Shoulder Pain - Looking For Advice

[Mylesillidge]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting here so forgive me if I do something incorrectly.

In 2016 I was doing a shoulder workout that included seated dumbbell presses. I wasn't going very heavy (about 60% of my 1RM) but had a lapse in concentration when pressing and the weight in my left hand fell backwards. Despite it feeling horrible (not necessarily painful, just uncomfortable) I managed to recover and put the weight down without dropping it. My mistake (I believe) was that I continued to train after that as I did not feel any distinct pain. However, about 30 minutes later - doing lateral raises on cables I began to feel a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I decided to give my shoulders (as well as my chest) a good rest and didn't train them for about a month.

Skip forward to 2019 - I now only experience pain in my left shoulder when I train it - no pain during presses, but lateral and front raises hurt a lot (even with only 5-7.5kg in each hand). Other than that there is a distinct clicking/popping in my left shoulder. Every lateral raise on the right is smooth, while every lateral raise on the left is accompanied by 2 pops on the way up and another 2 on the way down.

Rundown of symptoms:

- Pain during front and lateral raises (left shoulder only)
- Pain in left shoulder during incline bench press
- 2 pops on the way up as well as on the way down in my left shoulder during both lateral and front raises
- If I lie flat on my back on a bench, with both my arms above my head and both unsupported I experience a sharp pain in my left shoulder and not my right.

These symptoms have been consistent ever since the incident occurred.

Does anyone have any idea what this is? I was leaning towards a rotator-cuff problem due to the fact that the popping occurs at a number of angles. I have yet to see a doctor (I am a student and on a student budget).

I look forward to your responses.

Thank you.