What’s wrong with my shoulder?
Discussion
Great place PH, eventually a thread will turn up discussing something in your life and for me it's a shoulder too.
Spent months ignoring shoulder pain doing press-ups, dips, burpees, military press, .etc. until I got to the point of "No, stop!". That point ws pretty much useless weakness unable to perform exercises or bear weight (idiot!).
Even when running (5 minutes per KM pace for 5Km is fast for me) the shoulder was getting painful to the point of affecting performance. There was even a mild pins and needles feeling further down the arm.
Couldn't sleep on that side either, even steering a vehicle or putting on a t-shirt/jumper was notably uncomfortable.
Asked a Physio for some advice and interestingly they pointed me down the Osteopath route, someone they'd personally used. Sticking with that for now as things seem to be easing. I'm not going to chop and change looking for the miracle fix. Tendonitis is the theory.
About to introduce resistance band movements to build thing up again so will see how that goes before thinking further.
Cortisone was mentioned lightly (Never pushed) as something that may come into play. The way that was explained was to try to seek a specialist to do it through my GP.
I've no illusions about it being easy or quick but if there is no great improvement, in my mind I'd hope for an MRI diagnosis to give a definitive answer. Perhaps that's something I should be doing anyway, knowing MRI appointments are a long wait.
Spent months ignoring shoulder pain doing press-ups, dips, burpees, military press, .etc. until I got to the point of "No, stop!". That point ws pretty much useless weakness unable to perform exercises or bear weight (idiot!).
Even when running (5 minutes per KM pace for 5Km is fast for me) the shoulder was getting painful to the point of affecting performance. There was even a mild pins and needles feeling further down the arm.
Couldn't sleep on that side either, even steering a vehicle or putting on a t-shirt/jumper was notably uncomfortable.
Asked a Physio for some advice and interestingly they pointed me down the Osteopath route, someone they'd personally used. Sticking with that for now as things seem to be easing. I'm not going to chop and change looking for the miracle fix. Tendonitis is the theory.
About to introduce resistance band movements to build thing up again so will see how that goes before thinking further.
Cortisone was mentioned lightly (Never pushed) as something that may come into play. The way that was explained was to try to seek a specialist to do it through my GP.
I've no illusions about it being easy or quick but if there is no great improvement, in my mind I'd hope for an MRI diagnosis to give a definitive answer. Perhaps that's something I should be doing anyway, knowing MRI appointments are a long wait.
wibble cb said:
Small update, just had the MRI scan, will have to wait a week for the results, I am still in large amounts of pain, can't support any weight on my right shoulder and now even driving is causing issues(although the wife's car is an auto, so that helps)
Will know more next week...
I'm off in a minute for a referral and then if no luck I'll pay for an MRI scan and see what they say.Will know more next week...
Mine has got progressively worse over the last few weeks, culminating in my left arm being unable to do much more than type and use a pen.
My van is a dsg, that's useful but trying to reach across and switch off the stop/start every morning is agony.
Driller said:
STOP PRESS!
Having tried all sorts of exercises from external rotations, stretches etc and physio and no result, for the last few days I've been trying the "hanging from a bar" technique.
It's given immediate and quite astonishing results and I would recommend this to anyone with rotator cuff type shoulder pain.
Have a look on YouTube, theres quite a few videos on this.
Oddly enough when I hurt my shoulder having my son pull on my arm was great for pain relief ! Having tried all sorts of exercises from external rotations, stretches etc and physio and no result, for the last few days I've been trying the "hanging from a bar" technique.
It's given immediate and quite astonishing results and I would recommend this to anyone with rotator cuff type shoulder pain.
Have a look on YouTube, theres quite a few videos on this.
I didn't really understand what I was told except that the physio I've been having has made it a lot worse. 
I'm being referred again, back to a doctor who can sign off some kind of injection to reduce inflammation and then see where we go from there.
No more gym, indoor rowing or mtb riding for 4 weeks.
I'm being referred again, back to a doctor who can sign off some kind of injection to reduce inflammation and then see where we go from there.
No more gym, indoor rowing or mtb riding for 4 weeks.
Driller said:
STOP PRESS!
Having tried all sorts of exercises from external rotations, stretches etc and physio and no result, for the last few days I've been trying the "hanging from a bar" technique.
