What can I do about a rotator cuff problem?

[magnoliamt]

Hi. I have been a Firm Believer since 1986, but now I like the FitPrimes better and am in the process of switching over. My problem is this: About a year ago, I woke up one morning with unbelievable pain in my shoulder and a severely limited range of motion. My doctor told me I had "frozen shoulder" and sent me to a specialist in sports medicine. It turns out I had a pinched rotator cuff. I have no idea how this happened, but in going through physical therapy, I learned that this particular injury is very common. My therapist told me that when we are working out, we often don't pay enough attention to strengthening this particular muscle, and also that it is absolutely essential to be attentive to form with every exercise. I know the DVD's are programmable, my question is whether there is a sequence or some exercise in these workouts that would be worth my doubling up on, so that I don't have to spend so much time doing rotator cuff exercises in addition to my regular workouts. Any suggestions are welcome!

magnoliamt

[Tarheels]

Hi, Magnolia! I don't know if there are any rotator cuff exercises in the new workouts since I haven't viewed them yet, but I don't remember any precise rotator moves in the old workouts. I've done some rotator cuff exercises on a couple Cathe videos. I'd want you to get proper form by actually watching someone do the exercise since this is such a delicate area. Hmm...let me see if I can find anything that shows one of these moves. Hey, did your PT show you any weight-bearing moves you could do for your rotator cuff?

[Tarheels]

I found a good site! http://familydoctor.org/265.xml

[LoriInND]

I think Cathe's "Super Sets" has a rotator cuff exercise.

[NeonJungle]

I don't know that the WHFNs have exericises specifically targeted to the rotator cuff, yet many of the upper body moves ought to help you with your injury. I'd say contact your PT just for a sheet of what they recommend, if you haven't already, and you can hold that sheet and refer to it as you preview the WHFNs when you get them to figure out which ones give you the best rotator cuff exercise. Good luck! My dad tweaked and tore his playing golf. So many people I know have had rotator cuff injuries, and ACL injuries (mostly from playing Ultimate Frisbee; it can be a bit of a brutal game sometimes.) HTH!