# FITNESS and NUTRITION FORUM > INJURIES, REHAB & SPA >  Shoulder issue? Right dumbell biceps curl a lot less weight than the left one....

## NiceGuyResearcher

Hello, all, 

Title: Shoulder issue? Right dumbell biceps curl a lot less weight than the left one....

(and I'm a right handed person)

*Background:
*In August, I had to sleep on a shag rug for about 2 days

After the 2nd day, I awoke and ....
I noticed my *right shoulder* was really stiff and hurt at the *upper deltoid*

I applied aqua therapy that seemed to help a lot

*Current Concern:
*

Yesterday, I was doing a set of standing dumbell biceps curls, the right arm only could do 30lbs @ 4 reps (unassisted) but with my left arm helping the right arm doing positive & negative reps up to an 8 rep

Meanwhile my left arm could do the usual 30lbs at 11 reps with no need for help from the right hand to do pos & neg reps up to 11; it could easily do 11 reps unassisted.

I googled to find an answer on muscle weakness, but it does not seem to be a neurological problem, thank God. In other words, this isn't the onset of some neurological disease, or a mini stroke, among other things, I can still type 60 wpm and my speech isn't slurring

There's no pain when I lift with the right biceps by the way, it is instead just a lot of tension as if the dumbell weighs a lot, and maybe a small little crack noise in the shoulder once in a while at top of the exercise.

*Question & Possible Solution:
*
Is this a sign that my right shoulder injury 2 months ago in August has weakened the tendons & ligaments in the right shoulder, and that I need to* gradually* get the right arm **at a lower weight on the dumbell biceps curl, *like 15 lbs instead of 30lbs*
and *slowly work* my way up to *what I used to do: 30 lbs @ 11 reps easily with the right arm when doing a bic curl?


In addition to going back in a lot of weight, would it be wise to do low rep, low weight Shoulder Rotator cuff exercises with one dumbell, or just one (1) five (5) pound weight plate?

One last concern:

It seems that the *dramatic drop in the weight I used to do with my right arm biceps curls, Is a big Ego let down....as if I'd just like to pop back into my old self with the right dumbell standing biceps curl *at the same reps and at the same weight, *but that would be a bad way to go about this and might cause increased shoulder injury?*

Thanks a lot for any useful constructive help or opinions

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## NiceGuyResearcher

Also, I wanted to add that last night on a comfortable bed, (I've been sleeping on a comfy bed since those day #2 on that shag rug in August, 2022)

there was a dull ache on the right shoulder deltoid, making it difficult to sleep, that was the 1st time this happened, (a dull ache on my right shoulder while sleeping sufficient enough to wake me)

Granted this morning's dull shoulder pain in bed, this may have happened last night because:
after noticing a significant drop in what my right arm could do for a standing dumbell biceps curl, I actually forced out the normal rep range I would do, using my free hand (my left hand), *forcing positive *and* negative reps to like a 10 rep, from a prior dismal (no spotting), 4 rep range. That may have made the area tender while sleeping.

But you will note that

The range of motion is very very good yesterday and today

This may still not be a rotator cuff "tear" right?
Even if it was it seems "tear" is a harsh word with rotator cuffs, and a tear can actually get better on its own

The only symptom I had is muscle weakness (leading to a very low unassisted dumbell bic curl rep range), *and dull aching while sleep on the right shoulder * and maybe the other symptom, a few pops once in a while.

Thanks, again.

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## NiceGuyResearcher

Update on research: 

from City place surgery dot com

Quote: With a tear, the arm can barely move overhead. 

Tendinopathy tends to happen over months, even years, of overuse. Tears, however, are sharp pains that generally occur after a sports collision or accident. *(end quote)*


Lying on a shag rug and sleeping on it for 2 days, correct me if I'm wrong wouldn't constitute an accident or an injury sustained in 1 day

*As such, it appears, I don't have a rotator cuff tear, but Tendinopathy (that comes with aging)

I still welcome any ideas on recovery. Muscular weakness, although maybe temporary is some weird stuff.

The holding of a 5 pound dumbbell and doing flexors, (as in something that seems like a standing dumbell front raise), might be the best way to slowly get back into my right arm dumbell biceps rep range?

Thanks again

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## s1nc1ty

Its quite normal to have one side stronger then other. Im right handed but regards to curls same weight i can do left hand for 8 or even more reps i can do 4-5 reps max on right hand. Same with bent rows.

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## NiceGuyResearcher

The sudden drop in my right arm Reps (my dominant hand, im a righty) is that...sudden, as if the cartilege and tendons are really tired from 50 years of use, especially the right arm which is the dominant arm since I obviously used it most thru my 50 years of life.

it's a bummer, i can in no way because of Ego or because of pride do the same rep as the left arm, or that's a recipe for further, worse injury am I right?

let's assume I'm right? (i was just hoping that my psyche or my mind could make it happen thru like visualization)

i will i guess have to do lower poundage and lower reps till the right arm has the same level of reps as the left

thanks again.

