OK, I'll take a turn if you have time...I've been pulling something in my traps just about every time I try to shoulder press any kind of serious weight. It keeps happening, I'll take a week or two off, then ease back in and it'll happen again. Sometimes I can't even feel a specific time when it "pulls" but after the workout, it just starts hurting more and more. The pain feels mostly in my my trap area, but when I turn at the wrong angle, it can extend up into my neck and over to my right shoulder as well. Any ideas?
Ahhh, you are in luck, I have personally had this issue happen to me. It sounds like a problem with you SCM (sternocleidomastoid muscle) named so because it attaches to your stermum, clavicle, & mastoid bones. It is almost impossible to do any kind of shoulder or trapezius movement without flexing this muscle, it is a very strong muscle, one of the primary muscles used to rotate your head from side to side. It could be one of a few things to be honest, do you ever notice when doing your shoulder presses the posture of your head and neck? I have come to realize that mine will occur when my head is not looking exactly straight forward &/or my neck is slightly flexed laterally to the right, mine always happens on the right as well, probably because I am right handed, which considering you are pointing to your right side and also because 80% of the population is right handed that you are as well.
OK, now that we are pretty sure of what is going on and why, let's talk about ways to correct and prevent this situation. Just like every other injury, I suggest heat pre-workout and ice post-workout. More importantly, you need to start doing some neck flexion & extension exercises, lateral neck flexion exercises, and head/neck rotational exercises to strengthen this pre-disposed area of weakness and prevent this from happening in the future.
Unfortunately, the saying that "You are only as strong as your weakest link" applies here and that is your weak link, so if it is not hurting now, maybe take like two weeks off of shoulder and trap exercises and in while you are refraining, do neck strengthening exercises every 3rd day, starting very light for high reps and slowly, I mean slowly increase the weight never doing too heavy of a weight where you can't complete 15 reps.
So exercises: with mild resistance... (4 sets of 15 reps each exercise every 3rd day)
- head flexion (head forward)
- head extension (head back)
- lateral head flexion (ear to shoulder R & L)
- head rotation (rotating head to look R & L)
* not a bad idea to use heating pad to warm up neck before doing this, or sit in hot tub or sauna and stretch your neck out while warming it just prior to neck exercises, if possible!