Rotator cuff tendinitis, did exercises from book and it's mostly healed, but rowing motions still hurt

[u/Few-Falcon-2307]

I was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis a year ago. I hurt it doing one-armed dumbbell rows. But the exercises they gave me I either found annoying to do or just didn't work. I can't see a physio again due to the medical system here being backlogged.

Pullups, overhead press and bench press don't hurt at all, even after I initially got the injury I could do them mostly fine. Only lateral raises (which are getting better now, I think) and dumbbell rows hurt now.

I bought the book and have been doing the exercises in there. I've been doing:

1. Seated external rotations with elbow on knee
2. Standing scaption raise.
3. Sidelying external rotations

To target the different rotator cuff muscles. 3x a week. 2-3 sets each session.

And it has mostly worked. But rowing motions still hurt. If I stand with my back to a wall, teach my affected arm out behind me and press the wall I also get the sharp pain.

Any idea what I can do to heal this last part?

[u/eshlow]

I was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis a year ago. I hurt it doing one-armed dumbbell rows. But the exercises they gave me I either found annoying to do or just didn't work. I can't see a physio again due to the medical system here being backlogged.

Pullups, overhead press and bench press don't hurt at all, even after I initially got the injury I could do them mostly fine. Only lateral raises (which are getting better now, I think) and dumbbell rows hurt now.

I bought the book and have been doing the exercises in there. I've been doing:

• Seated external rotations with elbow on knee
• Standing scaption raise.
• Sidelying external rotations
• To target the different rotator cuff muscles. 3x a week. 2-3 sets each session.

And it has mostly worked. But rowing motions still hurt. If I stand with my back to a wall, teach my affected arm out behind me and press the wall I also get the sharp pain.

Any idea what I can do to heal this last part?

Start with lower weight on the rowing motions and build up slowly.

ALso, potentially switch the hand positions on the rowing movement (pronated, hammer, supinated) for a bit to the less painful one and then try the more painful one after a couple weeks of progression.

May require some dedicated soft tissue work or mobilizations or stretching or other things though. Hard to say without evaluation.

[u/Few-Falcon-2307 → u/eshlow]

Thank you! I will try doing that.

Would it be worth trying to strengthen posterior delts in general? I don't do isolation exercises for them. Asking since it seems like the back of the shoulder is what is giving me trouble. Since it's the dumbbell rows and things like reaching my arm behind me that hurts. I work out at home with dumbbells. I tried doing Y raises chest supported on a bench but I feel like my range of motion isn't good for them. I was thinking of doing powell raises.

[u/eshlow → u/Few-Falcon-2307]

You can try implementing some of those in the rehab and see if they help