Shoulder Injuries/Conditions

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Torn Rhomboid

Printed From: CyberPT - Your Online Physical Therapy Resource
Category: Patient Forum
Forum Name: Shoulder Injuries/Conditions
Forum Description: Patients can post questions and experiences about shoulder injuries/conditions.
URL: http://www.cyberpt.com/ptforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1206
Printed Date: Nov 23 2024 at 3:54am
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Topic: Torn Rhomboid

Posted By: trouble0613
Subject: Torn Rhomboid
Date Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 6:52pm

2 years ago I cracked my shoulder blade and tore my rhomboid minor falling off of my mountain bike. I had issues with major swelling and had to go on steroids(the swelling was cutting off a nerve that was causing my face, arm and back to fall asleep). I did not need surgery but no MRI was given- you could see a lump under my skin where the muscle curled up. It took over a year and then some acupuncture to get rid of the pain just from lifting anything 15-20lbs. I now don't have issues with pain except for occasional overuse. I was back to riding regularly about 8 weeks after the injury (I kept it in a sling for 3 weeks and favored it for the rest of the time) and have been riding regularly since then. I've decided to start trying to build up my upper back and arm muscles to help me with my biking skills. However, when I started doing some arm exercises (bent over dumbbell rows) with 10 lbs of weight, my shoulder (towards the inner side, where the rhomboid connects) started popping insanely crazy. I could feel it and hear it. I stopped after 8 reps and am a little scared to start back up. It didn't hurt but it wasn't really comfortable either. Any recommendations about proceeding? BTW, I couldn't afford PT so I never got any exercises after the injury to help rebuild strength. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!!!

Replies:

Posted By: trouble0613
Date Posted: Feb 20 2013 at 8:21pm

It's been about 4 hours since I did the exercises. I'm having some pain- throbbing pain- about a 3 on a 10pt scale. So I guess I can't say there wasn't any pain.

Posted By: Ask a PT
Date Posted: Feb 25 2013 at 11:02am

It would probably be a good idea to start off with a lighther weight or utilize a lighter color thera band /tubing. Also was wondering if it was a complete or partial tear of the rhomboid?

Posted By: trouble0613
Date Posted: Feb 25 2013 at 11:13am

It was a partial tear (as far as I know. I was sent to a surgeon to determine if I needed surgery. He had me move my arm some and decided it would heal on it's own. No imaging was done of the muscles). I tried doing the exercise with no weight and it only pops every 4th or 5th rep. With a weight as light as a can of soup it begins to pop again on every rep.

Posted By: Ask a PT
Date Posted: Feb 25 2013 at 1:03pm

You more than likely have scar tissue built up which may be compromising some of your motion and possibly contributing to some of the popping despite the lighter weight. Try having someone do some deep tissue mobilization on the affected area and see if that helps. You can you tube rhomboid deep tissue to see what I mean.