Well i get inflamation from my left shoulder after a lot of balls (practicing) or playing a lot of golf. It isn't horrendously painful but it is WEAK.
I had an arthrogram MRI and it only showed some stretched lining and i had my first day of physical therapy yesterday and the therapist said i have a good case of shoulder tendonitis.
One of the main thing that he thinks would help alleviate a lot of my pain is to transfer more stability in my posture towards my middle back and my traps. He says that i round my shoulders too much and it puts too much pressure on my left shoulder.
He's asking me to change my posture a little bit by getting my back in a little better position as well as rolling my shoulders back and down to alleviate pressure on that shoulder.
Do you think any of this is going to hinder my golf swing in anyway? Obviously i started yesterday and am not going to hit balls for a bit but it feels like i'm in a more "athletic" position and not necessarily tight or tensioned but a little flexed if that makes sense. However it does feel like my balance is better and my backswing plane feels a bit more 'natural'.
Any comments would be appreciated...i'm not sure if i'm a hitter/swinger for sure, but i've seen manzella and use his stroke and i'm pretty sure Yoda said that he teaches full roll hitting.
Where exactly on your shoulder? If it is in the front then it could biceps tendonitis. If it is more on top around the shoulder blade, then the rotator cuff may be irritated. Does it act up only when you golf or does it occur outside of golf as well (ie work related)? It is possible that the horizontal hinging (full roll) may be causing your left arm to externally rotate with more force than it can handle. Your PT should be able to pinpoint the root of the problem. How is your PT coming along?
Other things to consider are how many balls do you hit during practice? Are you hitting off turf or grass? How many rounds of golf per week? Have you had any previous shoulder injuries? If you are hitting, try angled hinging and see how that feels.
Hi Jim, Well, it sounds like your PT is on the right track. The first thing you need to do is postural corrections. In my experience you could start with several really simple exercises to re-instate your rhomboids as a core staabilizer then add some chest and shoulder work. Eventually and slowly while you're in rehab you can begin to grow your workout to balance the tension, strength, over your entire core. Just by balancing the tensions thru aligning the body you will often see profound results. I have a number of exercises I use with my golfer's and their imbalances but like tincup I would need to know where the symptom occurs and when. I would complete the physical therapy protocol while doing some small torso workouts with light weights and strict form. Once you are released you can begin to engage in what is popularly called post rehabilitative for a period while you redefine your golf game.
Inevitably things will change when you change the agreements your torso and your extremities make as you improve your posture. Within a short adjustment period you should see many more benefits than frustrations. Once you'be completed PT I would love to see where you think you are and I would be happy to pass along some exercises. As always I really believe in the tried and true lists I have on earlier threads. I think I'll put these up on a thread all their own for easier reference. Good luck and patience. Vik
Ultimately, the changes will be better for your shoulder (and possibly other areas), and may even help your golf game. Short term, there may be a period of struggle, as is the case with almost ANY change made to the swing.
If you truly have a tendinosis, follow the PT advise. You need that thing to settle down.
A rounded forward shoulder posture is definitely not great for the shoulders, and predisposes a person to a condition known as "impingment" in which the rotator cuff tendons may be compressed against the "roof" of the shoulder.
Once the shoulder is up to it, you will want to do some golf-specific shoulder and rotator cuff strengthening exercises. There is a lot involved in slowing down that club after impact!
If you really want to be thorough, you might also want the PT to check to see if something down the chain (i.e. below the shoulder girdles) is causing excessive stress on the shoulders.