Chronic Rotator cuff pain...Tendonitis?

[AxPoz]

Hello all, I'm looking for some advice on some shoulder pain that I've had for quite some time. I know that there are a few threads here with similar topics, but I thought I should start a new one and be as specific as I can.
I'm 23 yo and have been seriously lifting for about 5 years. I first noticed the problem about 3.5 years ago in my left shoulder, and just attributed it to poor technique and bench pressing more weight than my frame could handle (because I first noticed it during heavy benching). After that I stopped lifting for around 6 months in an effort to allow it to heal. I've been working out regularly since then (more so in the summer bc I'm a student). After the break, the pain was much less intense, but still present. Through out the next few years it gradually got worse (in both shoulders), and now the right shoulder is actually worse than the left.

The pain is primarily located in the front, middle-top area of the shoulder. After some online self diagnosis, it looks to be in the region of the supraspinatus tendon, or even a bit lower than it appears in most pictures.

Painful exercises (scale 1-5, 5 being hurts too much to accomplish with low-medium weight)
Incline barbell press: 4
Incline dumbbell press: 3
Shoulder press: 1, surprisingly
Decline press: 2
Dips: 5
Lateral raise: 3
Forward raise: 3.5

I also experience moderate shoulder pain when sleeping on my side.

Before working out I always try to loosen up my shoulders as much as I can with stretches, arm circles, and the two rotator cuff exercises that are always talked about (holding elbows out and parallel to ground and moving hand/forearm up and down, and holding elbows down and pulling out)

As far as joint supplements, I'm not very well informed, but I do take fish oil and a multi.

If you've gotten this far in this post, thank you! I've tried to be as detailed as possible. Is there anything I could be doing, short of not lifting weights? Does this sound like just a reoccurring injury or something like tendonitis? I'd appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks a lot

 

[FL3X MAGNUM]

Sounds similar to my problem.
Best thing I could do was have a more narrow grip for barbell presses, do more dumbbell work, and try pre exhausting my triceps before I hit chest.
The best way would be to take a break.

 

[vidapreta]

Hello all, I'm looking for some advice on some shoulder pain that I've had for quite some time. I know that there are a few threads here with similar topics, but I thought I should start a new one and be as specific as I can.
I'm 23 yo and have been seriously lifting for about 5 years. I first noticed the problem about 3.5 years ago in my left shoulder, and just attributed it to poor technique and bench pressing more weight than my frame could handle (because I first noticed it during heavy benching). After that I stopped lifting for around 6 months in an effort to allow it to heal. I've been working out regularly since then (more so in the summer bc I'm a student). After the break, the pain was much less intense, but still present. Through out the next few years it gradually got worse (in both shoulders), and now the right shoulder is actually worse than the left.

The pain is primarily located in the front, middle-top area of the shoulder. After some online self diagnosis, it looks to be in the region of the supraspinatus tendon, or even a bit lower than it appears in most pictures.

Painful exercises (scale 1-5, 5 being hurts too much to accomplish with low-medium weight)
Incline barbell press: 4
Incline dumbbell press: 3
Shoulder press: 1, surprisingly
Decline press: 2
Dips: 5
Lateral raise: 3
Forward raise: 3.5

I also experience moderate shoulder pain when sleeping on my side.

Before working out I always try to loosen up my shoulders as much as I can with stretches, arm circles, and the two rotator cuff exercises that are always talked about (holding elbows out and parallel to ground and moving hand/forearm up and down, and holding elbows down and pulling out)

As far as joint supplements, I'm not very well informed, but I do take fish oil and a multi.

If you've gotten this far in this post, thank you! I've tried to be as detailed as possible. Is there anything I could be doing, short of not lifting weights? Does this sound like just a reoccurring injury or something like tendonitis? I'd appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks a lot

Search on youtube for rotator cuff rehab exercises. They'll be the same exercises that a physical therapist will give you. And they can really help.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[napalm]

It's either impingement or a cuff tear, prolly impingement. MRI is needed to diagnose both.

As said above, you tube is your friend here, also google "treat your own rotator cuff"
It's a pretty big PDF file

<---5 shoulder surgeries

Good luck...

