shoulder pain help

[Fatman]

I've been having this shoulder joint pain for a while and everytime I do pushups or use the bench press, my shoulder joint will hurt which causes me to have to stop. it is only in my right arm and is quite annoying. What are ways to make the pain go away? Or should I just take a break from the gym? Thanks

[OceanDrop]

if the pain is in the front side of the shoulder, then based on the activities you're doing when it hurts i'd say it's a pec minor tear. just let it rest a bit and focus on exercises that don't aggravate it.

[mpt]

Actually from what it sounds like to me is an imbalance between shoulder blade muscles (tight in some, weak in others) Go see a qualified health care provider (ie. physiotherapist) for a proper assessment and they'll be able to give you help. Most extended health plans cover the cost of physiotherapy so it shouldn't cost a whole lot to get it fixed.

Where in Vancouver are you located? Maybe someone can recommend a good clinic to go to.

[Fatman]

I live on W. 16th and willow. Do I need to go through my family doctor first? I heard that if I get referred by my doctor, the expenses should be covered.

[OceanDrop]

Actually from what it sounds like to me is an imbalance between shoulder blade muscles (tight in some, weak in others) Go see a qualified health care provider (ie. physiotherapist) for a proper assessment and they'll be able to give you help. Most extended health plans cover the cost of physiotherapy so it shouldn't cost a whole lot to get it fixed.

Where in Vancouver are you located? Maybe someone can recommend a good clinic to go to.

no offense, but i highly doubt it's this. bench press and push-ups are mainly pec activities - very minimal shoulder involved. pec minor extends into shoulder. unless it hurts at other times with other activies, it's most likely this.

and i'd also skip the physiotherapist. take a week off from exercises that hurt, and go light for 3 days after that to see if it's a tear. if it still hurts, or it bothers your everyday activities, go to a sport med clinic.

[Fatman]

Other activities that will cause the pain are when I go for baseball training when I need to swing the bat. Thanks for all the fast replies:)

[poedua]

no offense, but i highly doubt it's this. bench press and push-ups are mainly pec activities - very minimal shoulder involved. pec minor extends into shoulder. unless it hurts at other times with other activies, it's most likely this.

and i'd also skip the physiotherapist. take a week off from exercises that hurt, and go light for 3 days after that to see if it's a tear. if it still hurts, or it bothers your everyday activities, go to a sport med clinic.

No offense, but I think mpt is right.

Chest exercises like bench can easily cause shoulder problems. While the pecs are the primary movers in the bench as you say, you've also got other synergists involved as well.

Don't forget, your rotator cuff ( muscles ) are responsible for moving the shoulder blade, and since the flat bench comprimises what would be considered a typical normal movement of your shoulder blades, you get a lot of strain on the shoulder. Combine that issue with poor benching form ( even more so with incline ), too much weight etc. and it's very easy for the bench to result in a shoulder injury.

[fireguy9]

take a break,,, if continues get it checked,,,,, last thing you want is a bad shoulder injury.

I have had problems for yrs with shoulder,,, and finally had enough,,, and doctor said its time for surgery. MRI didnt show the full extent of my shoulder problem and during surgery they found my rotator was torn.
Fixed it and it was 9wks in a sling imobilized and could do nothing,,,,, had to sleep sitting up for those weeks. Was off work 4 months and then 4 months light duties. In total 8 months before shoulder was good to go again.
This surgery,,,,,, you only have 1 good crack at the repair thus the importance of a proper full recovery without doing anything stupid with the shoulder. My doctor read the riot act to me saying if I blow it out during the first yr,,, it is virtually done. Now 1.5yrs later,,, the shoulder is excellent.

[mpt]

no offense, but i highly doubt it's this. bench press and push-ups are mainly pec activities - very minimal shoulder involved. pec minor extends into shoulder. unless it hurts at other times with other activies, it's most likely this.

and i'd also skip the physiotherapist. take a week off from exercises that hurt, and go light for 3 days after that to see if it's a tear. if it still hurts, or it bothers your everyday activities, go to a sport med clinic.

It is almost impossible to tear your pec minor, you can get DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) but since the pec minor attaches on the corocoid process (a small bone on the front side of the shoulder blade) and down to ribs 2-5, you would need a very large force pulled back on your shoulder to physically tear that muscle. Pec major is more susceptible to tearing since its a two-joint muscle, and therefore this could be a possibility (but very unlikely IMHO).

Most extended health plans cover physiotherapy; some require a doctors referral, some do not. Look into your extended health plan. If you dont have extended health, then you will have to pay for it all unless your household income is less than 28K, then the government will pay (23 bucks). Most clinics in BC will have a user fee associated with that (usually 20-30 bucks). As OceanDrop stated to go to a sports med clinic is a great idea. However sports med clinics are mostly in Ontario and there are none in western provinces. Out west you will find, physiotherapy and chiropractic offices which specialize in sports but they are regular physiotherapist and chiropractors. These can usually be picked out by looking at the name of the clinic (i.e. Glenn Mountain Orthopaedic & Sports Physiotherapy Rehabilitation Centre).

What typically happens in this situation is that the pec minor is usually tight and needs to be stretched and the lower trapezius, mid trapezius and your serratus anterior muscles are usually weak and therefore needs to be strengthened. What this imbalance causes is a tilting or roundness of your shoulder blade which then closes off the front of the shoulder, then when you add resistance and the muscles contract you will get pain because they are getting pinched. Hence why in the beginning it probably doesn't hurt much, but over repeated contractions, the pain gets worse and worse. These imbalances are also found more often in your dominant arm because that arm is used more and therefore the bad recruitment patterns get used more and more leading to more imbalance and more dysfunction. Your rotator cuff probably has nothing wrong with it (especially if you are younger). Rotator cuff problems are typically found more in people aged 35+. With swinging the baseball bat, this increases the likelihood that this is imbalance phenomenon is occuring; this phenomenom is called secondary shoulder inpingment syndrome. Go see a physiotherapist to get a proper assessment done so they can rule out the cause and fix the problem.