For the past couple of months, my shoulder has been feeling "loose" or instable. I have some moderate pain and mostly the very odd feeling that it just is about to fall out of its socket. It usually feels okay while swimming but very bad afterwards. I've taken the past week off from swimming in the hopes that things would feel better, but no dice. I do have a call in to my doctor, but I've done some Googling around and it seems like it might be multi-directional instability of the shoulder. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am physically unable to participate in most other cardio (running, step aerobics, anything with any level of impact) so the idea of not being able to swim is very depressing.
stability is usually because of a lack of strength in key shoulder muscles.
actually, shoulder instability is caused by having loose or stretched out tendons and/or joint capsule so that the shoulder does not function properly in the socket. it basically wobbles around and grinds up on stuff that it shouldn't. the looseness/instability is usually caused by traumatic injury (ex: dislocation due to forceful impact), or due to overuse which is more common among swimmers and other athletes. (instability due to overuse can eventually lead to partial or total dislocations down the road.) it can also be caused by age and normal wear and tear - i think i read that shoulder instability is quite high among the senior aged population for instance.
anyway, having strong shoulder muscles definitely helps negate and can sometimes eliminate the effects/symptoms of the instability, which is why it is often hard to diagnose and why PT can be very successful. but the root problem is always there, unless surgically fixed.
steve, do you know the cause of your scapula dysfunction? was it a result of your surgery/recovery? i've never heard about dysfunction before and would like to avoid it if possible lol.
stability is usually because of a lack of strength in key shoulder muscles.
actually, shoulder instability is caused by having loose or stretched out tendons and/or joint capsule so that the shoulder does not function properly in the socket. it basically wobbles around and grinds up on stuff that it shouldn't. the looseness/instability is usually caused by traumatic injury (ex: dislocation due to forceful impact), or due to overuse which is more common among swimmers and other athletes. (instability due to overuse can eventually lead to partial or total dislocations down the road.) it can also be caused by age and normal wear and tear - i think i read that shoulder instability is quite high among the senior aged population for instance.
anyway, having strong shoulder muscles definitely helps negate and can sometimes eliminate the effects/symptoms of the instability, which is why it is often hard to diagnose and why PT can be very successful. but the root problem is always there, unless surgically fixed.
steve, do you know the cause of your scapula dysfunction? was it a result of your surgery/recovery? i've never heard about dysfunction before and would like to avoid it if possible lol.