 

[AxPoz]

Thanks guys, YouTube has been a great help, I found some new movements that seem to be working well. I may also download the giant PDF if I decide to get really into it. Thanks again

 

[John Smeton]

going to a great chiropractor well studies in ARt therapy helped me

always lightly stretch and warmup before back, shoulders and chest days and use the shoulder horn, you can buy this off amazon.com it has worked well for myself

 

[rhino67jg]

I had same issues. Got several tests done & was told i have the arthritis of a 60 year old man, at 42. Super cissus, joint force & aleve help me tremendously.

 

[ZiR RED]

It actually sounds more like biceps tendonitis than a rotator cuff issue.

Get a postural analysis (on top of what has been described). Its possible you have internally rotated humerus and/or protracted shoulders.

Br

 

[napalm]

It actually sounds more like biceps tendonitis than a rotator cuff issue.

Get a postural analysis (on top of what has been described). Its possible you have internally rotated humerus and/or protracted shoulders.

Br

This got me to thinking, it could also be a torn labrum. Bicep tendon inserts on the labrum (as I'm sure you already know). When I had my labrum done, one of his original thoughts was bicep tendinitis.

How did the move go br?

 

[LizKing531]

This was in another thread recently.
***** Evidently can't post links yet - wasn't trying being a smart@ss...


http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/8_weeks_to_monster_shoulders;jsessionid=709A9C049465E9DFF028EFCA74EF531D-mcd02.hydra

I've struggled off & on with shoulder pain (bad form/too heavy/young & dumb). I can't afford beating my shoulders any more - gets in the way of too much - Nowadays I take it a bit slower/lighter, making sure form is 100% in check. For my personal experience, my posture sitting at a desk all day was causing a good portion of the strain. I noticed working out in the morning or weekends, I don't have nearly the shoulder discomfort I do after a day at work...

 

[ZiR RED]

This got me to thinking, it could also be a torn labrum. Bicep tendon inserts on the labrum (as I'm sure you already know). When I had my labrum done, one of his original thoughts was bicep tendinitis.

How did the move go br?

You might want to check that out too.

Move went well, enjoying Lexington KY. Got my PhD too. thanks

Br

 

[LizKing531]

* Evidently can't post links yet - wasn't trying being a smart@ss...

A recent past thread had a link to several diagnostic exercises/motions, along with some rehab exercises, etc -

 

[AxPoz]

Sorry for taking so long to respond to all the good advice, was out of town for a wedding and didn't have access to the web, but I do really appreciate it. I've been doing the rehab exercises religiously and it has helped some. One thing I noticed which is odd is that the pain is strong (and I am weak) when doing incline dumbbell bench at a low angle (like 15 deg), but is non existent when I move the angle up to 30 and up. I don't even try it with barbell. But from what I'm hearing it may not be as simple as I was hoping. With all the new possibilities (biceps tendinitis, labrum issues, etc), I think I'll just have to take out the guess work and see a professional so I know for sure how to remedy. Thanks everybody!

 

[underthesun]

Supplement wise YOU MUST TRY CISSUS!!!!! I had shoulder problems for years too. I tried MSM, glucosamine, chondroitin, fish oils, you name it, with no luck. I thought I would never be able to play volleyball again, but with Cissus I went back to 100%. If you got everything else looked at, give it a shot. It's really amazing stuff.

 

[AxPoz]

Supplement wise YOU MUST TRY CISSUS!!!!! I had shoulder problems for years too. I tried MSM, glucosamine, chondroitin, fish oils, you name it, with no luck. I thought I would never be able to play volleyball again, but with Cissus I went back to 100%. If you got everything else looked at, give it a shot. It's really amazing stuff.

I just may give that a shot, I don't think I've had any success with anything supplement wise. It looks like its around 25$, which would be a small price to pay to actually lift at 100%. When you were done with the bottle did the injury resurface?

 

[underthesun]

I just may give that a shot, I don't think I've had any success with anything supplement wise. It looks like its around 25$, which would be a small price to pay to actually lift at 100%. When you were done with the bottle did the injury resurface?

