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Moses
10-14-08, 12:55 pm
About 2 months ago I strained my shoulder doing bench press with too wide of a grip, now that it is getting better I don't feel a pain so much anymore but its been replaced by a burning. This has been going on for a few weeks now and I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this sort of thing and if the burning goes away with time or if I should lay off of it altogether. The burning is localized within the joint itself not the muscle. Thanks for any and all advise

k1usa
10-14-08, 1:55 pm
It good to have yo aboard bro...but with this kind of injury...go see a doc....waist no time...get it done...save yourself trouble down the road bro....

DayDream
10-14-08, 4:04 pm
I have a similair problem, I strained my shoulder over a month ago and it still hurts, although it is alot better then it was. I hope one day the pain will completely subside. I think it just takes time..

Nucleus
10-15-08, 3:10 pm
It good to have yo aboard bro...but with this kind of injury...go see a doc....waist no time...get it done...save yourself trouble down the road bro....

That is really good advice K1. The shoulder is such a delicate joint...

I injured mine when I was 19, I was too stupid to see a DC for it, let it go for a while it would get better, hurt again, get better, etc. Five years later I could not pick up a garden hose with my left arm because of the pain.

Moses, I'm going to paste in a post I wrote recently on shoulder injuries, I hope the moderators don't mind the repeat. It is not an end-all on shoulders, but hits the high points.

Nucleus


Okay, if you are hurting your shoulder, SLOW DOWN and be VERY CAREFUL. A shoulder injury early in your lifting career can have devastating effects on your ability to train your upper body hard for many years into the future (Don't ask me how I know this). Keep in mind that the shoulder is an extremely delicate joint with a very large range of motion.

First of all, give serious consideration to getting some professional help on the shoulder. It is difficult to analyze and diagnose your own shoulder.

Onto your shoulder. Where exactly is the pain? Scan every shoulder muscle for trigger points. Trigger Points (TP's) are points in a muscle that refer pain somewhere else. Pain is a strange thing, it isn't local, it sort of goes all over the place. For example, the most common shoulder injury pattern that I see with weightlifters my practice are injuries to the external rotator muscles of the shoulder. These are the little guys on the back of your shoulder blade (scapula), specifically the Infraspinatus and the Teres Minor. The Infraspinatus TP's refer pain to the anterior deltoid, bicep, midback, and forearm, in that order. Teres Minor typically refers to the rear Deltoid and Tricep.

By scanning for TP's what I mean is pressing into every bit of every shoulder muscle and feeling the pain pattern. You will need to recruit a helper for this, as it is very difficult to do this yourself. Likely you will find some trigger points that recreate the pain you have been experiencing; congratulations, you just found your injury.

Treatment should always include ice, rest and massage. Acupuncture, Neuro Muscular Therapy, Cold Laser Therapy, Ultrasound are some other options.

The bigger picture: Why did your shoulder get injured? If you don't sort this out, you are likely to re-injure it.

Common Causes of Shoulder Injury:

1) Underdeveloped external rotator muscles compared to the internal rotators. This can lead to:

2) Poor Gleno-Humeral-Scapular Rhythm. This means how the motion of the arm and scapula work together. You should be able to abduct (lift your arm to the side) about 70-80 degrees before the scapula begins to swing out. Many people wing their scapula out right away. This destabilizes the shoulder joint. A common co-factor is:

3) Weak underdeveloped scapular retractors. Rhomboids, middle and lower Traps, Lats. Work on squeezing those scapulas together.

4) Subluxation of the Neck. If you have a whiplashed neck that hasn't recovered completely, this dis-regulates the the nerve supply to the shoulders and arms, and nothing really works right until you get this resolved. Severe cases can be spotted by the classic signs of head forward posture and shoulders that ride high. Get check by a chiropractor.

5) Poor training form and exercise choices. Certain exercises are particularly hard on the shoulder. Dr. Franco Columbu (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Columbu) said that the incline press is an "unnatural motion" that he recommend against doing ever because of it's effect on the shoulder, and based on my experience I think he has a point. A pretty decent shoulder workout for really having a healthy shoulder is at http://www.menshealth.com/images/MH_...l06_poster.pdf. I would caution to not do the upright dumbbell row with full internal rotation, externally rotate a bit to exercise those external rotators and keep them from being stressed at a fully stretched position. In general the heavier you lift, the more you should avoid the end ranges of motion, I don't care what Joe Weider's magazines say. ; )

6) Scarring and adhesions anywhere on the shoulder. Common areas include Pec minor, Coracobrachialis, Biceps, really any of the shoulder muscles.

Moses
10-25-08, 6:36 pm
thanks for all the info, i did end up going and seeing a doctor but all he did was prescribed me some anti inflammatory and told me to take it easy.

PrimaI
10-26-08, 8:23 am
I injured my right shoulder/wrist/elbow and I went to see the doc and she also gave me some anti-inflammatories which work for a while but the pain has always come back for me, so I try to tape up my wrist when possible, and go lighter on shoulder exercises. It's one of those annoying things that never seem to fully heal.