Shoulder injury

Discussion in 'Injuries' started by powertrail, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. powertrail

    powertrail Regular Member

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    I'm 14,intermediate level and play/train (playED :crying:) regularly. (4-5 times a week)I know its a long post but I want to cover everything here.Three months ago,I developed a slight pain in my shoulder.Honestly it seems so long ago that I cant really remember HOW the problem started. What I DO remember is that after warming up,the pain would go away and I could play all my shots.I decided that it would probably go away soon since I have gotten injuries before that went away after a day or two and at most, a week.The pain was very inconsistent. Some days I would be perfectly fine, other days the pain would start bugging me. A month after that every time I smashed 100% I would feel a sharp pain in my shoulder. Since the injury wasn't going away and it was restricting my game,I decided to stop for a week or two and monitor myself. (plus I had exams)

    During that 2 week period,I read up on different kinds of shoulder injuries trying to find out what kind of injury I had. I came across Visors thread "shoulder impingement syndrome". I thought it was very very similar to my problem.However, I didn't feel any pain when doing the tests shown in the thread furthermore my arm movement wasn't restricted and I didn't feel any pain at night when trying to sleep.( I read that those are some of the symptoms that people with shoulder impingement have )

    I decided to see a general practitioner. He did some tests but in none of the positions that he put my arm in did I feel any pain. He decided that it was just a small injury and gave me some painkillers..............................

    2 weeks after that,no improvement and I went to see a sports specialist.He suspected it to be a slight tear in the soft tissue in my shoulder ( he didn't use the term shoulder impingement or rotator cuff ) and gave me some tablets. ( that supplies enzymes so that the tear will heal faster according to him ) He told me to rest COMPLETELY (I actually played 2 or 3 times to test my shoulder) for a month,but to do some other sports like swimming ( I didn't go swimming but I did go jogging alot). During the one month period,I felt very slight pain in my shoulder (sometimes I wondered if I was imagining it and thinking too much about it) "only" once a day. After a month I went back to the doctor feeling more confident that perhaps I would be able to play.The doctor told me that I could start but to play lightly and not to smash at all. Everything went quite well, I didn't feel any pain and I was so happy.

    BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today in school I felt slight pain in my shoulder every time I lifted it up. I am SO demoralized right now ITS BEEN THREE MONTHS.........I feel that I've stopped for so long and haven't gotten anything in return.Next year is my last year in the under 15 category and I really want to get well before next year so that I can at least get back to my level before I got this damn injury.PLEASE HELP!!!!!!:crying:
     
  2. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    Hi there! First thing to say is that I think you've done the right thing to see the doctor about your problem. I have a similar problem and had to give up the game for about 5-6 years. So trust me when I say I know how you feel! ;)

    Over the years I've gotten better at managing my problem although it is still there. There are a few things that I've found that has helped me and may help you.

    You say you warm up before, but is it enough? The key is to keep you muscles warm all the time. I used to spend about 5-10mins warming up thinking that is enough, and often play clears with my partner and treated that as part of my warm up. This was no where near enough. I now spend at least 25mins warming up and this has made a huge difference to my shoulder.

    Stretching really helps and also to start with gentle shots, there's always temptation at clubs when people ask you come and play when you're not fully warmed up. You must try to avoid that.

    I've also changed my racquet from head heavy 2U to an even balanced 3U which has also helped.

    Back in 2005 when I had the problem, I used a number of anti-inflammatory creams/gels which settled the shoulder quite well. I've never been keen on pain killers as I don't need to mask the pain, I wanted something that will help treat the problem.

    I've also tried accupunture, physiotherapy, chinese massage, chinese teet-da, oesteopathy etc... none have helped. However the weight training exercises from the physiotherapist has helped stabilise my shoulder a little, but did not make a massive difference.

    I would suggest you rest your shoulder and let it recover before you do any serious damage to it that may stop you from playing in the long run (you're still young!). You may want to look into using some anti-inflammatory creams/gels if you feel you have some inflammation.

    If it really does cause you problems, you may want to go and see a shoulder specialist for advice.
     
  3. powertrail

    powertrail Regular Member

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    Thanks for the reply!
    Whoa,6 years?Thats long!!! HOW did you survive................

    Anyway,yeah,I think you're right about warming up.Before my injury I didn't think much about warming up and like you,I treated playing clears as part of my warm up.I'll definitely take more time to warm up next time. The thing with my injury is I am still not sure if its shoulder impingement. The pain is not all that much and I only feel it occasionally,not all the time. The problem is IT NEVER GOES AWAY. Is there anything you have ever heard of for symptoms like mine? No pain at all when stationary.OCCASIONAL SLIGHT pain when I move my arm in VERY PARTICULAR POSITIONS(and even then,sometimes when I try to feel for pain in that position,there is none.)No movement restrictions.

