The shoulder is an often overlooked but very important part of a climber’s anatomy. Many people will focus on finger or forearm strength and forget about this crucial joint. Others are all too aware of their shoulders, having suffered injures, dislocations and even surgery. Taking care of your shoulders will help you avoid sitting on the bench and can even improve your climbing.
Disclaimer! I’m not a doctor and this information has been compiled from various sources during my climbing career. It is very important to listen to your body even while doing rehab or pre-hab. For more information contact a doctor or a physical therapist.
My Injuries
After two dislocations in 4 years, I am still learning how far I can push my shoulder and what situations I need to avoid. The following post will outline exercises I’ve used and some things that I have learned along the way.
Following my first dislocation my shoulder was in poor shape. I could barely lift 3 pound weights in the prescribed directions and took almost a dozen physical therapy appointments to get back basic movement. In a little over two months, I was climbing again but avoided many positions including gastons and right side dynos. I changed my climbing style to move statically.
Over the next four years I regained all of my strength and steadily improved as a climber. My shoulder was often sore and I still avoided certain right handed moves. I was careful about my shoulder but did not really spend as much effort as I should have to keep it strong. I incorrectly assumed that since I could climb without too much pain that my joint was doing well.
After moving to the Bay Area at the end of 2009, I was very motivated for climbing. I was set on building multi-day fitness for big wall free climbing in Yosemite and was really pushing my self by climbing many days at the gym in a row. This training worked and by February of 2010 I was in great bouldering shape but I had also gained a constant ache in both shoulders. I could tell that my shoulders were not keeping up and I was worried that I might end up dislocating my good shoulder (the left one).
One fateful trip my shoulder dislocated again. So over the last year I’ve worked through physical therapy now paying much more attention to how my shoulder felt, realizing my future, as a climber, would depend on it.
Initial Steps
Starting off from any injury you must know your limits. You want to work towards decreasing pain and improving mobility. Strength comes next as you need to build up your muscles to take a greater share of the strain. If you have torn something (ligaments) your bones are no longer held in place as securely. Muscle can be adapted to take the strain and proper form when moving your shoulder helps. Surgery is also an option but I have no experience with that. I opted for physical therapy since I would have less down time from climbing.
Safe Positions
One big thing I learned from my second round of physical therapy was safe positions for my shoulder. One safe position for me requires both active engagement of my back muscles and shoulder blades. Climbing requires having your hand over your head quite often. The risk in this position can be reduced if you pull your shoulder blades together and down. This position helps keep your shoulder in place and requires you to be actively thinking about the position of your joint.
When your hand is directly in front of your torso, you are often quite safe from shoulder injury. Once your hand comes even with the side of your body and extends further away to the side you increase your risks. When I lift weights out to the side of my body I make sure to to keep my thumb facing up. According to my PT, it keeps your joint in a better alignment and puts less stress on your body.
Exercises
I do a mix of thera-band exercises and weight routines in the gym. My physical therapist told me I could do these just about every day. I assume this is because you are not causing a lot of impact on the muscles. It is important to start slow right after an injury. At first I could only do a handful of the following exercises. If you want to do shoulder training on a climbing day it is best to do them post-climbing. Doing a strength session before climbing will tire your shoulders out and put them at risk.
One important thing is to warm up your shoulders before completing any exercises. This can be with jogging or rowing or just a bit of stretching.
Thera-Band Routine
I do this in the mornings on non-climbing days or at night post climbing. This is a good place to start or a supplement to a larger routine.
Thera-bands come in different strengths. You should start slowly and work up as you get stronger. At home I do all of my exercises with a long thera-band girth-hitched to a door knob in the middle. This should leave two tails (one for each hand).
Theraband girth-hitched to doorknob
Exercise 1
Stand facing door with arms straight forward (parallel to the floor) and then rotated downward so your arms become parallel with your body. Complete 2 sets of 15.
Exercise 1
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Next complete 2 sets of 15 of both internal and external rotation (Use links for photos). I find the external rotation much harder so I start with that one. I also will sometimes put a T-shirt or towel between my side and elbow to keep my arm in a good position. I use a more difficult band for the internal rotation. For comparison for I use both tails of the band from exercise 1 for my internal rotation.
Exercise 3
This exercise requires an easier band than then ones above. You will need to attach the band above shoulder level. I attach it to the clothing rod in my closet. This exercise will seem easy at first but was very effective for me.
Face away from where the band is attached with your arm straight up. You should do this one hand at a time to insure quality movement. Keeping you arm straight rotate it down until it is parallel with the floor pointing forward. Complete 2 sets of 15 for each arm.
