Shoulder pain on very top, suggestions?

[chilln2music]

I've been working out for a while and have more recently developed a pretty bothersome pain on the very top of my shoulder. I can pin point the pain to the bone on the very top of my right shoulder where the bone comes to a point.

I strongly believe it is the Acromioclavicular Joint (AC Joint) as seen in this picture:

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/shoulderqa/Shoulder.gif


Has anyone experienced this and explain what may be going on or to strengthen this joint? It is pretty bothersome and seems to hurt especially after a chest workout but not on shoulder workouts.

Also, not to throw too much out but my elbows experience some pain during the beginning of my chest workouts also and especially during tricep exercises but it seems after the first 4-6 sets my elbows don't hurt as much but the shoulder continues to bother me more than anything...

[awaken279]

Does it hurt when u go below 90 degrees when doing a military press ?

[SideFX]

I've been working out for a while and have more recently developed a pretty bothersome pain on the very top of my shoulder. I can pin point the pain to the bone on the very top of my right shoulder where the bone comes to a point.

I strongly believe it is the Acromioclavicular Joint (AC Joint) as seen in this picture:

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/shoulderqa/Shoulder.gif


Has anyone experienced this and explain what may be going on or to strengthen this joint? It is pretty bothersome and seems to hurt especially after a chest workout but not on shoulder workouts.

Also, not to throw too much out but my elbows experience some pain during the beginning of my chest workouts also and especially during tricep exercises but it seems after the first 4-6 sets my elbows don't hurt as much but the shoulder continues to bother me more than anything...

What you describe is very typical of an AC joint sprain. Did the pain appear very suddenly, like after a specific set or work out and just hasn't gone away? Or was the pain more of a gradual onset over the course of a wider time frame?

[chilln2music]

awaken - No

SideFX - I think I felt it more after a single set quite a while back (I'd have to say at least 2 or 3 months ago) but I didn't think much of it because it doesn't hurt 24/7 and I was able to push through the work out. You nailed it, it just hasn't gone away and it's getting frustrating although I don't think it's getting much worse because sometimes after a workout it hurts worse than other times.

[chilln2music]

I would like to clarify it does hurt during the week, especially the few days following a chest workout. More so if I roll my arm back from my side towards my back and around my head.

[dinan330]

yeah i have something like this too, i can feel it in the morning when i wake up, some days more then others, also when i pull my hand back and stretch it down?it?s my right shoulder too? dont mean to jack your thread man... but yeah we seem to have the same problem :(

[BillyBatts]

Sounds like a rotator cuff strain. I had the same injury awhile back. You need to take a break from lifting for a few weeks. More importantly, avoid any particular exercise that causes pain or stiffness to your shoulder. When you return to lifting, lighten up on the shoulder exercises.

[dinan330]

Sounds like a rotator cuff strain. I had the same injury awhile back. You need to take a break from lifting for a few weeks. More importantly, avoid any particular exercise that causes pain or stiffness to your shoulder. When you return to lifting, lighten up on the shoulder exercises.

i took a week off and i just got back into and i'll do really lightweightt, i dn't want to stop all together, or should i? just do cardio and abs and play soccer??

[SideFX]

Chillin, everything you describe sounds exactly like an AC joint sprain. The fact that you can still even do chest workouts suggests that it is quite a minor sprain though, which should not take 2-3 months to heal. Sometimes an AC joint sprain can cause a pre-existing condition of osteolysis to become symptomatic by slightly displacing the clavicle, which would also present pain in the area of the AC joint and become aggravated by bench pressing, similar to the original sprain. I'd go see a doctor to get this checked out if you have insurance. If it is osteolysis, usually you will either need to just stop weightlifting altogether (allowing the bone to remineralize, although often the condition will relapse upon resumption of weightlifting activities), or get an arthroscopic resection of the clavicle to correct the condition.

Osteolysis is a relatively common condition in weightlifters; you can read about it here:

http://www.shoulderpaininfo.com/shoulderACOsteolysis.html

[BillyBatts]

i took a week off and i just got back into and i'll do really lightweightt, i dn't want to stop all together, or should i? just do cardio and abs and play soccer??


I would err on the side of caution and avoid all lifting for a few weeks. In the interim, you could play soccer, do abs and cardio.

[dinan330]

I would err on the side of caution and avoid all lifting for a few weeks. In the interim, you could play soccer, do abs and cardio.

Thanks? so on Thursday it was my shoulders/biceps/triceps/abs day, so I went in the gym and did really light weights for my shoulders and triceps workouts but I didn?t bit heavier for my biceps cause they are my weakest part of my body, lol, so yeah my shoulder didn?t hurt while I was doing the exercises but it did get soar/tired quicker then my left one while I was doing the high reps? I?m righty so my right hand is stronger and it?s usually my left that gets soar/tired first?. But what I noticed was while doing some of the exercises my shoulder was making small cracking noises, I would feel them when I put my other hand on top of my shoulder while doing the exercise? it hurts me the most when I do the fallowing stretch
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c38/bmw330ci05/chairupperbodystretch3.jpg

I don?t use a bench, instead I just grab my hands behind my back and pull down? so yeah I feel the pain on top/front(see the red in the pic) of the shoulder..i also feel my acromioclavicular (AC) joint is more noticeable/popped out type a thing when I touch/feel it on my right compared to my left one,, it could be just me or maybe cause I?m right handed??? I?m just paranoid like that?

sorry for jacking the thread but i don't see a reason to make a next one, but if you want i could start a new one...


