Brian is a pastor who spent years as a bodybuilder, and he was used to pushing through just about anything. For a long time, that’s exactly what he did with his shoulder. Twenty to thirty years ago, doctors were already treating him for shoulder bursitis and a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He got shots and physical therapy, but nothing actually solved the problem, and chronic shoulder pain relief always felt just out of reach.

Things Became Worse

Sitting at his desk hurt, and watching TV hurt, and even letting his arm hang hurt. Nights were the worst. He kept propping and repositioning his shoulder, trying to stop the ache, and his sleep was wrecked. The only reason his shoulder didn’t freeze up was that he stretched constantly.

He tried everything he was offered: a shot in December that cost about $1,500, an MRI for another $1,000, and physical therapy for shoulder pain from January through May. He also tried muscle relaxants, pain pills, and anti-inflammatories. Maybe he got a little stronger, but he didn’t feel any better. He’d even been playing pickleball left-handed for months because his right arm wouldn’t cooperate.

By May, he was discouraged. That’s when a man at his gym told him to look up Comeback Performance. Then the man disappeared, and Brian lost the number. He searched for three or four weeks before finally spotting him at a park near his house. “You’ve got to give me that number again,” he told him, “because I’m getting nowhere.”

The Turning Point

Brian came in nervous as he’d been through the runaround before. He tried a few simple suggestions and watched his shoulder respond almost immediately during his first assessment. That felt different, and so did the approach.

The conversations that helped us form his treatment plan covered his nervous system, his joints, his muscles, and the patterns causing the irritation. He got tips he still thinks about daily, like not letting his head hang forward. He was constantly reminded to stay “anti-shrug,” the exact opposite of his old bodybuilding habits.

He followed the program through the Coach RX app, sometimes watching the exercise videos five or six times to get the form right. When he traveled to Alaska, he packed his bands and trained every day.

Then came a rough flare-up when his fibromyalgia went off the deep end. Instead of grinding through it, he reached out and got nervous system exercises that calmed things down. “If I’d just gone on with my own workout,” he said, “I probably would have exacerbated the problem.”

Results

• Range of motion and sleep are much better.
• Beat his wife at pickleball twice in one week, now playing right-handed with real power.
• Can reach behind his back without feeling like his shoulder will come apart.
• Handling more band resistance, and kettlebell presses no longer bring the same pain.
• Seeing movement in his shoulder blades that hadn’t happened in decades.
• Planning an elk hunt this November

What Changed And Why It Worked?

Side-by-side video assessments showed him exactly where he’d been four or eight weeks earlier compared to where he was now. Fast, helpful replies, even on a Sunday night, kept him on track when he needed it most.

“I’m feeling stuff move that just flat hasn’t moved for decades,” he said.

He also learned to play the long game. When he overdoes it and feels it at night, he backs off and moderates his effort. After decades of problems and a full year of serious pain, three months of progress feels pretty amazing to him.

What He’d Tell Someone With the Same Shoulder Issues

“Do whatever you have to do to make it work.” It cost more than he expected, but he doesn’t regret it. The money, the pain, and the months lost to failed fixes were part of the price tag too. One option he’d been given was rupturing his bicep tendon so it would stop hurting. His advice? Skip that. Follow the program, keep good form, watch the videos, and stay faithful.

And be patient. “If you took eight years to get here, you’re not going to get better probably in eight weeks.” Brian isn’t just chasing chronic shoulder pain relief for the next eight months. He wants to be well when he’s 80, and he now has the knowledge and the ability to change the way he does things.