    I am really lucky as my mom's company pays for any medical treatment received by immediate family members. The doctor told me to see him after a few weeks and if its still bad, I'll have an MRI. I wish I had stopped the moment I saw any signs of an injury...................I wonder if I took action too late.........
     
  4. werplowsky33

    werplowsky33 New Member

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    If its getting to you, and affecting your game. You should get it checked out. It could just be lack of circulation. My nephew plays in high school. And his coach used to play in the circuit. And he has to use a circulation wrap after practice. He just plugs it in and yells at the kits. He says to my nephew, Chris. To get this taken care of. I'd ice ice ice and rest. Or get one of these kits. Try it. This is the one he got. www.kingbrand.com/Shoulder_Injury_Treatment.php?REF=Boris1011 It's from a company in Canada. Shipping is good. Good luck in your season.
     
  5. bowi12

    bowi12 Regular Member

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    This sounds very similar to my own shoulder problem. I have had some pain in my shoulder for some time aswel. It usually goes away when I'm warmed up, so it doesn't bother me that much while playing. And it comes back when I've stopped playing for little while. I haven't stopped playing for a long time because of the injury. Although I've skipped training a few times, when it was really bad.

    It does seem to be getting a little better these days. First of all, I changed the shuttles I play with most of the time. I used to play with plastics almost all the time and now I usually play with feather shuttles. This change wasn't because of the injury though. I am now playing in a better team. At this higher level all matches are played with feather shuttles.

    I'm also visiting a fysiotherapist now. He told me that it was probably caused by the followthrough after a smash or a clear. And that the muscles that control the arm aren't strong enough. So have gave me some excercises to strengthen my shoulder. Hopefully these will solve the problem.

    I don't know if your injury has the same cause, so I don't recommend doing some excersises to train your shoulder, unless your docter tells you to do so. Training the shoulder can also harm the injury on some occations.
     
  6. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Shoulder ultrasound or mri should be helpful in determining the cause. Can you show us in a picture or diagram where is your pain?
     
  7. KayakerSteve

    KayakerSteve Regular Member

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    Shoulder injuries suck!!!

    When I hurt mine it took about 3 years before it started to improve, and all my doctor would suggest at first was rest. I don't know if others have found the same thing when dealing with medical professionals, but badminton doesn't get a lot of respect.

    During this "rest" time I tried acupuncture, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractor, rest, ice, magnets, and ultrasound therapy. Acupuncture helped me with the pain a lot, but it was a short lived fix and the pain returned with in a day or two. There was a period of about 18 months were I didn't sleep because of the pain, and because I was unwilling to sign up for surgery or cortisone shots my doctor dismissed the injury as minor. I was really fortunate as the physiotherapist I eventually found had watched me in a tournament and while she had never played 'real badminton' (her description) she understood how dynamic and demanding a sport badminton the way we play it is, and more importantly she has a son who was an Olympic swimmer so she was very familiar with shoulder injuries, exercises to strengthen it and treatment including taping it for the first 3 months when I started to ramp up my play. Together we set a realistic goal of when I would be able to play again at a level that would be acceptable to me of 18 months. I know at the time that seemed excessively long to me, but it was just about right on. All together it was about 5 years from the Friday night of a 3 day tournament that I pushed through the first pains that I felt until I could confidently swing full speed again.

    Had I known what was in store I would have forfeited that match and withdrawn from the tournament.

    At the first sign of pain RICE,

    Rest
    Ice
    Compression (hard with shoulder injuries, but there are ways to tape a shoulder)
    Elevation (again hard, but sitting is much more comfortable that laying down)

    If the pain persists, seek out medical attention, and push for a referral to a qualified physiotherapist, then the hard part do the prescribed excercises. After they diagnose your injury they will give you specific excercises that will isolate the area that needs to be worked on, the excercises make you feel uncooridnated and weak and they hurt like a dirty *@*!$, but it is worth it.

    Also, now I am very aware of my racquets, find what works best for you, I have gone from a very head heavy racquet to a slightly head heavy frame, very small grips and extra stiff shafts (I know that isn't the way it is supposed to be, but that is what works for me) and I played with looser strings than anyone I know, I have in the past year increased my string tension gradually to a normal tension.

    Good luck,

    Steve
     
  8. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    ^^ 5 years!!? You're gonna scare the OP. :p. But seriously the most important is to find a good sports physio who is experienced at *both* diagnosing and treating shoulder injuries.
     
