Clicking sound in shoulder

[Fett]

For the past two days, whenever I lift my left arm overhead, I can hear a very quiet clicking sound coming from somewhere in my shoulder. There is no pain associated with this sound. Is this something that could get worse and affect my lifting? Should I take some time off from lifting? Thanks for the advice.

[MiloMan]

Clicking in the shoulder can be symptomatic of a rotator cuff injury. It was just such a clicking (no pain, really, just noise) that prompted me to go to the doc. He sent me to get an MRI, which showed a small RC tear, a sportsmed specialist repaired that with arthroscopic surgery (a fairly quick outpatient procedure). After that, the click was gone completely.

[hyp3r3xt3nsion]

Originally posted by MiloMan
Clicking in the shoulder can be symptomatic of a rotator cuff injury. It was just such a clicking (no pain, really, just noise) that prompted me to go to the doc. He sent me to get an MRI, which showed a small RC tear, a sportsmed specialist repaired that with arthroscopic surgery (a fairly quick outpatient procedure). After that, the click was gone completely.

^

(Except i've never had any shoulder injuries )

[rubber]

Originally posted by MiloMan
Clicking in the shoulder can be symptomatic of a rotator cuff injury. It was just such a clicking (no pain, really, just noise) that prompted me to go to the doc. He sent me to get an MRI, which showed a small RC tear, a sportsmed specialist repaired that with arthroscopic surgery (a fairly quick outpatient procedure). After that, the click was gone completely.

Do you know what exercises might have caused that small tear in your rotator cuff. I have that clicking sound in my shoulders some time too but never any pain. I always take glucosamine, choindroitin, and msm pills for my shoulders everyday but now you got me scared as hell.

[Hombre]

damn you got me scared now too.... Today I was working out my shoulders and as I was doing my side laterals, I heard some clicking/popping noises in my right shoulder with no pain. Does this go away with rest, or is surgery and such necessary? Just so happens that today was the first day for me to do a rotator cuff exercises ( cuban press) to strengthen the rc so that I don't get an injury ( and what a coincidence that today is when I heard the popping)

Come to think of it I've sometimes heard that clicking/popping noise in the past while doing side laterals...this wasn't the first time I've heard the noise. I've always attributed it to the fact that my bones make a lot of noise ( even when I do pushups) hope thats not another problem too lol

[madcap]

Upright Row.

[Hombre]

Let me add that shoulder exercises have ALWAYS been my weakest exercise. I'm not talking about that they're lagging behind either - I mean EXTREMELY weak. Mostly my posterior and side delts are the weak ones. I'm relatively happy with my anterior delts. Until only recently for example, I've been able to do only 20lbs side laterals (and that was challenging), while everything else has gone up. I wonder if this sound could be an explanation and is a reason why my shoulder exercises have been so weak.

[MiloMan]

Originally posted by rubber
Do you know what exercises might have caused that small tear in your rotator cuff. I have that clicking sound in my shoulders some time too but never any pain. I always take glucosamine, choindroitin, and msm pills for my shoulders everyday but now you got me scared as hell.

There wasn't any particular thing that stands out in my mind. All I know is that at some point, one of the rotator cuff tendons got more load that it could handle while in a bad position and tore partway through. The clicking was likely due to an inflamed bursa, which was also remedied during the surgery. Here's some more details:

http://www.iasm.com/rc.html

[MiloMan]

And here is another:

http://shoulderandcollarbone.upmc.co.../Diagnosis.htm

and another:

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/indepth/th...egory=Shoulder

[Smasher]

Miloman,

Ive been having clicking in my shoulders for over 2 years. Sometimes there can be pain, but most of the time there isnt. But, Ive continued to make strength gains and things seem to be fine. DO you think this clicking is cause from Rc injuries, or is just arthritis? Like every bone in my body clicks, snaps, and cracks. I couldnt possibly get surgery on every single joint in my body?

[MiloMan]

Originally posted by Smasher
Miloman,

Ive been having clicking in my shoulders for over 2 years. Sometimes there can be pain, but most of the time there isnt. But, Ive continued to make strength gains and things seem to be fine. DO you think this clicking is cause from Rc injuries, or is just arthritis? Like every bone in my body clicks, snaps, and cracks. I couldnt possibly get surgery on every single joint in my body?

I'm not an orthopedic surgeon nor a sportsmed specialist, just an engineer that has hire the other two. I'd ask one of the docs about it.

The reason that a sports medicine specialist is preferable to a GP or a regular ortho doc, when it comes to athletic injuries, is important to remember.

The family doc/GP and the regular ortho doc usually deals with average people that injured themselves, and thus the focus of their treatment is to get them repaired for their average life ASAP.

The sportsmed doc is a kind of melding of an orthopedic surgeon and an internal medicine specialist, dealing with athletes and sports injuries. They know that the athlete doesn't just need to be repaired well enough to push a lawnmower or work at a desk job, they need to get back to 100% in their sport, even if it takes a little longer and costs a little more.

It's a big, big, big difference.

[Fett]

I did some searching on the web, and have attributed the clicking sounds in my shoulder to crepitus, which is a benign condition unless associated with pain.

Also, questions for Milo Man: If you didn't have any pain associated with the clicking in your shoulder, what prompted you to go to the doctor? Also, why did your doc recommend surgery for a problem that I assume didn't affect your lifting (because you said there was no pain)?

[MiloMan]

Originally posted by Fett
I did some searching on the web, and have attributed the clicking sounds in my shoulder to crepitus, which is a benign condition unless associated with pain.

Also, questions for Milo Man: If you didn't have any pain associated with the clicking in your shoulder, what prompted you to go to the doctor? Also, why did your doc recommend surgery for a problem that I assume didn't affect your lifting (because you said there was no pain)?

The clicking prompted the visit. I chose to try surgery first, not as a last resort. The clicking obviously wasn't normal, so I had it checked out. The MRI showed a tear (so did the video of the surgery). I wanted it fixed for certain, rather than first trying conservative treatment, possibly having that not work, and then going for the surgery. I wanted it fixed, ASAP.

[Hombre]

Miloman, how long did it take for you to fully recover?