T Nation

Shoulder Injuries

Powerlifting
#1

I have managed to mess up both of my shoulders a bit. One was pure drunken stupidity. I military pressed one of my friends at a party and felt a rather unpleasant pop. It doesn’t hurt doing day to day things, but it feels loose. Kind of hard to explain.

The other shoulder I hurt benching. I was doing heavy (for me anyway) 5 x 5s and it started to feel really sore. It too doesn’t hurt doing day to day stuff, but occasionally will be painful if I tweak it just wrong.

How serious could this be? I haven’t benched in over two weeks due to these injuries. Should I go see a doctor, or do you guys think it will go away? If I should, any recommendations in the North Seattle area? Thanks

#2

Its tough to say how serious it is. I would definitely get it checked out to be sure.

#3

Yanbu
I would just go to a doctor and have him look at it

#4

Go see a doctor.

I have injured my shoulders several times over the years. I used to just take time off till they were better, until finally they were so screwed up I had to see a doctor. I got ART and the doc told me they were filled with scar tissue and all kinds of bad stuff.

Get them fixed now before they get so severe you will haev to deal with it forever…

#5

Thanks for the input. I guess a doctor visit is in my future.

#6

I’m surprised you didn’t get the usual T-answer of “Go see an ART doc.” That can be very expensive, and perhaps there are no ART docs in your area. Earlier this year I paid $665 for 12 sessions with an ART chiro to fix my shoulder pain. By the end of the 12 sessions my shoulder pain had ceased, but even though I continued to do my rotator cuff exercises, I started having shoulder pain again in the past month. Not wanting to fork over another big check to the chiro, I’ve been trying home remedies. I first tried icing and using the foam roller, but I didn’t get good results. Lately twice a day I’ve been lying on the floor on my side with a baseball under my shoulder and slowing rolling around on the shoulder, front, side and back, stopping for a while at each trigger point. I’ve also been stretching by lying on a bench with my arms outstretched to the sides, elbows facing the floor, and slowly moving them toward my head. I hold a light weight in each hand and extend my wrists up toward my arm pits (think Frankenstein’s Monster lying on a bench–no, I’m not that huge). I think this is working because I’m finally feeling some relieve. Maybe this routine will help you. At least it’s cheap, easy, and you don’t have to schlep to the chiro’s office.

#7

I had shoulder injuries on a regular basis(one or two a year) unitl I started doing rotator cuff work. Since then I haven’t had a problem and I am training heavier than every.

#8

Shoulders can be difficult to diagnose. 665$ is a very small price to pay for some good treatment on a shoulder injury. An mri itself can run over 1500.00.

Self treatment is a decent option, but don’t discount the pros. foam rollers have helped me in some instances, but it is difficult to really get all the small intricate areas of the shoulder with one.