  9. powertrail

    powertrail Regular Member

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    Thank you for the all the replies!Err,I found out that its sometimes (but not always.I dont know why) painful when I try lifting my arm past my head.And I'm wondering if I should just play with less intensity and less often and just monitor myself? Because my next appointment with the specialist is a month away. He told me that ,after resting for so long, there was nothing much that I could do besides monitoring myself for awhile.He told me that if it still isn't OK by next month, he'll do an MRI. Does that sound like good advice? I don't know any other specialist in my area (I'm from Taiping.Small town :rolleyes:).

    Some of you guys' injuries took YEARS to HEAL???Unbelievable.I REFUSE to believe that mine is gonna be like that..........your shoulder injuries must have been really bad to have lasted for years. I THINK (and hope)mine isn't as bad because it doesn't trouble me at all doing normal stuff. I mean, yeah I feel it once or twice a day when I move my arm suddenly or jerk it but if I had to live with this forever,NO PROBLEM.The only reason I'm so annoyed with this is BADMINTON. I just want to be able to get back as fast as possible..............I miss competitive badminton :crying: Its really been a drastic change because I used to play 4-5 times a week and now................I'm getting used to life without badminton but I REALLY want to get back into it seeing that next year is my last chance for the Under 15 Category.
     
  10. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    ^^ That's an excellent pic that you chose. It shows the most important structures involved, ie.subacromial bursa, long head of the bicipital tendon, and the ever impinged supraspinatus tendon. Take your pick. :)

    It's quite unusual for someone your age to be having this problem... probably something wrong with your technique... which also may present differently at your younger age. The MRI will be helpful.

    Meanwhile rest it, ice it if it hurts. If you want to play, you can practice drives, net etc but no overhead motions like clear and smash.

    Keep on doing those exercises e.g. weighted pendulum, W shoulder exercise.
     
    #11 visor, Oct 16, 2012
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2012
  11. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    I forgot to mention the stuff I used for my shoulder when I had pain - Voltarol. It's an anti-inflammatory cream and is widely available in the UK and I found it really effective for my shoulder as well as other similar joint/muscle problems I had in the past. However during play, if I had pain, I would use Ammeltz Yoko Yoko. It masks the pain really well and quickly too, it works so well that I heard the Korean national team carry these with them all the time.

    You may have something similar stuff in your country. I also suffered from a knee problem (patella tendinitis -sp?) which I've had a little success with but my doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory pill (sodium diclofenac -sp?) that I took for a few weeks and rid me of the problem (although after almost 8 years, it's now back!).

    I'm no expert, but from my experience it was a case of plenty of rest, anti-inflammatory cream followed by a little strengthening exercises and lots of warming up and stretching.

    Visor's our resident expert on this sort of thing, so worth noting his opinion.
     
  12. KayakerSteve

    KayakerSteve Regular Member

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    I had the same attitude, pretty sure that contributed to it taking years to heal.
     
  13. CanucksDynasty

    CanucksDynasty Regular Member

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    When I rotate my racket arm (right) backwards (like a backstroke in swimming), I'm getting a clicking sound on my shoulder. It's about the position of 3 o'clock (arm behind me parallel to the ground). It doesn't hurt. Just wondering if I should be concerned.
     
  14. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Should be fine as long as there's no pain. Probably just a tendon gliding making that sound.
     
  15. CanucksDynasty

    CanucksDynasty Regular Member

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    Thanks visor. After reading this thread...I got paranoid. :eek:
     
  16. powertrail

    powertrail Regular Member

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    Yes,I also wonder why I'm having this at 14.......I don't THINK I have the wrong technique,but anyway,I'l try sending some videos so that you guys can see if I'm doing anything wrong.Well,I can clear quite well without feeling pain unless the shuttle is behind me and I have to really stretch and use lots of strength.And I am not smashing till its completely good.And "KEEP on doing those exercises?" I haven't been doing anything since I wasn't 100% sure what the injury is.............so I should do those pendulum exercises????Once a day??

    And,about the anti inflammatory cream?My mom told me not to get anything unless prescribed by the doctor even after I told her that lots of people and sites suggested it.......I think the only way to do this would be to ask the doctor for his opinion, and get the cream if he says yes.
     
  17. powertrail

    powertrail Regular Member

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    What do you mean by that?You mean I should assume that this will take a really long time to heal and not hastily try to get back into my game?(this is a sincere question)
     
  18. KayakerSteve

    KayakerSteve Regular Member

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    No it won't take a long time if you look after it properly early.

    Like I said my pain started the first day of a tournament, and I played through it, in fact because of commitments I continued to play and coach causing a more serious injury, like everyone else here we have played through and with pain in this instance I wish I would have stopped right away. In fact I never really stopped going on court, I skipped a few tournaments, and didn't smash but I am not sure that is what my doctor meant by rest.
     
  19. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    While waiting for the specialist, at the very least you should ice it and do weighted pendulum exercises. Each 3x per day 10 minutes each time.
     

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