Rotator cuff tendonitis

[pirocco]

Somebody told me that rotator cuff tendonitis (shoulder) is a spread injury among aircraft pilots and would be soon accept as work injury. Anybody knows something about it?

Pirocco

[Sasquash]

check your pm

[teacher]

Didn't know that but funny enough I had physio for it and my therapist came to the conclusion that a heavy unbalanced wheelie bag held using the same arm for long extended periods most likely caused my injury. I laughed at first until I went to work and realized that the pain was perfectly centred on the muscles used to pull the damn thing. Attaching your flight bag to it puts it off balance and you end up compensating by pulling it forward with your shoulder.

[Inverted2]

I had a sore shoulder for a year, and I think it was from that as well. Also, lifting the heavy breifcase into the crappy bin in the CRJ is hard on the shoulder as well.

[burninggoats]

Injured shoulder from towing a wheelie bag?
WUSSIEST. INJURY. EVER.

[Castorero]

Injured shoulder from towing a wheelie bag?
WUSSIEST. INJURY. EVER.

You would be amazed how little it takes to tear anything on your body, especially if you have reached the age of decrepitude.

That would be about 35 for most people, and even less for the fitness deprived.

Wait and see, young grasshopper...

[teacher]

To be honest it may have been a pre existing injury that continued to get worse and become aggrivated at work. You'd be surprised how much damage you can do to your body by doing a simple motion over and over again. My mother in law needed surgery on her wrists from spending hours upon hours at a key board at work. Tendons do not heal on their own very easily due to limited blood flow in the area which is why shoulder injuries are a real bitch. I had to quit going to the gym for over a year and get physio. Wussy maybe but also very painful.

[HiFlyChick]

Dudes, seriously - towing a wheelie bag?!

I've got some rotator cuff swelling in my left shoulder, but it's because I've been doing so many more flights with large amounts of cargo lately (and having poor posture while doing it). Seems that I hunch my shoulders, which restricts the angle of rotation of my arm(s) because the rotator cuff is not "open" and allowed to move freely.

My physiotherapist recommended that as much as possible I get other people to load the plane, but otherwise, to move my feet and pivot my whole body rather than rotating my shoulders. People have been really helpful, but for us small charter guys/gals, an all cargo flight means loading is our responsibility. Last week I had one with 1500 lbs of stuff in boxes varying from 20-45 lbs. I had another guy helping me, but while he unload the truck onto the dolly and brought it over to the aircraft, I put it on the scales and then loaded it where I wanted it. I pretty much hurt all over after that one!

But hey, I'm sure those wheelie bags are tough, too...
(sorry, I couldn't resist)

[teacher]

Oh I've done my share of lifting heavy shit into small planes don't get me wrong but after years of doing that sometimes it takes a small something to "F" you up. The problem I think lies in hooking up a flight bag to your overnight bag. It pulls it back and away from the direction your walking which means that the 20 minute walk from your car to the airplane is done with your arm angled back and rotating your shoulder forward to keep the bag on the wheels. Not a big deal if you do it 4 times a month however for us short haulers we do it 4 to 5 days a week and atleast 4 times a day. After a few years of the tendon being under strain (expecially if you pull the damn thing using the same arm all the time and have shitty wheels) it can tear or become swollen and like I mentioned before it will not heal on it's own or at the most VERY VERY slowly. This causes the injury to get worse and worse over time. Sounds silly but it's true. Ask those with carpal tunnel syndrome from using a computer mouse or keyboard. At one point I could barely close the cockpit door.

I found simple things like switching arms and getting a flight bag with wheels helps. This allows you to roll the flight bag along with your overnight bag even when they're attached and takes most of the weight off you shoulder.

What Causes Rotator Cuff Injury?
There are two major causes of most shoulder injuries. The first being degeneration, or general wear and tear. Unfortunately, the shoulder is a tendinous area that receives very little blood supply. The tendons of the rotator cuff muscles receive very little oxygen and nutrients from blood supply, and as a result are especially vulnerable to degeneration with aging. This is why shoulder problems in the elderly are common. This lack of blood supply is also the reason why a shoulder injury can take quite a lot of time to heal.

The second cause of most shoulder injuries is due to excessive force, or simply putting too much strain on the tendons of the shoulder muscles. This usually occurs when you try to lift something that is too heavy or when a force is applied to the arm while it's in an unusual or awkward position.

http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/ar ... injury.php

http://orthopedics.about.com/od/tendonitis/f/cause.htm

Rotator cuff tendonitis or bicipital tendonitis occurs from repetitive motion
From http://www.arthritis-treatment-and-reli ... -pain.html

[FICU]

I did my left rotator cuff in by reaching back behind/beside my seat to pull the MEL out which was stuck. I kept yanking on it and it finally came out but a few days later I was having pain in my left shoulder. 9 months and some rounds of physio before I could do push-ups again but it will always be easy to re-injure like any ligament or tendon injury.

I had injured it badly about 20 years earlier and this was the first recurrence...

... a roller-bag... really??

[yycflyguy]

Add me to the list. Not just tendonitis bit a partial tear in one of the rotator cuff muscles. The overnight bags we used were prone to bearing problems, especially from the salt and gunk of winter. The added resistance of the wheels not spinning properly, pulling it over a carpeted floor and the weight did it for me.

Took around 10 months to recover. After I received laser light therapy the healing came much quicker.

[Shiny Side Up]

[burninggoats]

Not sure why, but this thread makes me think of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yb_pGo1OWY

[teacher]

Well, hopefully none of you will have to endure a joint injury such as this in your lives because it REALLY REALLY sucks, best of luck and good health. I'd hazard a guess that most of those pilots affected by this hurt their shoulders in another way but due to the need to pull something behind you the injury just doesn't heal and gets worse. I'm pretty sure I did mine in at the gym than just made it worse over a few years pulling and throwing a shitty wheelie/flight bag into the cockpit.

To those that have had this seek medical aid like massage or physio. It is the only way to heal an injury such as this. I found that electrical muscle stimulation and laser therapy helped as did ultrasound. Anything that increases blood flow to your shoulder will help it heal faster.