T Nation

Sore Deltoid Tendon from OHP

Injuries and Rehab
#1

I know there’s millions of “sore shoulder” threads out there, but I still can’t find what I’m looking for. Seems when people say “shoulders” they can mean a lot of different things.

After doing OHPs this week with a 6sec hold at the top each rep, my shoulders have been sore. It feels like there’s some strain on the tendon attaching the medial deltoid to… whatever it’s attached to.

It’s not particularly painful, just sore/strained, but I felt it post-workout and the night after the last two times I’ve done OHPs with pauses. It’s mostly gone the next day.

Is there anything form-wise or warmup-wise I can do to prevent this in the future?

#2

Any ideas?

#3

How about not doing the 6 second hold at the top. It’s not adding anything of value.

#4

[quote]ucallthatbass wrote:
How about not doing the 6 second hold at the top. It’s not adding anything of value. [/quote]

Eh, I’m just trying it to find out if it does. It was Vince Gironda’s take on the overhead press, in order to stimulate all three deltoid heads. I’m guessing the point is to increase TUT.

When I started adding the hold, I had to drop the weight considerably, so I’m guessing it does something… just not sure if it’s useful yet.

#5

[quote]LoRez wrote:
I know there’s millions of “sore shoulder” threads out there, but I still can’t find what I’m looking for. Seems when people say “shoulders” they can mean a lot of different things.

After doing OHPs this week with a 6sec hold at the top each rep, my shoulders have been sore. It feels like there’s some strain on the tendon attaching the medial deltoid to… whatever it’s attached to.

It’s not particularly painful, just sore/strained, but I felt it post-workout and the night after the last two times I’ve done OHPs with pauses. It’s mostly gone the next day.

Is there anything form-wise or warmup-wise I can do to prevent this in the future?[/quote]

Send or find a picture of where you’re talking about.

I’m assuming you mean “middle” deltoid rather than medial. Not trying to be a smart ass, just want to make sure I know the location you’re referring to.

#6

[quote]BReddy wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
I know there’s millions of “sore shoulder” threads out there, but I still can’t find what I’m looking for. Seems when people say “shoulders” they can mean a lot of different things.

After doing OHPs this week with a 6sec hold at the top each rep, my shoulders have been sore. It feels like there’s some strain on the tendon attaching the medial deltoid to… whatever it’s attached to.

It’s not particularly painful, just sore/strained, but I felt it post-workout and the night after the last two times I’ve done OHPs with pauses. It’s mostly gone the next day.

Is there anything form-wise or warmup-wise I can do to prevent this in the future?[/quote]

Send or find a picture of where you’re talking about.

I’m assuming you mean “middle” deltoid rather than medial. Not trying to be a smart ass, just want to make sure I know the location you’re referring to.
[/quote]

Thanks for the correction. I meant middle/lateral deltoid. Not sure where I picked up the “medial” deltoid terminology.

I’m looking through images on google image search, but can’t seem to find anything that fits. It doesn’t help that I’m having trouble localizing exactly where the pain is coming from. When I move my arm certain ways it hurts, and other times I feel nothing.

In terms of location, it feels like it’s directly underneath the lateral deltoid, but outside of the bony edge of the shoulder (the acromion?). Probably the closest thing I can see in pictures is it feels like where the supraspinatus is… but I could be off.

For now I’ve just been using ibuprofen and a once-a-day application of Voltaren Gel. It seems to get worse when I sleep though, probably just from pressure on the arm.

#7

Perhaps you have some mobility issues?

#8

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Perhaps you have some mobility issues?[/quote]

Yeah, maybe. I’ve been taking a yoga class on a weekly basis for several months now, and had no issues there. I figure if I had mobility issues it would’ve shown up there.

I’ll give it another few days with anti-inflammatories (and no OHPs). I’ll see a doctor next week if it doesn’t get better.

Shoulder anatomy is complicated, and I’ve never had an issue, so I’m completely ignorant on the subject. Rotator cuff strain, maybe?

#9

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Perhaps you have some mobility issues?[/quote]

Yeah, maybe. I’ve been taking a yoga class on a weekly basis for several months now, and had no issues there. I figure if I had mobility issues it would’ve shown up there.

I’ll give it another few days with anti-inflammatories (and no OHPs). I’ll see a doctor next week if it doesn’t get better.

Shoulder anatomy is complicated, and I’ve never had an issue, so I’m completely ignorant on the subject. Rotator cuff strain, maybe?[/quote]

Hold on there!!!

YOGA?

I have no problem with the practice of yoga, but it’s not for everyone.

My wife had been practicing yoga for over a year when she developed hip and lower back problems.
She kept going back thinking that yoga would help it, when in fact it was the yoga that caused it. She spoke to several women who have experienced the same thing. Yoga IS beneficial in that it opens up and balances the mechanics of the body, but apparently yoga can loosen ligaments and other connective tissue - something you do not want!

Lay off the yoga for a couple of weeks, continue your delt training, but try lighter weight and more controlled reps within your normal ROM. Try going for a pump.
When you get home, ice them for 20 minutes. Avoid extreme stretches for a while.

My 2 cents

EDIT: And if it is rotator cuff problems (which it very well could be, as certain positions like downward dog could cause impingement), lay off training for a week or so, then get back gradually and finish each chest and shoulder session with L-fly variations with VERY light weight. This will rehab and strengthen the rotators.

#10

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Hold on there!!!

YOGA?

I have no problem with the practice of yoga, but it’s not for everyone.

My wife had been practicing yoga for over a year when she developed hip and lower back problems.
She kept going back thinking that yoga would help it, when in fact it was the yoga that caused it. She spoke to several women who have experienced the same thing. Yoga IS beneficial in that it opens up and balances the mechanics of the body, but apparently yoga can loosen ligaments and other connective tissue - something you do not want!

Lay off the yoga for a couple of weeks, continue your delt training, but try lighter weight and more controlled reps within your normal ROM. Try going for a pump.
When you get home, ice them for 20 minutes. Avoid extreme stretches for a while.

My 2 cents

EDIT: And if it is rotator cuff problems (which it very well could be, as certain positions like downward dog could cause impingement), lay off training for a week or so, then get back gradually and finish each chest and shoulder session with L-fly variations with VERY light weight. This will rehab and strengthen the rotators.[/quote]

Thanks for the tips. They’re generally feeling better today. I laid off any upper body work the last several days and the rest seems to have done them some good. (I’d been doing a full-body routine 3x a week)

American stretching protocols seem to stretch the tendons and ligaments a lot; stretching without actually warming up the muscles. From what I understand, ideal stretching stretches the muscles, but until they’re warmed up, the tendons and ligaments are what are going to be stretched… weakest link in the chain. Fortunately with the yoga class I’ve been in, there’s a fair amount of actual muscular warmup before the “real” stretching occurs. Probably not enough for the shoulder girdle though, and maybe there is some impingement with downward dog. I’ll keep that in mind.

It’s quite possible it wasn’t the OHPs at all. Now that things feel mostly healed, I might try and narrow down exactly what was causing the problem.

I’m definitely feeling some pain when doing lateral raises with my palms facing the ground, without any weight. Palms forward or palms back is fine though.