THANKS!!!!

[Dr Clay]

Definitely sounds like an AC joint sprain (albeit a mild one).

Though it sounds too simple, don't do anything that hurts either while doing it or after training. Flat BB Bench press is one of the worst things to offend the AC joint. Dips can do the same things as can a number of other exercises.

Train smart. If you take care of it, it will heal over time.

Best,

[dinan330]

Definitely sounds like an AC joint sprain (albeit a mild one).

Though it sounds too simple, don't do anything that hurts either while doing it or after training. Flat BB Bench press is one of the worst things to offend the AC joint. Dips can do the same things as can a number of other exercises.

Train smart. If you take care of it, it will heal over time.

Best,


Thanks... so i guess i'll take 2 weeks off or untill it doesnt hurt at all when not lifting, then when i get back into the gym i'll do light weights just to see how it feels and then i guess go from there....untill then i'll just do cardio and lower body workouts,, hope i don't lose much muscle, i'll make sure i get lots of protein/amino acids/..... sound like a good idea??

thanks again for the reply guys!!!

[chilln2music]

First off thanks for the replies guys.

I should have checked this thread before my chest workout today but I figured I took last week off for the holidays let me come back in today. Well after my first set of flat bench dumbell press my right AC joint flared up pretty bad immediately. Again I was able to push through it but I probably should not have. BTW, it also hurts if I sleep on it funny at night which makes me believe it is a sprain.

If it is an AC sprain how long should I take off lifting completely (which I'm willing to do) before I can expect it to be better and be able to lift again?

Also I read the quote "Finally, weight lifters should avoid locking their elbows during the bench press, use a narrower grip on the bar, and avoid bending their elbows past horizontal. " from the site linked in this thread. I will definitely try that when I get back to lifting. I suppose I should start light again as well when I do get back.

Is 2-3 weeks enough time to heal this condition? Any further feedback that would give me a peace of mind would be greatly appreciated!

[conroeguy34]

Definitely sounds like an AC joint sprain (albeit a mild one).

Train smart. If you take care of it, it will heal over time.

Best,

I agree with the DR. I strained my AC getting a one rep max bench press about a month ago. I have tried to "train smart" and don't do anything that causes direct pain on the joint. I don't think you have to stop lifting completely. The pain has gotten better in just the past few days. I am also doing some rotator cuff exercises with a light rubber tube. Once the pain goes away I plan on making these types of exercises a regular habbit.

Take it easy.

[chilln2music]

It's good to hear from others that have gotten through this. I'll take DR and Conroeguys advice and train smart but will start by taking a couple weeks off to give it some rest from the constant strain I've been putting on it. I'll check back and provide an update but if anyone has any other experience with this injury please post.

[dinan330]

i haven't been lifting any weights since my last post...nov.28th, and it still hurts when i stretch it, i can lift no problem, i just feel a bit of pain, i'll just chill till after new years anyways,,, with all the holidays and stuff cant get much done at the gym/diet anyways.....

oh yeah, my girl taped my should with kinesio tape, and WOW, that thing is GREAT,,,,, should have used it long befor.....

[user345008781]

Definitely sounds like an AC joint sprain (albeit a mild one).

Though it sounds too simple, don't do anything that hurts either while doing it or after training. Flat BB Bench press is one of the worst things to offend the AC joint. Dips can do the same things as can a number of other exercises.

Train smart. If you take care of it, it will heal over time.

Best,

Dr Clay,

I have two questions. Firstly, I have clicks quite frequently in various areas of my body e.g. elbows, knees, shoulders etc - without any pain at all. My osteopath believed this to be ligaments and to do with a growth spurt (albeit late), at late 18/19 years of age. The clicks have definitely improved over the last few months, and he said it may take up to 6 months to a year for the clicks to die down. I would value your opinion on this. I have done a couple of things to ensure no damage comes to my shoulders (as the clicks had me worried despite his opinion): so i started internal/external rotations on 4kg dumbbells for my RC and started some posterior deltoid work as my anterior delts were far stronger (as i never worked my back before then).

Secondly, last summer I started to get a tingling patch on my left shoulder (about the size of a watch face or a coin). We only can hypothesise on what this may be, but a few suggestions are as follows: pinched nerve on shoulder press, sensory pressure damage from hack squat machine (most likely we believe at this stage), or simply bad sleeping positing). It begun as a tingle, which gradually became more and more frequent throughout the day e.g. would tingle every 30 secs for about 1-2 secs (over this period, and I don't know when, it became numb(ish). Very annoying, but not painful. Then as September and the winter arrived, the tingling gradually died down, and currently it may do it a few times a day (rather than a few thousand). The patch is still numbish), but I think less numb - although tricky to tell. Do you think this is a positive sign that it is healing, and will eventually return to normal?

I did see both a doctor and an osteopath who were adamant it was not anything like MS (which i became fixated on for a short while, despite having no other symptoms or family history). Your input on these two events would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Harry