It's given immediate and quite astonishing results and I would recommend this to anyone with rotator cuff type shoulder pain.
Have a look on YouTube, theres quite a few videos on this.
I have exactly the same symptoms as yourself, only inflicted from swimming (I think, hard to tell because at the time I was doing a lot of gym including weighted press-ups, weighted pull-ups and dips and bench etc) and doing a lot of swimming. Physio reckons on inflammation and impingement due to weak muscles in the rear and strong/tight muscles in the front allowing the joint to come too far forward all the time. Apparently quite common in swimmers even if efforts are made to stop the front muscles/pec from overpowering. Having tried all sorts of exercises from external rotations, stretches etc and physio and no result, for the last few days I've been trying the "hanging from a bar" technique.
It's given immediate and quite astonishing results and I would recommend this to anyone with rotator cuff type shoulder pain.
Have a look on YouTube, theres quite a few videos on this.
It never got so bad I couldn't sleep on it (I was wise enough to stop before I got that far) but day to day movements would ellicit sharp pains, it would feel like my should could get stuck or locked forward, and I certainly could no longer swim on it.
I tried time off, I tried doing the prescribed exercises (which helped a little).
What I've since found is doing something a bit more rigorous is starting to work:
face-pulls
lying down face pulls (to take the traps out of it)
reverse flys with hand rotated toward the back slightly
reverse pec deck.
scap exercises (hanging from a bar, retract scaps etc)
much tougher external/internal rotator cuff rotations with bungee cords
Lying on back, holding a heavy weight straight up and using the shoulder to manage its position
Swimmers... more specific to me, but with bungees cords, mimic freestyle whilst focusing on pulling the should back and keeping it anchored.
Lat and pec stretching, broom stick stretching
Since putting together my own little routines with those exercises improvement has been much quicker. I have no real clue what I am doing but I figured muscles in the back=weak, muscles in the front = too strong. So I have been working on strengthening the anterior muscles with gentle weight but long tension time, loosening off the front muscles and working on posture.
I have since been able to get back in the pool. But I still can't use it 100% but at least I can use it. I can make it a full 90 min session by doing a lot more kick on certain sets and using fins to take more of the load to the legs (with the added bonus that with fins I can slow the arms down and think carefully about shoulder position).
Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Wednesday 11th April 15:32
Driller said:
Brilliant post thanks for the info. I'll certainly give all that a try.
I'd also heard (and it's logical) that its a front vs back strength thing.
That plus posture. A lot of people these days have rounded shoulders from various things. Think a big cause is just sitting at a desk incorrectly all day. All contributes to having the shoulders rounded and forward and eventually you stay that way. Muscles in the back become long, muscles in the front short. I'd also heard (and it's logical) that its a front vs back strength thing.
So I think it does help to work on posture in the shoulders (and on pelvic posture as well) and make sure to do stretching to open out the chest.
I have always been conscious to work front/back evenly. I used to do bench, dips, shoulder press etc but also deads, bent rows, cable rows, lat pulls, pull ups. But I guess its the swimming that does it... its all lats and front of house (front delts, upper chest). And the stroke calls for you to extend the arm on entry, rotate the body and push the arm/should forward for maximum reach.
I also got told about the 4 muscles, 2 being stronger than the others etc.
I don't take painkillers, I'm old school and tend to try and man up, except with this shoulder apparently I should have been taking ibuprofen and paracetamol to help reduce inflammation as well as obviously reducing pain.
The physio I was doing with a broomstick and various stretches etc has aggravated my shoulder, I should have done physio when things weren't so inflamed and I might have saved myself some grief.
I don't take painkillers, I'm old school and tend to try and man up, except with this shoulder apparently I should have been taking ibuprofen and paracetamol to help reduce inflammation as well as obviously reducing pain.
The physio I was doing with a broomstick and various stretches etc has aggravated my shoulder, I should have done physio when things weren't so inflamed and I might have saved myself some grief.
I had a frozen shoulder for about 2 years.Couldn't do any overhead pressing or even stretch my arm out to 1 side or reach behind to put the seatbelt on in the car.Even lying on that side in bed was painful.
What fixed me was a combination of some simple shoulder rotation movements and landmine lateral raises with a light weight.
What fixed me was a combination of some simple shoulder rotation movements and landmine lateral raises with a light weight.
Driller said:
Brilliant post thanks for the info. I'll certainly give all that a try.