Not really. Also in reading the post it seemed like it healed in 1 bottle, which is not true. 1 bottle got me to be able to play without pain while I built my way back to 100% over the course of a year. Cissus is a staple. With enough use you should be able to tell when you need to run it for a little bit for a fix.

 

[Bubbagump]

Sounds familiar. Only you have pain doing dips and mine is more on inclined or lat pulldown when my hands are above my head.
Fish oil, Cissus and Ibuprofen are the only relief Ive found

 

[Distilled Water]

As a former college baseball player who always lifted heavy. There wasn't a day between 2005-2011 I DIDN'T have some sort of shoulder pain.

It sounds like an impingement. I never had any surgery or anything and there were times I couldn't even write more than a scentence without shooting pain.

I'd try an ibeprofen regimen along with heat & ice first (taking time off lifting entirely) then begin stretching and light weight labrum & rotator cuff exercises. Stretching with a towl will help also.

Grab opposite ends of the towl and stretch it out across the front of your body with your hands at your side (palms facing your body) while keeping full tention on the towl.

While keeping the tell stretch apart, go all the away up and over your head until you touch your butt with the towl (palms facing away from your body) then raise them back the way you came And until your reach the startin point, that's 1.

Work your way up to 50 reps and do it before bed. I'd say all try this before dropping tons on doctors visits (unless you have good insurance) you've been living with the problem for years, another month won't kill you, IMO.

Cissus is good stuff too, took a bottle for it to work but after that I was feeling pretty good. "blasts" so to speak seem'd to help if anything flared or if I missed a few doses (as long as I stated consistent) I took the usplabs CissusRX, 2 caps/ day. Am & Pm bumpd to 6 if it flared.

Hope that helps.

 

[BigAL46]

Did you see a sports doc? I was having issues with my right shoulder. Was thinking rotator. Turned out to be a bone spur on my color bone.

 

[AxPoz]

Thanks distiller water, the towel thing is a nice daily stretch. I havent seen a doc yet, I probably won't unless it suddenly worsens. The reason is because my "cast a wide net" strategy is working, been doing A LOT of shoulder rehab exercises for all sorts of injuries. As well as taking it easy in the gym. I guess pinpointing the problem isn't as important as long as its getting better!

 

[Bubbagump]

Im leaning toward bone spurs in my case. I tried the towel stretch and couldnt get my arms past the top of my head.

 

[napalm]

Im leaning toward bone spurs in my case. I tried the towel stretch and couldnt get my arms past the top of my head.

There's no way you can know for sure w/o an MRI. In my experience - with 5 shoulder surgeries behind me, bone spurs would be very unusual unless you broke your clavicle or something.

 

[ZiR RED]

There's no way you can know for sure w/o an MRI. In my experience - with 5 shoulder surgeries behind me, bone spurs would be very unusual unless you broke your clavicle or something.

Agreed. Not too mention they are terribly painful. Self diagnosis is IMO can be very detrimental.

 

[napalm]

Agreed. Not too mention they are terribly painful. Self diagnosis is IMO can be very detrimental.

i was thinking about this more on the way home. could also be calcification of the acromion-clavicular joint. i've had mine shaved down twice...

 

[AxPoz]

Im leaning toward bone spurs in my case. I tried the towel stretch and couldnt get my arms past the top of my head.

Oh wow, do you mean you can't get your arms over the top of your head at all, or while keeping your arms straight through out? I can do it, but I bend my arms quite a bit as my shoulder rotates at the top. It still helps, also I think it depends on where you grab the towel and your starting hand separation.

 

[Bubbagump]

Oh wow, do you mean you can't get your arms over the top of your head at all, or while keeping your arms straight through out? I can do it, but I bend my arms quite a bit as my shoulder rotates at the top. It still helps, also I think it depends on where you grab the towel and your starting hand separation.

If I grab the towel at the very ends, I can get to just above my head to where the shoulder starts to rotate, right before my hands start to make the switch to facing rearward, then its too painful. Shoulders make grinding popping and clicking noises when I try. Hurts just as bad when I let my arms back down. Everything pops and clicks back in to place.

