I have a minor shoulder injury that’s been bugging me for a while. I’m pretty sure it’s related to my rotator cuff, as my strength in chest & back exercises is still pretty good…and it does feel like it’s coming from the inside of my shoulder.
I dont tend to feel much pain in any exercise I do, it just feels weird. I dont notice too much discomfort doing flat bench, but if i do incline barbell press, that’s when I feel it the most. (I’m about 20-30lbs/7% weaker on incline relative to before I noticed the problem…flat bench strength hasn’t changed much at all)
I do rotator cuff exercises - although it’s mainly just the external rotation movements…and although I dont use an extreme range of motion, i can do them pretty much pain free.
As far as flexibility, there’s actually a pretty noticeable difference between my right (problem) shoulder and my left. I can reach my left arm back far enough that my forearm is horizontal against my back, but if i try that with my right arm, I can barely get my right hand above my pants line (hope that explanation makes sense!).
So any ideas on exactly what it may be? I think there are several different muscles that the rotator cuff is made up of, I thought maybe if i could figure out which one is the problem, i could then find a good rehab exercise to help it recover…or find out what movements i should quit for a while.
Also - if i were to get it x-rayed, would a doc be able to tell if something was messed up? That’d be my last resort…i dont want this minor problem turning into a serious problem!
With the shoulder, there could be a number of problems causing you pain. From what you’ve described, I doubt that its a muscular tear. You could quite simply have tendonitis, a severe knot in your soft tissue around the joint causing you minor pain. If you’ve been suffering from pain for quite a while you may want to seek treatment from a physician so that you can properly diagnose your problem. I had a shoulder injury a few years ago that left go. After going to a student athletic trainer at my college, we both thought that it was just minor tendonitis and a slight tear in my rotator cuff. It nagged me for nearly 9 months before I had the time and money to seek a physician’s care. The MRI scan showed no damage to my rotator cuff whatsoever. Tendonitis was only one of the problems that I had. In my situation, I was diagnosed with chronic capsulitis and severe muscle knotting which continually re-damaged my tendons and nerves in the shoulder joint. The fact of the matter is, while doing rehab exercises is a necessary, I wouldn’t suggest doing any until you determine what the problem is. Also, if you haven’t done so, read Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson’s article Feel Better for 10 Bucks and try to put some of their release techniques to work.
Can you describe any other types of symptoms or the type of pain that you are experiencing? Is it a dull or sharp sensation? Is it specified to one specific point in your shoulder, or do you feel it over a more broad area? Do you notice any tingling or twitching, or feel pins or needles? Any numbness?
To answer your questions regarding symptoms - it’s a dull pain, never sharp. Although sometimes I get the feeling that it’s about to lead to a sharp pain…such as a tear or something! Makes me a little more cautious about what i attempt to lift. No tingling, numbness, pins or needles. And it seems to be coming from a more specific area.
Another little tid-bit that might be of interest - when I rack the barbell after flat or incline presses, the barbell is always setting far to the left on the catches. I usually slide it over a couple inches to center it before my next set. I don’t know if that’s more of a strength imbalance, a coordination issue, or perhaps the injury causing my body to hold back a little/weaken the muscles of concern. (this was never a problem in my 9 or so years lifting prior to this)
And one more thing - I’ve torn my right pec twice - both were minor though, never a complete tear, and both times i was back to training it with at least 135 (about 30% of typ. max) within 45-60 days. I wonder if there could be an accumulation of scar tissue? I think i may have also slightly torn my rotator cuff on 1 or two occasions (1 time i had to stop training completely becaus of the pain, the other time I just dropped the movements that hurt), could possibly be some scar tissue as a result of that as well. Jeez I need help!
As far as that “feel better for $10” article, I plan to order a roller this week!
You should get the 7 minute rotator cuff solution. It gives a detailed description of the shoulder’s anatomy bio mechanics as well as rehabilitative excercises. If you are able to do a workout, I see no reason why you wouldn’t want to continue with rehabilitative excercises, just make sure you do them at the end of your workout and not at the beginning.
If you have torn muscles in the past you might need to see an ART practitioner, as the scar tissue can affect your functioning.