How can I work around a Deltoid injury?

[Stark]

I hurt my shoulder yesterday, It has been dodgy since an accident, It's not so bad meaning it doesn't hurt bad, and I know I should stop working out shoulders, but I'm just getting somewhere with Shoulders.
So any tips how I can work around that injury if possible would be greatly appreciated.

[BigAlski]

Well what head did you injure?  I suppose the worst would be the anterior (front) deltoid b/c then you might not be pressing.  If it is the medial (middle) then, the deltiods bieng "fan shaped", pressing in front of the neck with a bar would keep the load directly off the injury.  If it was really bad you wouldn't even be thinking of a work around you would be in too much pain to lift your arm. 

Assuming it is the medial head then upright rows would at least keep your shoulders from "retreating" in width.  side raises would probably stress the injury too much, especially if you got the resistance directly on the axis of injury.

[pumpster]

IMO you're better off by playing the odds and taking a conservative approach, because the potential downsides aren't worth it in terms of further downtime. Lay off any shoulder work that does anything to aggrevate it, even if it feels as though it's going to set you back. If you wait until it heals you'll be surprised how quickly you get back to where you were, whereas if you try to work around it there's a good chance of making it worse. Not to say this is sure to happen, but IMO it's better to take a more cautious approach when it comes to joints, especially complex shoulder joints. I'm speaking from experience.

Wait for it to heal, then continue but in future warm up thoroughly each time and keep the reps moderate at the minimum, to avoid a repeat. And of course avoid any exercises that are clearly causing repeated aggrevation; once you see that pattern it's better to find a substitute exercise.

[Stark]

thank you very much for both of your input, I will consider it.

[pumpster]

Add this to the above:

If the pain's minor and you can continue to work the area directly without increasing the pain, it might work to continue. I'm doing that right now and the pain's under control, slowly diminishing over time.

IF the pain increases, then you have to avoid direct work and if that doesn't work, even take a complete break from weights. Wait 2-4 weeks and see if it goes away. If it doesn't, then you might have to see a doctor about getting a cortizone shot or something else.

Either way, when the pain's removed you have to do things differently to avoid a repeat - better warmups, using moderate-high reps, resting no longer than a minute between sets to keep the area warm, trying slightly different ROMs/grips to avoid aggrevation, dumbbells instead of barbell, cables/machines/weights as alternatives, or a different exercise, etc.