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Our user asked: "Hi. I'm in school training to be a circus artist. I recently believe I have strained my right side rhomboid. I have stopped training for the most part but im worried about how long normal recovery time is for an injury of this sort and what kind of excersises/stretches would be appropriate to heal it. I can feel myself getting weaker with each passing day and the longer I'm out the harder it will be to find a job. I also don't want to do permanant damage. Any advice? Thank you."
Ask a PT Response: "What a cool profession you are going in to. As far as your injury goes, definitely a good idea to give it a rest given the physical demands of your training. Pain at the back of the shoulder could be attributed to a number of factors including rhomboid strain, cervical discogenic syndrome, etc. If you are able to, it would probably be best for you to see a PT, especially since you notice that you are getting weaker over time. For my patients that have sustained a rhomboid strain, I would usually have them perform gentle stretching of the rhomboids/posterior shoulder ie. (pulling arm across chest), and gentle strengthening exercises (ie. pulling back with tubing, prone on gym ball bringing shoulder blades back with light weight, etc.). More aggresive strengthening exercises are gradually incorporated. Other treatment options I would consider for my patients include postural/functional training, sensorimotor training, manual therapy and/or modalities (ie. ultrasound, e-stim, etc.). I hope this helps."
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