I cannot lift my arm without pain!!

Last week I was doing chest press with free weights while lowering the weight i felt a sharp pain in my shoulder it was that bad I had to drop the weight. I went home and iced it.I had no more pain I decided that I would continue with my programme over the next week but only with light weights to keep the muscles moving. again while doing chest press a week later I got this incrediable pain. It has been a few days now I cannot push anything but I am ok to pull things towards me and I cant lift my arm up without pain any ideas what this could be and what I should do

lay off the weights for a while

see a doctor! if you can't lift your arm without pain that is a bad sign. See a doctor and hopefully he can recommend you to an orthopedist

x2 on the doc Bro! We cant help you other that to say one very important thing.........Stay out of the gym until it heals! Not when you think its healed either. Go to the doctor and have him tell you how long that sort of injury takes to recover. If you have good insurance you can have them send you to a good sports injury type doc for faster rehab.

It could just be a strained muscle but it could also be serious.

thanks im off to see a doc this week. its strange ice doesnt make it any better but heat pads seem to loosen it a bit so i can move my arm ive been looking around on net and ive seen a lot about rotator cuff could I have torn it

I went to the doctor 3 months ago for the same thing. I asked him if i tore my rotator cuff. Was told that if it was a tear then i would feel pain consistantly just by letting my arm rest as opposed to just raising it. He diagnosed it as shoulder tendonitis. Told me to stay away from the weights. Gave me some stretchs to do daily and told me to ice it twice a day. Did that for 2 months and didnt see a lot of improvement. Started looking at joint supplements. Among my searches animal flex was very common as a great joint supplement. Been on it for a month and its been night and day ( could be a placebo effect lol). I have full range in my shoulder without pain. Still a small sharp pain if i attempt push ups. I'm hoping to be at 100% in a month. Good luck.