Shoulder pain

[talterman]

So, I've been having a sharp shoulder pain at the point of my right shoulder whenever, and only when, I've been doing chest press. It's been there for about a week, hasn't gotten better, and I've stopped doing chest press.

As far as I can tell, the chest press caused it. It's located in a small region and disappears shortly after I stop exercising. Nothing else I do triggers pain, even medicine ball push ups... although I don't do any other chest workouts.

Anyone have an idea what this might be?

[DJAuto]

So, I've been having a sharp shoulder pain at the point of my right shoulder whenever, and only when, I've been doing chest press. It's been there for about a week, hasn't gotten better, and I've stopped doing chest press.

As far as I can tell, the chest press caused it. It's located in a small region and disappears shortly after I stop exercising. Nothing else I do triggers pain, even medicine ball push ups... although I don't do any other chest workouts.

Anyone have an idea what this might be?

RC or AC. What is the exact location?

[Macrae88]

RC or AC. What is the exact location?

^ this.

By chest press do you mean like the machine?

[willyc510]

So, I've been having a sharp shoulder pain at the point of my right shoulder whenever, and only when, I've been doing chest press. It's been there for about a week, hasn't gotten better, and I've stopped doing chest press.

As far as I can tell, the chest press caused it. It's located in a small region and disappears shortly after I stop exercising. Nothing else I do triggers pain, even medicine ball push ups... although I don't do any other chest workouts.

Anyone have an idea what this might be?

I have the same problem. It's because your rotator cuff is getting inflammed everytime you do bench press. The heavy weight pushes down on your shoulder and strains the muscle that keep that joint in place. The best way to fix this is to #1 Lay off the bench press for a while and do more Dumbells and cable flys. and #2 exercise your shoulders. There are a variety of exercise that target those muscles, I do internal and external Shoulder Rotations.
Hope this helps!

[Macrae88]

I have the same problem. It's because your rotator cuff is getting inflammed everytime you do bench press. The heavy weight pushes down on your shoulder and strains the muscle that keep that joint in place. The best way to fix this is to #1 Lay off the bench press for a while and do more Dumbells and cable flys. and #2 exercise your shoulders. There are a variety of exercise that target those muscles, I do internal and external Shoulder Rotations.
Hope this helps!

This is true, but not always the case. I've torn and retorn both my rotator cuffs countless times, even so much that it now pinchs the nerves in my arms causing permanent damage that I need surgery to fix. Yet bench press doesnt really bother my shoulder. Im just saying that there are many different problems people like this could be having.

Maybe your rotator cuff and shoulders arent strong enough yet to hold and stabilize the bench press. Push ups and other body weight exercises will help your shoulders prepare for it.

[AmazingAJ]

,may be impingement i just got over that man,can you reach over and behind your head?

[talterman]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

RC or AC. What is the exact location?

Hard to pinpoint between, but I have to say RC.

]
By chest press do you mean like the machine?

My bad, I mean bench press.

Maybe your rotator cuff and shoulders arent strong enough yet to hold and stabilize the bench press. Push ups and other body weight exercises will help your shoulders prepare for it.

This seems unlikely to me since I've been bench pressing for over a year... Plus I'm only benching 160 lb. I might be wrong though, and I'll definitely look into that.

Could this be tendonitis of the AC or RC? I am very prone to soft tissue injury :/

,may be impingement i just got over that man,can you reach over and behind your head?

Just stretched my arms to check, didn't have any flexibility issues.

[DJAuto]

Use of DB's during horizontal pushes can help alleviate the issue.

[ZazenZone]

Thanks everyone for the replies.




Hard to pinpoint between, but I have to say RC.





My bad, I mean bench press.




This seems unlikely to me since I've been bench pressing for over a year... Plus I'm only benching 160 lb. I might be wrong though, and I'll definitely look into that.

Could this be tendonitis of the AC or RC? I am very prone to soft tissue injury :/




Just stretched my arms to check, didn't have any flexibility issues.

Not sure what the exact diagnosis of what you got going might be. But if I might offer some advice:
First, don't put too much emphasis on your performance on the flat barbell bench press. It's sort of a mythical deal, too many people think it is THE end all beat all for determining strength, the ultimate yardstick of upper body strength, which is rubbish. Reality is, it's just another exercise, and can contribute heavily to shoulder issues for many of us. I fell into the same thing and forced myself to bench heavier and heavier for years until I was diagnosed with ac joint degeneration in my shoulders. I usually kept a max around 285 and maxed 305 on two different occasion- almost got the three wheels on each side, close but no cigar.

Experiment with differing angles, dumbbells, floor presses, push ups, dips, bands, flyes, and pullovers. Not everyone's body responds well to flat barbell presses. Find out what works for YOU and feels "right" for YOU, friend. I'm not totally dissing the exercise, as it helped me get bigger and stronger, for sure. But knowing what I know now, I would have been much more emphasis on other moves instead.

