to it (dude did a wicked throw on me where I landed upside down against a wall with him directly driving into my shoulder). I can still feel the collar bone in the front out of alignment, so I'm not sure the doc was right.

In a recent roll my partner said to me that it felt like there was a certain point where I just lost all strength in my arms and I realised this to be true. It seems that when my upper arms are above say 90 degrees from my torso they lose all leverage of muscle, tendon and bone. Whether it is an actual loss, or an unconscious "there is no strength past this point due to possibility of dislocation of joint", I don't know, but it is distressing having to "give up" the fight when my arms are above my shoulders.

Also during that roll I was put in a modified crucifix with my arm straight above my head and when I tried to go against it, I heard a couple of cracks and pops so I tapped out and there was this slight pain in my shoulder akin to hyperextension, but that disappeared after a little while. In fact, sometimes while rolling I feel an intense but dull ache in one or both of my shoulders, sometimes when no shoulder lock has been performed on me. It goes away by the time I get home, but it can get pretty intense.

I am not weak, able to do between 30-40 good form push ups straight out the gate, my bench during 5x5 was approximately 70kg with little problem (although if I tried to jump up too quickly I would fail due to this "weakening" in the shoulders). My overhead press suffered greatly from this weakening, I was constantly having to drop weight.

I wonder if hindu pushups are a good option?

Does anyone have any recommendations of exercises to strengthen my shoulders above the 90 degree mark?

Last year I was doing a lot of dumbell work that included my shoulders, I think my reasoning was that I should build up a shitload of muscle around the weakened joints so as to offset this anomaly. Thoughts?

**ChenPengFi** · Posted On: 4/09/2012 9:26pm

I'd look to rotator cuff imbalances first.
Perhaps some sort of nerve entrapment, maybe suprascapular nerve, could be to blame also.
You probably should get it looked at by a pro.

***battlefields*** · Posted On: 4/09/2012 9:35pm

Dammit, man, I'm not made of dollars, give me a fucking quick fix.

Rotator cuff, that sounds like something that has come up in the distant past. I think you are right, though, I should get it checked out, but I can't at the moment.

**ChenPengFi** · Posted On: 4/09/2012 9:49pm

Hahaha, well i can give you some reading:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0215/p667.html

That goes over much of the basics.
As for basic strengthening, all the typical band exercises may help if it's just an imbalance thing; a nerve issue could be degenerating on the other hand and permanent damage isn't out of the question.
You might avoid overhead lifts, hindu pushups etc out of prudence until you get a better idea as to what's going on.

**GoldenJonas** · Posted On: 4/09/2012 10:36pm

For what it is worth...

I have had surgery to repair both of my shoulders.

My right was primarily rotator cuff tearing, hairline fractures, and tendon damage. The doc did something called a "Bankart Procedure" to fix it. Injury/Surgery was in 2004-2005. Recovery was...well...still recovering. However, my left shoulder is probably about 80-90% right now. I went through the surgery and about 8 months of rehab. As a reference for the rehab intensity...when I came out of the sling, I could not lift my own arm.

My left shoulder was to fix a humeral head fracture and capsule fracture. That was a complete dislocation when it happened. That happened in 2008-09. After the rehab, my shoulder is now at about 60-70%.

Shoulder injuries are the absolute worst to recover from in my opinion (I've had neck, lower back, both knees, broken ribs, toes and fingers to compare it to).

You need to go to a good Orthopedic Surgeon for utra sound, x-rays, and MRI and a diagnosis. Just because the guy might be a "surgeon" doesn't mean he will automatically say SURGERY. Ask around your gym for referrals and go see a doc that is familiar with sports related injuries so that you get a guy who has not been looking at sedentary people all day but knows that you workout and train.

Listen to what the doc says. Take it easy with the injured shoulder. Just because you are "double jointed" doesn't mean you are NOT inuring the rotator cuff, capsule lining, or various tendons that hold the shoulder together.

Good luck.