I'd also heard (and it's logical) that its a front vs back strength thing.
Regular gym user and runner here. I knew nothing really of shoulder mechanics...I'd also heard (and it's logical) that its a front vs back strength thing.
I had torn my rotator cuff 12 months ago, prescribed rest and don't do anything that hurts me (NHS advice) so I avoided/went light on the shoulder. After a year of no issues started to get quite sore, limited movement and 'shock' type pains through my shoulder that would stop me in my tracks. Unable to sleep on left side. Went to physio who diagnosed frozen shoulder and went through a few weeks of stretches and rehab movements.
Movement started to get better but the 'shocks' kept happening and increasing in duration.. Every time I had one i'd have to lie down on right side and stretch my arm out on front of me to 'unlock' it.
Woke up one morning and had one of these 'shocks' that wouldn't go away, 11/10 pain, no matter what I did, got the wife to ring NHS24, as face and arm going numb, while doing so I collapsed (hyperventilating due to the pain so passed out).
They sent two ambulances as they thought it was a heart attack (bloody felt like one), it wasn't obviously, woke up in hospital an hour later on morphine, with normal BP, RHR 45bpm etc. Scariest event of my life.
Scan revealed frozen shoulder and calcific tendonitis with fluid on the bicep.
Over the past 3 months had cortisone x2 physio/shoulder rehab and am mostly pain free. I had a procedure today hydrodilatation to hopefully get my movement back to 100%.
Never take my shoulder for granted again.
Driller said:
Brilliant post thanks for the info. I'll certainly give all that a try.
I'd also heard (and it's logical) that its a front vs back strength thing.
I had a good deal of ineffectual treatment until I found a sports Physio who took a different approach. They believed my issue was a chest to back muscle imbalance. My chest was getting really tight and pulling my shoulders forward, which strained muscles in the shoulder. Some chest stretches later the pain went and I could go back to training. It does reoccur very so often but back to stretching and I am fine again.I'd also heard (and it's logical) that its a front vs back strength thing.
All of the other Doctors and Physios assumed that as the pain was in my shoulder the fix would be in the shoulder.
May I ask - did any of you suffering with shoulder issues have a flu jab prior to the pain starting?
Sounds crazy, but a work colleague is suffering similar difficulties since he had his back in December 2017.
Apparently it's not uncommon for pain & motion related issues for months following the jab. First I'd heard of it, but there's a whole ton of info on the net regarding it.
Sounds crazy, but a work colleague is suffering similar difficulties since he had his back in December 2017.
Apparently it's not uncommon for pain & motion related issues for months following the jab. First I'd heard of it, but there's a whole ton of info on the net regarding it.
Never had a flu jab in my life.
I did have another breakthrough however. I had managed to condition myself to avoid sleeping on the bad shoulder side but there is a movement that seemed to be directly exacerbating the shoulder problem: I often sleep on my back and often wake up in the morning with the hand on the offending side tucked behind my head, forearm flat on the pillow next to the head, beach style.
Waking up and moving the hand out from behind the head would be really uncomfortable with the shoulder feeling seized up.
Yesterday I took a piece of cord and put a small loop on one end and a larger one on the other. The small loop was passed around the wrist and the larger one around the top of the thigh with the cord short enough to now prevent the hand being moved up behind the head.
Waking up this morning, the hand was not behind my head and the shoulder was much less painful than usual.
So it seems this will help a lot and as a bonus the cord can be used for auto-erotic asphyxia activities! (ok, that was a joke).
I did have another breakthrough however. I had managed to condition myself to avoid sleeping on the bad shoulder side but there is a movement that seemed to be directly exacerbating the shoulder problem: I often sleep on my back and often wake up in the morning with the hand on the offending side tucked behind my head, forearm flat on the pillow next to the head, beach style.
Waking up and moving the hand out from behind the head would be really uncomfortable with the shoulder feeling seized up.
Yesterday I took a piece of cord and put a small loop on one end and a larger one on the other. The small loop was passed around the wrist and the larger one around the top of the thigh with the cord short enough to now prevent the hand being moved up behind the head.
Waking up this morning, the hand was not behind my head and the shoulder was much less painful than usual.
So it seems this will help a lot and as a bonus the cord can be used for auto-erotic asphyxia activities! (ok, that was a joke).
