Shoulder Impingement
Rock Rehab Protocol
The Shoulder Impingement “Rock Rehab Protocol” is a step-by-step rehabilitation and injury prevention plan designed specifically for rock climbers who have pain in the front of their shoulders. The goal of the four-phase process is to take you from the pain, inflammation and tissue overload stage to gain full mobility, strength and eventually pain-free climbing movement.
- How to get out of pain
- How to unload tissue with tape
- How to strengthen the area
- How to avoid injury again
Signs and Symptoms
- Dull ache in the front or side of the shoulder
- Painful to lie on the shoulder
- Discomfort lifting the arm, reaching across the body and behind the back.
Cause
The tendons in the shoulder slide through a very narrow passageway and attach to the shoulder bone. Impingement occurs when the space between the bones in this passageway is reduced. This can occur from repetitively moving the shoulder into a stressful or suboptimal position. When this occurs, the bones in the shoulder pinch down on the tendons and cause shoulder impingement.
Step 1: Determine Your Injury
Disclaimer: The information on this page is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Always consult your physician or physical therapist before performing any assessment or beginning a rehabilitation protocol.
Use the videos below as a resource to determine whether or not you have shoulder impingement.
Step 2: Determine Your Rehab Category
Use the table below to determine your rehabilitation category based on the results from your orthopedic tests. You will fit into a rehabilitation category (mild, moderate or severe) based on the number of tests that are positive.
Step 3: Start The Protocol
Once you have determined your rehabilitation category, you can begin the rock rehab protocol. The protocols contain a detailed timeline and step-by-step instructions. They utilize a four-phase system to unload the injured tissue, gain full mobility, improve strength and eventually return to pain-free climbing movement. The protocols can either be viewed within the program or downloaded as a PDF.
Get The Shoulder Impingement Program $24
Sample Videos
These are videos from the actual Rock Rehab Protocol where professional climbers teach you efficient climbing movement and proper exercise performance.
Mobility Level 2
The above exercise increases the flexibility of the pectoralis muscles in the chest to allow you to more easily open your shoulders.
Strength Level 2
The above video shows exercises that increase the strength of the rotator cuff, lower trapezius and middle trapezius to help stabilize the shoulder.
- Decrease shoulder impingement with therapeutic taping techniques.
- Improve mobility of pectoralis muscles that pull shoulder blade forward.
- Regain pain-free shoulder range of motion.
- Strengthen the muscles that stabilize the shoulder and shoulder blade.
- Mirror rock climbing movements with additional trapezius muscle exercises.
- Emphasize climbing movement patterns that help you avoid further injury.
Recommended Rehab Tools
The Rock Rehab Programs were built specifically for rock climbers. It is for this reason that any tool that is used in the program can either be bought as a rehabilitation tool or created from retired climbing equipment or household items. If you use retired climbing equipment or household items, it will be referenced in the videos as a “dirtbag substitution.” Below you will see a list of rehabilitation tools recommended for the Shoulder Impingement Program.
If you would like to purchase any of the rehab tools, you can find them in the links below:
About the Climbing Doctor
- Doctor of physical therapy
- University of Southern California professor
- Residency trained in orthopedics
- Fellowship trained in movement science
- 9 years of concentrated academic study
- Over a decade of clinical experience treating climbers
- Board certified orthopedic clinical specialist
- Certified strength and conditioning specialist
- Numerous articles on preventing injuries
- Lectures internationally on injury prevention
- Author of best selling book Climb Injury-Free
Get The Companion Book
The “Climb Injury-Free” book will teach you how to diagnosis, treat and prevent the 10 most common climbing injuries in step-by-step chapters. Learn exclusive injury advice with over 30 profiles from top professional climbers including Adam Ondra, Sasha DiGiulian Sean McColl, Jonathan Siegrist and many more. Now you can utilize the system used by thousands of climbers worldwide and see the results for yourself.
- Prevent climbing injuries before they happen
- Learn how to rehabilitate the 10 most common climbing injuries
- Discover the 30 incorrect movement patterns that cause injury
- Train smarter and climb stronger in a fraction of the time
- Push your ability to the next level without getting hurt