Exercise 3
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
With the same band setup as exercise 3 take a small step forward. This should make the band tighter. Start with your arm straight up in the air. Instead of going all the way forward make a circle or box in the air. Push forward go right, back, left and repeat. It is important that the band is taut at all times. Do 10 circles and then reverse the direction. Do 2 sets per side.
Exercise 5
I used this exercise at the beginning of physical therapy until I was strong enough to do push-ups. It is a similar motion but using a band. Go back to the first setup with band tied to a doorknob with two tails. Face away from the door knob holding a band in each hand. Start with arms parallel to the floor palms facing down (but make fist) with elbows bent between 45 and 90 degrees. Extend your arms fully making your arms midway between your elbows and hands. Complete 2 reps of 15. The point of this is to really extend your arms and use your shoulders.
Lifting Routine
As will all rehab exercises, you want to start with lighter weights and build up. You also should focus on doing the exercise with both sides since one injury usually implies you are prone to that type of problem. A doctor told me that I have loose joints which makes me more likely to dislocate.
Exercise 1
Start with a 3 to 8 pound weight in each hand. Hold the barbells with your thumb pointing out/up and your arms along your side. Raise your arms along the side until they are at shoulder level parallel to the ground. Do two sets of 15 reps.
Exercise 2
Start with slightly more weight than the exercise above. Instead of moving your arms out to the side you will bring them up to shoulder level in front of you. Thumbs still facing up. Two sets of 15.
Exercise 3
This exercise uses a weight machine to do a standing row. Alternately you can do this with thera-bands if you do not have access to weight machines. Standing is a more active position and you want to focus on engaging the muscles between your shoulder blades when pulling back. See Video:
Here are some other links and videos I’ve found or had suggested to me for shoulder training and rehab. Some of these have further photos/instruction for the exercises listed above.
http://www.dieselcrew.com/how-to-shoulder-rehab
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/shoulder-exercises2.htm
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/shoulder-exercises3.htm
http://www.performbetter.com/catalog/matriarch/MultiPiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_70_A_PageName_E_ArticleJCBandProgrssions
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=08D9885ABFB4752A
http://rockclimberlife.com/shoulder-recovery-exercises
Good Luck!
- Luke
Hi Luke, that seems like a pretty sound summary of shoulder strengthening. I dislocated my left a long time ago coming off a snowboard when I hit some ice during a turn, so sadly I have experience of the same. Very painful. I sympathize! I remembered once seeing a picture of you hanging in the gym on those roped handholds. I think you were trying to build finger strength. But I remember thinking that could really stretch your shoulder ligaments which is the opposite of what you need to do for a long time. Once dislocated, they never really tighten up properly without surgery, so substituting muscle support becomes really important. Unfortunately it has to be a long term commitment too. Thanks for the blog. Paul
I agree that it can be tricky to get stronger (for climbing) when faced with a long term injury. As you said it’s a long term commitment and you really have to be diligent with shoulder specific exercises to prevent re-injury. I expect that I’ll need to get surgery if I dislocate my shoulder again…
Hey Luke, great post! I unfortunately have quite a bit of experience with shoulder problems. I have dislocated both shoulders many times and have had surgery in both. Right in ’05 and left in ’08. I have not dislocated since surgery and both shoulders are strong, despite less flexible. I dislocated due to whitewater kayaking. All of your exercises are right on the money! Good point on ALWAYS keeping the thumb up when doing exercises. I go over this in my video that you linked above (thanks for that!!). My pt said that when you don’t keep your thumb up, it pinches the shoulder joint. For me, shoulder health and doing shoulder exercises has become part of life, like climbing. I consider keeping strong shoulders as important to climbing as going to the climbing gym to stay strong. It’s something we (weak shoulder people) just have to do..
Since you have a history of shoulder instability, I would recommend you get an MRI and visit an orthopedic surgeon. He may suggest surgery, or may not. But it may be good for you to know “where you stand” with your shoulders. You may want to know if something is torn, or if pt will keep them healthy…even if you don’t go the surgery route. I’m not going to lie, shoulder surgery sucks! It’s a long, 6 month recovery. But I haven’t had to worry about dislocations since then. Good luck!
Agreed, great post! I inquired about your shoulder exercises a few months ago and you mentioned this post would be on it’s way. While I haven’t had any significant injuries, I feel the ache when I ramp up the climbing and fitness training for the coming season (as I’m doing now). I think this post will help in preventative maintenance, and for that I thank you.
Good luck this season!
