Shoulder pain, any advice?

[gareth h]

Any advice from the knowledgable?
I have had an issue for several months, my left shoulder started being painful doing flat dumbell presses, but inclines and shoulder presses were fine.
The pain has slowly got worse, to the stage were pull ups are difficult and hanging leg raises Give me a lot of shoulder pain.
I went to see the chiro who has sorted most of my problems in the past but no joy.
Am I best seeing the gp (who don't seem very knowledgable on this sort of thing) or a physio? (I do have private health care so could get referred)
Thanks
G

[Biker 1]

gareth h said:

Any advice from the knowledgable?
I have had an issue for several months, my left shoulder started being painful doing flat dumbell presses, but inclines and shoulder presses were fine.
The pain has slowly got worse, to the stage were pull ups are difficult and hanging leg raises Give me a lot of shoulder pain.
I went to see the chiro who has sorted most of my problems in the past but no joy.
Am I best seeing the gp (who don't seem very knowledgable on this sort of thing) or a physio? (I do have private health care so could get referred)
Thanks
G

Good osteopath who will then probably recommend physiotherapy. You need a specialist, not a GP, who will doubtless refer you to a specialist anyway, &/or prescribe pain killers, all in a consultation lasting 10 minutes..... My limited experience of my local health centre has been dire - misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis....

[craig1912]

Might just need physio but i'd get a referral to a specialist (you will need to see your GP to get the referral).
Having had shoulder pain for 18 mths with physio every week, an operation eventually sorted it. I did have to insist on a scan (which for some reason the specialist seemed reluctant to do) to find out exactly what was wrong.

[cat with a hat]

Sounds like a minor injury that has continued to worsen as you've continued to train around it without identifying the root problem.

I would take a bit of time off training and analyse what exercises you are doing that destroy your shoulders.

Most often is it chest/shoulder press exercises that are the root of the problem.

For example, the next time you do any presses, think about how far your arms are flared out. They should be somewhat tucked in. The db/bar should be lowered to your nips, you might find you can't lift as much but long term your shoulders will thank you and you'll be a lot stronger.



Also whenever you are doing dumbbells, I would recommend pressing with your hands at a bit of a rotation. (



This will ease pressure off the shoulders.

[ocd]

Shoulder problems are common and often difficult to diagnose. Ask your GP for a referral to shoulder surgeon who will be able to make a diagnosis and recommend appropriate treatment.

[popeyewhite]

gareth h said:

Any advice from the knowledgable?
I have had an issue for several months, my left shoulder started being painful doing flat dumbell presses, but inclines and shoulder presses were fine.
The pain has slowly got worse, to the stage were pull ups are difficult and hanging leg raises Give me a lot of shoulder pain.
I went to see the chiro who has sorted most of my problems in the past but no joy.
Am I best seeing the gp (who don't seem very knowledgable on this sort of thing) or a physio? (I do have private health care so could get referred)
Thanks
G

With the absence of any sudden sharp pain mentioned while you were training, and the fact the pain "slowly" got worse, I'd suggest bursitis. An inflammation of the bursa which sort of cushions movements between bones and tendons. Whatever it is you will need to see a physio, who will diagnose exactly the problem and tell you to rest the shoulder.

[craig1912]

popeyewhite said:

With the absence of any sudden sharp pain mentioned while you were training, and the fact the pain "slowly" got worse, I'd suggest bursitis. An inflammation of the bursa which sort of cushions movements between bones and tendons. Whatever it is you will need to see a physio, who will diagnose exactly the problem and tell you to rest the shoulder.

As someone said earlier shoulder problems are difficult to diagnose. It's quite possible a physio won't diagnose the issue. After the issues I had I would want to see a specialist and get a scan early on in the process - i had physio for a long time (under a Specialist) and it was only when I had a scan that it was deemed an operation was the best course of action- the physio had probably made it worse.

[gareth h]

Thanks for the advice, it's a bit frustrating but am only training legs / core / arms at the moment, will try to get a referral from my gp to a specialist.

[popeyewhite]

craig1912 said:

After the issues I had .....

My answer was based on the OP's statement, and therefore is unlikely to be relevant to any symptoms you may/may not have had. The absence of severe pain/lack of mobility should allow the gp to diagnose quite easily and go on to recommend a physio. A specialist and an operation are, from the description the OP has given, almost certainly not needed. A shoulder operation is absolutely the last thing that should be considered if future weight training is a consideration.

[craig1912]

popeyewhite said:

My answer was based on the OP's statement, and therefore is unlikely to be relevant to any symptoms you may/may not have had. The absence of severe pain/lack of mobility should allow the gp to diagnose quite easily and go on to recommend a physio. A specialist and an operation are, from the description the OP has given, almost certainly not needed. A shoulder operation is absolutely the last thing that should be considered if future weight training is a consideration.

calm down- wasn't being critical and don't disagree that an op is the last thing that should be considered- that is eaxactly what my specialist said but I was just highlighting the fact that physios are not always the answer and can make things worse (if the diagnosis is not correct). In the OP's case if physio doesn't improve it fairly quickly (and it may not given the chiro hasn't worked) then I'd be wanting a specialist referral and scan

[popeyewhite]

craig1912 said:

if physio doesn't improve it fairly quickly

Physio can do little for bursitis or tendinitus as it's a matter of waiting for the inflammation to disappear. Physiotherapy can offer exercises and stretching routines to help with pulls, strains and, in some cases, tears. Bad tears, cases of impingement and other serious RC damage is where a specialist comes in.

[craig1912]

popeyewhite said:

Physio can do little for bursitis or tendinitus as it's a matter of waiting for the inflammation to disappear. Physiotherapy can offer exercises and stretching routines to help with pulls, strains and, in some cases, tears. Bad tears, cases of impingement and other serious RC damage is where a specialist comes in.

having seen numerous physios and three or four orthopedic specialists in my time I'm well aware of what they do thanks.......

[popeyewhite]

craig1912 said:

having seen numerous physios and three or four orthopaedic specialists in my time I'm well aware of what they do thanks

Don't be stupid.

[Nezquick]

I've had the very same problem and ended up getting mine sorted through physio. I was diagnosed with an impingement in the left shoulder.

The main issue I had when training is when doing chest press with dumbells. It was the movement getting the weights from the floor to the starting position which caused me the most pain and would often lead to me abandoning the movement altogether.

I had some deep tissue physio (which was very painful at times) and that's sorted it out. I was told the next step would be an injection.