Strained shoulders from working out to much

[chewybill]

Hey guys, so I think I strained my shoulders from over working them in the gym. It really sucks because I was seeing some good results. Has anyone else done this and if so, how long did it take to resolve itself? I think I'm gonna take 2 weeks off anything upper body and see what happens. Any input would be awesome!!!

[etet1919]

A few months back, I strained (or sprained) one of my shoulders doing close to rep maxes on OV presses...and I was never accustomed to attempting absolute maxes. It does suck when you're making leeway, gaining strength and enthusiasm for a new style of training...and then ending up having to back off temporarily!

The key word above is "temporarily." Feel lucky you didn't further damage your muscles or any connective tissue. I've had plenty of past injuries, and working through them is either medically "acceptable" but painful, or not medically safe and potentially debilitating to numerous degrees.

You have to feel things out. Your thinking is wise; take a couple of weeks off of whatever exercise is causing pain. You don't necessarily have to ditch all upper body! Test what you can do without pain (especially sharp pain or a sudden drastic weakness in a muscle, for example) and continue on with your program as best you can...

It took me months, btw, to get most of my normal strength back in that one shoulder. And I had never sustained a shoulder injury. So, be careful and make sure your form is clean! Best of luck!