I didn't realise shoulders were so complicated and troublesome until I read this thread!
I've been to see another NHS 'specialist' who wants to stick a needle in my shoulder joint. I'm not happy to have a jab and to mask the pain without knowing what caused it and how do I prevent it from happening again.
There's a local athletic academy who have an MRI scanner, it's £275 and they are confident the results of the scan will detail exactly what the issue is, so that's my next move. They can also send the results to my NHS specialist for his diagnosis too, seems like a no-brainer to me.
I've been to see another NHS 'specialist' who wants to stick a needle in my shoulder joint. I'm not happy to have a jab and to mask the pain without knowing what caused it and how do I prevent it from happening again.
There's a local athletic academy who have an MRI scanner, it's £275 and they are confident the results of the scan will detail exactly what the issue is, so that's my next move. They can also send the results to my NHS specialist for his diagnosis too, seems like a no-brainer to me.
Driller said:
Never had a flu jab in my life.
I did have another breakthrough however. I had managed to condition myself to avoid sleeping on the bad shoulder side but there is a movement that seemed to be directly exacerbating the shoulder problem: I often sleep on my back and often wake up in the morning with the hand on the offending side tucked behind my head, forearm flat on the pillow next to the head, beach style.
Waking up and moving the hand out from behind the head would be really uncomfortable with the shoulder feeling seized up.
Yesterday I took a piece of cord and put a small loop on one end and a larger one on the other. The small loop was passed around the wrist and the larger one around the top of the thigh with the cord short enough to now prevent the hand being moved up behind the head.
Waking up this morning, the hand was not behind my head and the shoulder was much less painful than usual.
So it seems this will help a lot and as a bonus the cord can be used for auto-erotic asphyxia activities! (ok, that was a joke).
Do that movement and feel your upper trap as you do it, I'm sure that will be pulling on the shoulder muscles. I sometimes sleep like that as well and think it's a contributor to sore shoulders/neck. I think it puts a lot of muscles in an awkward position and they'll just tense up after hours of sleep like that.I did have another breakthrough however. I had managed to condition myself to avoid sleeping on the bad shoulder side but there is a movement that seemed to be directly exacerbating the shoulder problem: I often sleep on my back and often wake up in the morning with the hand on the offending side tucked behind my head, forearm flat on the pillow next to the head, beach style.
Waking up and moving the hand out from behind the head would be really uncomfortable with the shoulder feeling seized up.
Yesterday I took a piece of cord and put a small loop on one end and a larger one on the other. The small loop was passed around the wrist and the larger one around the top of the thigh with the cord short enough to now prevent the hand being moved up behind the head.
Waking up this morning, the hand was not behind my head and the shoulder was much less painful than usual.
So it seems this will help a lot and as a bonus the cord can be used for auto-erotic asphyxia activities! (ok, that was a joke).
Other than a really small/tight sleeping bag
I'm really struggling for ways to force me to stay on my back with my arms to the side Once upon a time we were all a bit drunk at a party and I asked my friend (who works in mental health) to restrain me to see if I could get out of it.
As soon as he got my arm and I tried to move I could feel my shoulder popping a bit and 'tapped out'.
Thought nothing of it and the next morning just had the usual headache and nothing out of the ordinary. But over the next few days I started to get this ache deep in my shoulder. Over the following weeks it got worse and worse to the point where I couldn't even concentrate on anything but the pain. Ended up trying about 7 different pain killers, stopped working out completely, cancelled some surgery that was due on my knee because I couldn't deal with that whilst having this constant pain in my shoulder.
Anyway I never found out exactly what was damaged, but eventually about 3-4 months later it healed. That pain is one of the worst injurys I've had (along with ribs).
As soon as he got my arm and I tried to move I could feel my shoulder popping a bit and 'tapped out'.
Thought nothing of it and the next morning just had the usual headache and nothing out of the ordinary. But over the next few days I started to get this ache deep in my shoulder. Over the following weeks it got worse and worse to the point where I couldn't even concentrate on anything but the pain. Ended up trying about 7 different pain killers, stopped working out completely, cancelled some surgery that was due on my knee because I couldn't deal with that whilst having this constant pain in my shoulder.
Anyway I never found out exactly what was damaged, but eventually about 3-4 months later it healed. That pain is one of the worst injurys I've had (along with ribs).
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