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Annoying Shoulder Issue

L

Lord Porn

Member
Apr 6, 2014
10
0
Hi guys, first post here. I have this really annoying issue with my left shoulder. Any pressing overhead is sore really sore. Don't know what caused it there were no traumatic incidents during training or anything like that. Just one day it started to bother me and that was it.

So it feels really tight and overhead pressing is out but i can do pushups and pressing in that plane. I can still do all my workouts but not being able to overhead press sucks.

I've tried stretching, mobility work, making sure i'm getting plenty pulling moves to balance the muscles in the area. Do soft tissue massage as well. All these things help but are not eliminating the problem. To me it feels like there's more movement or capacity for movement on that shoulder compared to the other one, but maybe that's just my imagination.

I might need to see a physio about this as i can't seem to get it sorted out on my own. Trouble is we can wait months here to get an appointment to see one.

When i do shoulder circles there's a distinct pop as i reach a certain point.

Any thoughts?
 
brutus79

brutus79

Senior Member
Dec 27, 2013
211
62
What worked for me was not working shoulders as a primary for quite a while... amd what really worked was 4 iu serostim a day. I can now overhead press 185 for sets when i used to get pain with 30lb dumbbells. Expensive but worth it.
 
DrMehta

DrMehta

Member
Apr 5, 2014
40
5
First thought is take some time off, real time not just one week. Keep stretching and if something hurts stop. Try heating it before you stretch, so after a hot shower or use a heating pad. I would make it a point to see an Orthopedic Doctor if the issue persists, but do not let him inject into the joint, they love to do this. Corticosteroids for pain or Supartz to lubricate the joint ( not available in the US for shoulders yet) something you don't want to get involved in if you can help it, both long term do more damage then good IMO. Your goal is preventing this from becoming a chronic problem and creating more damage to the shoulder joint.
 
L

Lord Porn

Member
Apr 6, 2014
10
0
Thanks guys it's a real pain. Yeah i heard that getting injected into the shoulder can be bad. The thing about goin' to a physio is i heard most times they just give you a program like doing rotations with an exercise cable and stuff like that. I've tried all that stuff and it doesn't help.

The shoulder is such a complicated joint. You have all the RC muscles that could be doing it and you feel kinda like you're looking for a needle in a haystack.

I hate to take time off from working out so IDK about that. At the moment i'm mostly doin' BW stuff like pullups chins pushups and i can do those without any pain so that's the way i've been goin' for a while.
 
dr jim

dr jim

MuscleHead
Apr 7, 2014
785
168
How about a little medical Hx LD. What's your age, occupation, current medications or PRIOR shoulder issues.
Is the pain involve the DOMINANT shoulder? What makes the pain better or worse?
 
gotclen

gotclen

VIP Member
Oct 20, 2011
1,098
409
Shoulder pressing with a barbell is really killer on the shoulders to start with.
mine is full of osteoarthritis . Had it scoped and it still sucks. I stopped pressing 2 years ago.
lateral raises my friends. Try the rest. Try everything. Try to find a sub for the over head press.
Some day look at the bones of the shoulder and the rotation. Look how when arms are above the head
how the upper arm collides into the shoulder.

Rest first. Then plan B
 
nychris

nychris

MuscleHead
Oct 12, 2012
306
42
I had shoulder surgery last year to fix a torn rotator cuff. Where is your pain specifically? My pain was in the front of the shoulder were the RC muscles tie together, which was where they were torn. You definitely need to rest or else you're only going to make it worse. Maybe it's something simple like tendonitis that will fix itself just by taking it easy for awhile. Advil or any NSAID is good to keep the inflammation down. If you want to know exactly what you are dealing with, go to an orthopedic surgeon and ask for an MRI. Physical therapy is also something that could help you, as long as the pain is not from something serious like a tear. Muscle imbalances and a lack of flexibility are both issues that can cause you pain and lead to more serious injuries down the line. Do you do direct RC work in the gym? If not, you need to be. Good luck!
 
dr jim

dr jim

MuscleHead
Apr 7, 2014
785
168
1)What's your age?
2) Is the dominant shoulder the one which is problematic?
3) Does your occupation require considerable "overhead or horizontal" shoulder activity?
4) Treatments thus far?
5) physician evaluations?

GOOGLE SHOULDER IMPINGEMENT SYNDROME......... (Wiki is fine) Exclusive of the quetions I asked your history is reasonably classic
jim
 
L

Lord Porn

Member
Apr 6, 2014
10
0
Thanks guys.

dr jim:
1)51
2)No it's the left shoulder
3)No
4) Soft tissue massage with tennis ball. Mobility work and stretching.
5) Nothing so far as GP's are usually clueless about anything like this and just suggest rest.

nychris: Pain is in the side of the shoulder or towards the rear. Definitely not the front part of the shoulder. When i internally rotate the arm and put my elbow up thumb down it reaches a point where it hurts.

When i overhead press with dumbells i get to a point where the pain kicks in at a certain point overhead. Then as i descend it reaches a point and it's sore again.

As far as rest i haven't been lifting any weights because of this. I usually include a lot of heavy dumbell snatches and stuff in my sessions. But since this i've been doing a BW only program because i don't want to stress the area with any heavy weight. It's ok with this. Pushups are fine and pain free but any overhead pressing on the left shoulder is out.

I've massaged the infraspinatus, teres minor, pecs. Everything i can think of, but it still persists.

One of the guys on another site i go to said i might just need to resign myself to overhead work being out now for that shoulder!! Thing is this hurts even in bed! When i lie on the affected side and my arm is extended with the elbow up it's real tender then.
 
dr jim

dr jim

MuscleHead
Apr 7, 2014
785
168
Many people simply can NOT perform overhead shoulder presses because of the mechanics involved. Suffice it to say because shoulder presses are challenging from both an anatomic and mechanical perspective even small derangements can turn a strong man into a weakling. Have it checked out mate, because there are SO MANY shoulder injuries that only GET WORSE by "toughing it out"!
jim
 
F

Fury

MuscleHead
Jun 6, 2012
1,666
130
Get a scan done.this way you know what your dealing with.i had a torn rotator cuff and had surgery to repair it.the shoulder is a complex joint so before you go and do anything just get a scan and then go from there.
 
L

Lord Porn

Member
Apr 6, 2014
10
0
Yeah i think i'll have to. It's gone on so long and i've tried to fix the issue myself with massage, trigger point work, doing a lot of pulling as well as pushing. Mobility work. I've tried everything and nothing fixes it.

I'm gonna make a doctors appointment and tell him i want to talk to a physio about it and see what they suggest.

Every time i do overhead pushing type things it's mega sore. Used to be i could do dumbell snatches and it wouldn't bother me. But the last time i went back to doing the snatches, after laying off them for a while, that was hurting me too right at the top of the movement.

Played about with it hoping i could fix it myself but it's just not happening. :mad:
 
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