 

[TruthWalker]

Glad I found this thread! I've been having some probs with my left shoulder also. Popping/grinding and mild discomfort and pain. Going to take a week off from shoulder/overhead exercises and see if that helps. Also going to pick up some cissus. Thanks for the info guys

 

[vidapreta]

Glad I found this thread! I've been having some probs with my left shoulder also. Popping/grinding and mild discomfort and pain. Going to take a week off from shoulder/overhead exercises and see if that helps. Also going to pick up some cissus. Thanks for the info guys

shoulder problems suck:banghead:

 

[mw1]

Did you see a sports doc? I was having issues with my right shoulder. Was thinking rotator. Turned out to be a bone spur on my color bone.

I've had a spur as well and had to have surgery to rmove..not fun

OP i would highly recommend trying some SNS Cissus and NOW Topical Celadrin

 

[vidapreta]

I've had a spur as well and had to have surgery to rmove..not fun

OP i would highly recommend trying some SNS Cissus and NOW Topical Celadrin

In your opinion was the surgery worth it? Are you better off now then before?

 

[mw1]

In your opinion was the surgery worth it? Are you better off now then before?

Yes-2years after the surgery i can say im alot better off . The recovery(&pain) from the surgery was a bit more than i anticipated though

 

[vidapreta]

Yes-2years after the surgery i can say im alot better off . The recovery(&pain) from the surgery was a bit more than i anticipated though

It took 2 years to recover??:yikes:

 

[mw1]

It took 2 years to recover??:yikes:

No but it did take about 6-8 months for strength and mobility to get back to normal. Obe problem i had was my right shoulder definitely had more strength than left which messed up my form for a lot of exercises

 

[vidapreta]

No but it did take about 6-8 months for strength and mobility to get back to normal. Obe problem i had was my right shoulder definitely had more strength than left which messed up my form for a lot of exercises

Day to Day,Are you pain free??

 

[mw1]

Day to Day,Are you pain free??

Not totally but definitely more productive post surgery.

 

[alexy89]

Bench press is nortorious for causing shoulder issues, it's hard to say what you have done without any orthopedic tests or diagnostics, you may also want to consider the anterior glenohumeral joint capsule itself, may be a tear or sprain of this. It may be a good idea to do some tests with your doctor or physical therapist for peace of mind, you don't have to commit to there treatment but atleast you can be more specific in your approach to your shoulder issue.

 

[CDack]

Go to youtube and search for californiacrossfit the guy has a rediclous amount of videos on shoulder problems. His videos and ones that show some ART have done wonders for me. Check for tight pecs, biceps, mid back, lats. I was tight and had knotts in all but the bicep. Just remember no pain face...

 

[loganchristop]

Get some glucosamine in and don't do exercises that hurt your shoulders !

 

[vidapreta]

and don't do exercises that hurt your shoulders !

Which is all upper body exercises.:rofl:

 

[vidapreta]

Which is all upper body exercises.:rofl:

On the bright side, our legs are gonna get huge.:beerchug:

 

[TruthWalker]

shoulder problems suck:banghead:

Yeah they do. I'm also going to pay closer attention to form, and I looked up some guidelines on self-rehabbing rotator cuff injuries thanks to this thread...so hopefully in a few weeks I will be back up to par

 

[AxPoz]

Mod edit. Review the rules. Thank you.

 

[PrimiFit]

Improving the mobility and strength of my rotator cuffs helped me a lot. Also regulating the volume for upper body work and choosing painless exercises. Turkish get ups are great for shoulders.

 

[newbreed]

Improving the mobility and strength of my rotator cuffs helped me a lot. Also regulating the volume for upper body work and choosing painless exercises. Turkish get ups are great for shoulders.

Same here. Also warming up properly and I credit Super Cissus because it started to improve a couple weeks after I started taking it.

 

[PrimiFit]

Same here. Also warming up properly and I credit Super Cissus because it started to improve a couple weeks after I started taking it.

Good point . Warming up is important for me too. I even do very short stretches (1-5 seconds) between sets.