Shoulder Has Been Hurting for Sometime

well my shoulder has been hurting for sometime, it hasnt really been too bad just a dull ache, doesnt really hurt much when i do bench, but afterwards i get a dull ache, it feels like my side delt or maybe even my rear delt because when i press hard on the rear delt that’s the only time i can touch the spot where it hurts, also the only time i really feel pain is when i get a deep stretch such as at the bottom of a dip or trying to pull my right arm back as far as i can,

my question is, i have been going light for a few weeks and have actually taken 2 weeks off from lifting, my shoulder feels a lot better but not 100%, so what should i do? back off from pressing altogether? or just keep it light, also what about shoulder work? would shoulder work such as delt raises help or hurt recovery? just really confused on what to do as far as training, thanks for everything

I had pain in my left shoulder as well when I started lifting, and I don’t know shit about shoulder mechanics and injuries, but there are 3 things you should do:

  1. focusing on correct technique when benching
  2. doing military presses and bent-over barbell rows as regular parts of your workout
  3. pull your shoulders into their sockets when doing pullups

If you do these things and it isn’t getting better it may be a more serious issue. It worked for me, I think contracting the lat and back during bench pressing and doing the barbell row (the exact opposite plane of movement) did the trick.

thanks for the advice man, not trying to sound like a know it all here but my form is pretty good i dont think thats what caused it i think it was going heavy and hitting singles for too many weeks and something went wrong, i want to think its just inflammation but i dont know much about injuries and shit, i think what im going to do when i heal up is trade my speed bench day for a shoulder day, maybe this will be more beneficial?

i dunno thanks for the resonse tho man ill give your stuff a try

Go to youtube. Enter “dieselcrew shoulder” into the search field. Many videos from dieselcrew for shoulder pre-/rehab exercises. Their face pull ones have been particularly helpful.

Also, check out Eric Cressey’s shoulder articles here. Especially, “Shoulder Savers: Part[s] I, II, III”

Best,

Does it only hurt after you bench? Some other exercises that might exacerbate the shoulder pain are overhead pressing, chin-up/pull-up, and any other pressing movements. If it starts to hurt alot but you still want to do some pressing movements, I would recommend any kind of push-up variation because it is easier on the joints. But like Stan Up said, you should check out those videos because those guys know alot more than me.

I’d second reviewing the Cressey stuff.

Instead of replacing your speed bench with just a shoulder day, make it a bench assistance day. In general, my shoulder has been better since I did that. Some people just aren’t built to bench twice a week. The only barbell pressing I do on that day is with kettlebells hanging from quaded monster minis off the midpoints of the sleeves of the bar.

You can use 25 lb plates instead of kettlebells. You’re just trying to retrain your shoulder to stay tight and not move a lot of weight on this exercise or even move very fast.

I hate a lot of shoulder issues for a while. I didn’t barbell bench for a over a year due to the shoulder pain. A few weeks back I broke out the tennis ball for some self-myofacial release on the posterior, anterior, lateral portions of the shoulder and my lats the pain started went away almost instantly.

I took a week off completely from upper body movements and concentrated on that and range of motion in my shoulders then went back to barbell pressing and I honesly have no discomfort at all.

I highly recommend the SMFR on the shoulder.

If you have medical coverage, I suggest seeing a doctor about your condition. I have a similar problem in both shoulders and after getting x-rays, I was told that I was developing arthritis in my right shoulder and have a cyst in my left.

For a few years, the pain was so unbearable I would literally be in tears and quit lifting for about 4 years. Just a few months ago, I had went to physical therapy, but that didn’t help much (it wasn’t what you see on TV.

They had me do various exercises with a rubber band. I thought I was going to get some deep tissue massages and stuff, but nope), but I worked through it and now I’m back lifting where I was a few years ago.

I have an arthritis prescription for Nabumetone (Relefin). The pains in my shoulder has decreased tremendously using this medication. It feels great to wake up and not have any pains or be able to towel off after a shower without issues.

Just two weeks ago, I also started taking a bunch of Fizogen products and I’m following one of their workout routines and supplement schedule. So far I think this stuff works pretty good.

Prior to using this stuff, I wasn’t getting any type of pump after working out, but now, my skin is really tight on my arms, shoulders and chest after every work out. It feels great to finally be working out again.

Again, go see a doctor if you can. You don’t want to aggravate an injury any further.

guys thanx a lot for everything sum great info and advice I’m going to stretch and take it easy and see how it goes thanx a lot and I’ll give an update in a few weeks just to let u guys no how its going thanx again everyone