#63 - Common Shoulder Injuries Affecting Powerlifting & What to Do About Them: Surgical Intervention vs. Physical Therapy

Shoulder surgery is one of the most painful and debilitating surgeries that we see people go through. Because of this and the comparable outcomes of physical therapy relative to shoulder surgery, we encourage powerlifters to exhaust all conservative options before having shoulder surgery.

Shoulder surgeries seem to be the most challenging for people to deal with because it affects so many things:

1. Personal hygiene

2. Driving

3. Feeding yourself

4. Putting on and taking off shirts

5. Sleeping

6. Cooking 

7. Grocery shopping 

8. And much more

Contrary to popular belief, barbell training and powerlifting alone do not usually cause most of the “injuries” associated with the shoulder. Things like rotator cuff tears and tendinopathies, labral tears, “impingement,” etc. are all things that affect the general population. So it’s more likely that training volume, intensity, and barbell techniques are irritating a shoulder that already has some of this going on. And it’s more than possible to reduce symptoms and make a full recovery without surgery.

Dr. Rori Alter and Dr. John Petrizzo discuss common shoulder injuries that affect barbell training and strategies for managing and rehabbing them, including physical therapy, training modifications, medical interventions such as cortisone injections, and finally, surgery.

If you’re enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on Apple or Spotify.

Need help with an injury or programming? Book a free consultation call with one of the PRS Clinical Coaches here!

Interested in attending some of the free PRS community events and getting early access to PRS Podcast episodes? Sign up for our weekly newsletter here!

Join our Facebook Community for free form checks, live Q&As & more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRS.Barbell.Mastery 

Got questions or guests you'd like to hear on the show? Submit them here: https://forms.gle/7Vu2HmgHoeQY9xM59 

Get in touch with the show!

• Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com

• Email: podcast@progressiverehabandstrength.com

• Rori IG: @rorimegan_prs

• Alyssa IG: @alyssahope_prs