Robert schmitt wrote: ... about 4 wks into the injury ... I could run, plant, do pop ups no problem with the left shoulder. went to vault from my 4 left mark and ooch!! did another pop up no problem. thought about it for a while and said what the heck I'll try a "pop up" actually pulling slightly ... no shoulder pain ... I was running from 59'6" ...
I'm just a little confused between your pop ups and your 4 lefts. Were they both from 59'6"? Or were the pop ups from a shorter run? And was the only diff that your pop ups you didn't swing?
The reason I ask is I'm trying to figure out what you meant by "pulling". I understand that you "pulled slightly" from the pop up, but did you also "pull slightly" from the 4 lefts? If so, with what arm, and in what direction?
Robert schmitt wrote: ... I felt like the swing impacted the pole less. ...
From 4 lefts, right? As a result of doing exactly what? And do you consider that good or bad?
If your bottom arm was the injured one, I can understand why you would use it differently coming off the injury, but I'm just a little confused because you clearly say that it was your left (top) arm that was injured.
Robert schmitt wrote: Before this experience I would have argued that I apply no pressure with my bottom arm but after actively trying not to... in fact that was all I was focussing on... I would now say.... that there is some pressure applied I can't feel it I can only tell when I didn't. My Intent at plant and take off is to use my arms to assist the jump getting as tall upwards as I can and stretch upwards through my top arm . This applies some force upward through my left arm I'm sure. I don't try to increase, exaggerate, or extend the time that I perform this. Kind of like if I was jumping up to dunk a basketball I use my arms to assist my jump that's it....
This is good stuff! You're trying to analyze what exactly happened in those jumps - in some detail.
I'm not trying to debate whether what you did was good or bad, I'm just trying to understand it better myself - thru your experience.
And with your left arm recovering from an injury 4 weeks prior, do you think you modified your usual technique any to avoid further injury? I cringe when I think that you're trying to put all the weight on your LEFT (injured) top arm. In that situation, I think I would definitely modify my technique to protect myself from further injury - but you're the doctor!
I'm guessing that as a chiropractor, you have better body awareness than most of us, so you have better credibility for that reason!
Kirk