Luke-
good stuff and helpful. Man injuries stink don’ they? Tendinitis is one thing but my shoulder got so bad it kept me from driving, hanging, heck even sleeping! Having said that I went under the knife and with PT it’s waaaay better. You hit it on the head though in that if you are 1.) Active and 2.) a Climber these are things that are going to go into your “maintenance” bucket to be repeated X times per week forever. So long as #1 and #2 occur then you better be hitting this routine. At least that’s been my experience.
Makes me remember being young again and quick to heal. I mean, like really young, as in I used to jump off the top story of the roof onto the dirt ground. The thought of trying that stunt today is enough my make my knees bleed.
Luck to you, or to all of us for that matter.
Great post, but it looks like your home is missing furniture.
I can scarily relate to these exercises! I have a strained scapula (that’s what i started with) and I think a pulled rib that has been bugging me for a year. And I’m still doing these exercises. And still testing my limits as to how much i can climb, run, etc.
I was wondering though – have you ever gone up in weight when lifting, and if so, how long did it take you to advance?
Tiffany
Initially I saw big improvements in the two months post injury for the front and side raises. I started around 3-5 pounds and have worked up to 17.5 for front raises and 12.5 on the side raises.
For a while I was maxing out around 15 (front) and 10 or 12 (side) but I have recently upped the frequency of my workouts which allowed me to increase the amount of weight.
Stick with it!
Hey Luke,
Thanks for this post. I hurt my left shoulder at the end of Nov. and since then I’ve been trying to rehab it. Getting hurt sucks. Keep up the good work with the blog, your posts are always very timely.
Eliot
Thanks for posting this, Luke!
There’s so many exercises out there, it get’s confusing and so it’s nice to see a program that works (for you).
As an aside, I have seen internal rotations suggested as a rehab-only exercise since the internal rotators are supposedly more developed (including by climbing) than the external rotators. What is your take on that?
Hello luke,
I just read this and I am so glad I saw this post thanks Luke, I dislocated my left should June 9th and been do PT ,I just start the therabands because my arm is extremely weak but one thing I noticed while I have just been regaining ROM I am able to raise my arm up high and only a little above armpit to the sides this is great improvement compared to the fact that I could even raise it further than my waist…I have one little thing that has me concerned I am unable to hold my waist with my palm on my hip my elbow just won’t turn out it feels very stiff and sometimes a bit of discomfort in the muscle..please if you know what I can be doing to help this muscle stretch effectively I have asked my PT but she said with time it will be ok, however, I am afraid of not tending to it and having problems later on.
My dislocation happened when 2 pit bulls attacked my sister and ran out to help and in try to get to her I lost my footing and slammed into the side of a wall ( my sis is fine the doge frightened when I screamed out and they ran my sis did not get bitten).
I just want to get my life back there are times I feel afraid to do some exercises fearing I will damage or dislocate again.
Luke I must say your post was encouraging to me thanks again.
I would follow the advice of your PT. I find that while climbing position with my palm facing forward are the safest. When the palm faces out to the side I am more at risk of injuring my shoulder. Have you regained enough strength to do pushups or knee-pushups? Doing pushups or modified pushups could help with your elbow issues. It will take at least 3-5 months before you will be able to back to the same level. This requires diligent exercises but make sure to take small steps when working out your shoulder. The ROM and strength will return with time. Good luck with the recovery.
Hey Luke,
I just dislocated my shoulder for the first time last week bouldering. Its extremely frustrating! Great post. Just wondering how your shoulder is going today? I’ve been told by physio and doctor to avoid surgery at this stage as it is my first dislocation and mightn’t happen again…I wish! from the sounds of it there is a very high chance its going to happen again especially without surgery. Been told to keep it in a sling for 3 weeks from the time of injury and then start rehab. I’m going to do all the rehab i can to prevent it from coming out again, but I just don’t think it’s every going to be the same without surgery. Have you just had the two shoulder dislocations? How’s the shoulder going today?
Will,
I’m doing pretty good right now. I’ve only dislocated my right shoulder twice. March 2006 and March 2010. I’ve been able to climb just as stronger or stronger post injury both times. The biggest issues that I still face are mental. I limit myself and don’t really push 110% since I’m afraid (sometimes illogically) of re-injury. Some times I will have to avoid moves or problems but function very well up to V7/12c. When I’m really pushing myself my shoulder can get extra sore. Keeping up with PT exercises helps mitgate shoulder soreness.
I was out for about 6-8 months post dislocation 1 but only 3ish months the second time.
Good luck with the injury! With enough PT and Pre-hab (once its better) you can still push your self!
- Luke