So now that the tendon issues in my right arm are behaving, I want to work on reducing the scar tissue around it. At the moment I have inhibited range of movement, but most notably, if I significantly overexert it becomes painful enough to leave me struggling for breath. The issue is, the really bad areas are around the scapula and mid section of the back - difficult to reach and I don't have anyone to help with it. Any suggestions? Been stretching and working out tissue where I can reach
You really need to massage it aggressively in order to loosen the scars. Sent from my P027 using Tapatalk
Like visor said, massage therapy is probably your best bet at removing scar tissue. Going for a few sessions to an experienced massage therapist to remove the worst of the scar tissue would really help expedite your recovery. After that, you can lie on the floor and use two tennis balls taped together to roll along your thoracic/mid-back (don't roll the lumbar/low-back!), while for your scapular region you can roll on a squash ball against a wall. https://jlwptfitnessandeducation.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/photo-4.jpg
@MSeeley I’m seeing a chiropractor and massage therapist, they have done some work, and now I’m trying to stretch the shoulder back into it’s natural position. At the moment the shoulder is still too far forward so I’m trying to push it backwards a little, free up any scarring around the ball of the joint, and retrain muscles into the natural position. How safe is this to do? Any recommendations?
Heh... so I had suggested this deep tissue massage 2 months ago... To move your shoulders backwards to its natural position, you'll need to do scapular and back exercises. Just search for some videos on youtube.
@visor as I’m guessing you have some experience with this too, is it normal that in the ‘right’ position my arm feels boiling hot?
Probably from your muscles and soft tissues and nerves being stretched back to their proper anatomical position. Perhaps ask your massage therapist.
I don't have experience with shoulder scar tissue, but with hip scar tissue around the flexors. Unfortunately massage + strengthening + stretching + steroid injections was not not able to resolve the issues (within a year time frame) and I resorted to a further keyhole operation to remove the scar tissue. If you have good insurance it may be something to consider @Charlie-SWUK
Luckily the scarring for me isn't *inside the joint*, where it sounds like yours was; rather mines behind the scapula and on the ribs. It's accessible but tricky.
Right, so I've had a couple of sessions with each - sports therapist and chiropractor. It's all helping, the first session with the sports therapist made a huge impact, the first with the chiro didn't feel amazing. However, the inverse can be said for subsequent sessions. The chiropractor did some crazy voodoo on Monday, released a ton of crap in my thoracic spine. Unfortunately some of it regressed since then. Got soft tissue release tomorrow, and chiro again in 2 weeks. I played on Thursday and it was easy. There was no joint knocking on overheads, no restricted movement, hell even on high backhands - a range of motion that shouldn't really does not like - it was a doddle. I'm really looking forward to seeing how my game looks in 3 months time, when I've had more treatment like this.
From my own past experience with a grade 2 ankle sprain (partial tear), it took me about half a year to recover basic function and a full year for a the tenderness to be gone along with near normal range of motion, strength in the joint and flexibility. Fundamentally, the issue with joint recovery is one that involves a lack of blood flow to the joint areas and difficulty with rebuilding joint tissue (collagen). , and good joint tissue (cross linking the collagen) My pointers to aid the scar tissue removal and remodeling process are as follows: [Rehab] -start and begin with unloaded, full range range of motion flex / holds ( I started these within 2-3 days of the injury) -gradually progressing to resistance based eccentrics and minor concentrics using a rubber physio band / flexbar; I would stress the importance here of avoiding dead weights as I do believe that the literature on sports science is in consensus with rubber based resistance exercises as opposed to chucking weights around. [Management] -Plenty of massage, by hand or by massage tool / ultrasonic vibration tool or what have you. they use some sort of a blunt, metal tool at the doctors office to remodel scar tissue, feels to me that they are literally scraping and causing micro trauma to the scar tissue -There's some promising evidence with regard to hot and cold cycle therapy (ie, immersing or showering the injured region and alternating between hot and cold cycles). This gets a pump action going which shunts / forces blood into and out of the joint during heat expansion and cold contraction. The literature recommends 5 of these cycles. Don't know if this link works outside Australia for you folks but here's the source: http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/tv/catalyst/catalyst_17_18_09.mp4 - seek to 42min,30s. [Diet] -Diet certainly helps and by that I mean actual nutritional basics. Anti inflammatory based foods like tumeric / gingerol / garlic along with a good dose of vitamins from vegetables like brocolli. Vitamin C and Protein are two essential components for the synthesis of collagen, which is a constituent of joint tissue. Sugars and simple carbs on the other hand tend to promote more inflammatory factors in the blood and processes in the body. -Controversially, theres some debatable research on joint supplements like Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. Personally I have used a bit of glucosamine on and off after doing my research on it but avoided chondroitin due to the negative risks and potential side effects. So far I have had the most success with MSM (methyl sulfonyl methothiione) although I must point out that MSM is more of a preventative / management factor; glucosamine on the other hand fits the role of a joint building block material. Lastly I will add that for my ankle injury, I used a balance board during my later rehab and recovery phases. The reason however for the balance board was not primarly one of strength but rather one of neuromusclar connection - being able to better sense and use that injured joint to prevent further misue and injury. I also used a Flexbar for a separte join injury relating to my elbow (Tyler's twist). Disclaimer: These are just the thoughts, musings and opnions of an avoid googler and avid badminton player; I have no formal training or qualifications in sports science, body physiology, etc, (you get the picture). All the best with your recovery Charlie and I hope this helps!
It’s all up in the air and, I guess this just comes with moving everything around. I had problems in my left thoracic which I guess were caused by moving everything around. That went away and I got right neck pain. Shoulder relapsed so the blade was sticking out again, still lots to recover yet
I think you should go for a therapeutic massage. It is very important that this is an aggressive massage with and the use of medical techniques that will work on reducing the scar tissue. However, you can also try using a massager. A couple of years ago, a massager helped me a lot when I had acute back pain due to pregnancy. It's also very convenient because I didn't have to go anywhere. Therefore, if you do not have any spas near your home, you can choose a suitable massager for you.
Try a trigger ball massage with the ball between you and a wall. Find the sore spot and you have a choice of leaning into the sore spot to try and release the knot or you can move yourself slightly to create a massage effect. The latter is more painful but I class it as a good pain. I find the trigger ball much more effective on chronic pain than using a foam roller as it gets in deeper to help with muscle release. It’s a very good for releasing tight glutes and calves!! Another thing you can do yourself is to squeeze and release certain areas which I guarantee will be sore if you have shoulder pain. Squeeze and release your lats underneath the armpits. You will find a sore spot which if you squeeze and release quick enough will show you the knot there. Another area to squeeze and release is between the neck and the ACJ. Hold the squeeze longer on this part. All these mentioned will only give you temporary relief if you don’t do the rehabilitation exercises.