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## NiceGuyResearcher

the key is to slowly work the right arm back to the reps it is accustomed to

thinking i can "visualize" the same # of reps as the left arm

will end up screwing up my right arm a lot worse.

10 pounds on the right dumbell biceps curl slowly and easily

I might even do barbell curls so that things don't seem or appear a lot bummerish worse than they feel, cos both arms will obviously do the same reps in a barbell biceps curl

im so down, but i can't give up on getting back ....

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## Cylon357

Have you talked to a real doctor, not just Dr Google?

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## NiceGuyResearcher

No. I haven't.

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## NiceGuyResearcher

Maybe I will have to make time to do a tele-doc appointment. Winter is coming and they will be super busy. Any other lifters who have experienced sudden muscle weakness in the right arm *and* soreness in the shoulder's opinions would be welcomed. Thanks. I'd rather avoid the doctor, if I can remedy this problem by myself.

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## NiceGuyResearcher

*Can someone please confirm if this rehab plan is good?
*
*The bright side is that my Range of Motion in the affected right arm is very good, I can move it up over head, sideways, without any pain or stiffness

If you look at my very 1st post on this thread,

here I'll repeat it:
quote:
Tendinopathy tends to happen over months, even years, of overuse. Tears, however, are sharp pains that generally occur after a sports collision or accident. (end quote)

*I don't have any sharp pain, so I must not have any tears, right?

*Why I want to avoid a doctor:
*Naturally, I want to avoid a doc visit during these times, with covid and Flu season and they are busy and backed up even more with appointments.
The doc I would go to he'd send me somewhere far for an MRI and he doesn't have an x-ray in his office (my medical insurance sucks)

*How about this plan, can someone confirm it?
*
*Here's the plan:
*
1) Wrap my arm in a sling that has a gel pack
(use aqua therapy in that heat up a gel pack and put it in the sling) for about 2 or 3x per day;
there is no swelling in the shoulder, and ice has never really helped me, but very warm, almost hot water has.

Warm up with rotator cuff exercises, anyone knows these common knowledge exercises: namely, you hold a 5 pound dumbell at the waist move it out and then in towards the body

another rotator cuff warm up to increase blood flow is to do a variation of a dumbell front raise with very low weight like a 5 lb plate

Do only light barbell curls at a light weight and high reps for 2 weeks (the light barbell curls obviously won't show a depressing difference in either arm like dumbbells currently do)

Fish oil every day
Glucosamine every day
(I can't afford Osta., right now so that's out of the question) I do musician gig work and all of that's dried up w/ the pandemci

How this problem started:
I slept on a shag rug for 2 days 2 months ago. The shag rug was on top of a hardwood floor

That's the event where I felt really bad stiffness in my right upper deltoid shoulder where you people pin the delts.

I'm natural right now so I'm not taking any juice (haven't for a year)

My training log?
Nothing closely resembling even amateur bodybuildng, but instead, sporadic, non routine.

80 to 100 pushups every day all at once

cardio for 20 minutes per day

ab crunch curls on a machine

biceps curls

Thanks in advance again

_What I'm looking for is someone to say, dude you can fix this shit on your own at home
_
[B]*Does this sound like a good rehab plan[?/B]
*
Thanks again

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## NiceGuyResearcher

I had a tele-doc app't with my primary care physican about 30 minutes ago

He concurred that the best thing to do was to Rest, as others have stated during the course of my google research, including some hardcore almost pro bodybuilders on anoither forum: Rest, Rest, Rest (give it some time)

I purchased another book as I had in 2010 when I also had a rotator cuff issue on rotator cuff exercises to improve blood flow in this area so that it heals faster, ut arrived yesterday.

Here's what's interesting, my doc mentioned some new reasearch he encouraged me to google

"Training the Unaffected Side"

If you hurt your right shoulder or right arm and it's your dominant arm (you're a righty), then training the left arm ("the unaffected arm"), I guess because they are synergistic and complement each, other, will actually avoid muscle waste in the right arm (the affected arm)

This study was done in a controlled environment

and the group that trained the left arm when the right arm was injured
vs. the group that didn't train either arm during the period of rest, 
showed the group training the unaffected arm having increased muscle strength in the affected arm.

Amazing. I hope this helps others similarly situated.

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## NiceGuyResearcher

Update:

I went to a physical therapist last week

The physical therapist diagnosed that my shoulder soreness is actually the upper part of the biceps (attached photo)
She didn't take an x-ray nor an MRI, but had me do various motions to diagnose the problem
and she said I could still have hurt my biceps region by sleeping on a shag rug in August 2022
the rest I've taken the discipline to do, seems to have helped as there's less cracking and popping when I reach for stuff with my right arm / shoulder (I try not to extend so much, but sometimes by force of habit (& dominant right arm, I'm a righty) one uses the right arm 



This makes sense as it probably accounts for a lower rep range in my dominant arm (right arm) when doing dumbell stand. bic curls
thankfully they do deep tissue ultrasound gel therapy
and for black friday, i bought myself a massage gun at 40 % off

Here's a photo of the area attached.....

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