A little backstory-
About this time 2 years ago I was training pretty hard, had nothing else to do while school was out, and got a desk job soon after. Didn’t have terrible posture, but I wasn’t used to sitting for hours and hours on end, so im sure it got worse during the day.
I started to develop some nerve pain in my L shoulder (the same shoulder I had this in during high school while carrying tons of books and walking w them to and from school). I couldn’t do any end range back work without my scaps locked together, no rows, chins, trap work/carries and couldn’t pick anything up with an outstretched arm without pain.
Played around w it and did a TON of trap myo release, kinda helped.
Said fuck it one day and just benched 135xforever, and that was the only way I could stretch my chest without pain, that eventually solved it, major pump+strecthing. This all happened over a month.
It flared up again last summer, but only maybe a week.
This time it’s been going on for about 3 months now, and way worse, I can’t get it to die down at all. I can train most things but I pay for it later the next few days.
I did manage to find a position to feel the pulling of the nerve I guess, a stretch from k-star. basically overhead/banded lat/rotator stretch, then dropping my head to the right pulls the nerve some. I’ve self diagnosed (and a good friend of mine who’s in PT school) as TOS, but don’t care for the label, just wanna lift.
I know I have some general tightness in the L shoulder girdle, I’ve been working on it but I need to dedicate a ton of time doing it bc the 30 sessions are not cutting it. I can’t find anything that really stretches the area well.
Last few points- This isn’t from overuse, I’ve basically given up consistent training bc of work and this, so i usually squat of pull. I need to get back at it tho, I’m going stir crazy and getting lazy/fat.
What seems to be the ONLY exercise that I don’t have the ability to set my L shoulder properly (benching/overhead work i can set it, shoulders are symmetric, great technique, etc) is the front squat/rack. Every time I do those I get a nasty bruise on the L clavicle, I am not hindered by this during, it doesnt cause pain in the nerve, just an observation that my L shoulder is carrying the load more anteriorly I guess.
Main problem- I can’t afford a physio/PT currently, and I don’t have many good choices at my location, anyway.
Any thoughts and suggestions, questions, etc that would help me figure this out would be GREATLY appreciated.