In general, heavy strate bar lifts should be treated with caution and respect. They are effective, sure, in terms of adding strength and size quickly, but they also lock your hands and limbs onto a quasi fixed path and are also very unforgiving regarding anatomical anomalies, eg, one arm slightly longer than the other, wrists being able to rotate, etc. Over the years, the body's slight imperfections can be exploited by using fixed paths of resistance with strate bars and eventually this can be manifested in injuries. Not everyone experiences this, but many people do, myself included.

When you're feeling up to it again, here a list of good stuff to do for prehab rehab for the shoulders. Google for exercise descriptions:

external rotation
ytwl
scap raise/shug
prone/incline shrugs
scap push ups
face pulls
band pull parts
turkish get ups

Experiment with above moves and find out which ones feel right. Incorporate a couple of them at the end of your workout, moderate weight, 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps, preferably before a rest day, to give the shoulder region plenty of time to recover before the next workout. Also, think about not going too overboard on direct shoulder work, in general, ie, presses, cleans and heavy laterals. The shoulders are THE most abused and vulnerable part of the body, in my opinion, and they already take a beating from all of the other exercises anyway. Some may argue with me, that is ok, but I think 3 to 5 sets of presses and a few sets of laterals once or twice a week is PLENTY for the shoulders. Make sure you're pulling as much as push, too; do as much or more for back as you do for chest.

If you should continue to barbell bench, make sure your form is good. Google it. Scapula retracted to the max, big arch, elbows at 45 degrees to the body, feet solidly planted, grip barely beyond shoulder width, bar lowered to lower pec line or even slightly below. NEVER flare your arms to the sides, you'll trash your shoulders in search of that pec pump.

[Macrae88]

Not sure what the exact diagnosis of what you got going might be. But if I might offer some advice:
First, don't put too much emphasis on your performance on the flat barbell bench press. It's sort of a mythical deal, too many people think it is THE end all beat all for determining strength, the ultimate yardstick of upper body strength, which is rubbish. Reality is, it's just another exercise, and can contribute heavily to shoulder issues for many of us. I fell into the same thing and forced myself to bench heavier and heavier for years until I was diagnosed with ac joint degeneration in my shoulders. I usually kept a max around 285 and maxed 305 on two different occasion- almost got the three wheels on each side, close but no cigar.

Experiment with differing angles, dumbbells, floor presses, push ups, dips, bands, flyes, and pullovers. Not everyone's body responds well to flat barbell presses. Find out what works for YOU and feels "right" for YOU, friend. I'm not totally dissing the exercise, as it helped me get bigger and stronger, for sure. But knowing what I know now, I would have been much more emphasis on other moves instead.

In general, heavy strate bar lifts should be treated with caution and respect. They are effective, sure, in terms of adding strength and size quickly, but they also lock your hands and limbs onto a quasi fixed path and are also very unforgiving regarding anatomical anomalies, eg, one arm slightly longer than the other, wrists being able to rotate, etc. Over the years, the body's slight imperfections can be exploited by using fixed paths of resistance with strate bars and eventually this can be manifested in injuries. Not everyone experiences this, but many people do, myself included.

When you're feeling up to it again, here a list of good stuff to do for prehab rehab for the shoulders. Google for exercise descriptions:

external rotation
ytwl
scap raise/shug
prone/incline shrugs
scap push ups
face pulls
band pull parts
turkish get ups

Experiment with above moves and find out which ones feel right. Incorporate a couple of them at the end of your workout, moderate weight, 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps, preferably before a rest day, to give the shoulder region plenty of time to recover before the next workout. Also, think about not going too overboard on direct shoulder work, in general, ie, presses, cleans and heavy laterals. The shoulders are THE most abused and vulnerable part of the body, in my opinion, and they already take a beating from all of the other exercises anyway. Some may argue with me, that is ok, but I think 3 to 5 sets of presses and a few sets of laterals once or twice a week is PLENTY for the shoulders. Make sure you're pulling as much as push, too; do as much or more for back as you do for chest.

If you should continue to barbell bench, make sure your form is good. Google it. Scapula retracted to the max, big arch, elbows at 45 degrees to the body, feet solidly planted, grip barely beyond shoulder width, bar lowered to lower pec line or even slightly below. NEVER flare your arms to the sides, you'll trash your shoulders in search of that pec pump.

Great post here ^

Just to add onto that a lil bit, there are plenty of RC and shoulder joint exercises out there. Google search it up and you'll get a ton! Even if it doesnt happen to be a RC or AC injury, it never hurts to strengthen the joints and ligaments that make your whole arm work. Internal and external shoulder rotations and other exercises done with a light weight, high reps are going to help you.