Shoulder issue

[Mumbles01]

Ok so about 2-3 weeks ago I noticed a major issue with my left shoulder. But I can't pin point when exactly it began because it seemed to happen over night but here's the situation...

So as I said about 2-3 weeks ago It was arms day. Typical warm up with 20lb curls to get the blood flowing. Except this time at about the 10th curl with my left arm all a studded I noticed I had to lean into the curl to get it up. Which is very unusual beings as I can curl 50lb DB for 10 reps
Since that day my left shoulder/arm hasn't been the same at all. I can manage 35lb DB but only for a few reps with my left arm mean while my right seem perfectly fine.
Was wondering if anybody could possible tell me if this is simply just a tear in the muscle or what's going on.

Here's a few things I've noticed.
-it does not hurt or bother me at all through out the day, only when I start working out.
-using DB for curls affects it. But using a preacher curl machine doesn't.
-at first 20lb DB were max at 10 reps 3 weeks later I can manage 35's (maybe it's healing?)

Anywhoo if you got some ideas to shoot my way it would be appreciated. I really don't want to pay. A doctor to tell me to 'let it rest'.

 

[Gutterpump]

I'd go see a shoulder specialist/surgeon, or even a physical therapist. They will do some physical tests and can likely diagnose you in their office.

 

[RegisterJr]

I'd go see a shoulder specialist/surgeon, or even a physical therapist. They will do some physical tests and can likely diagnose you in their office.

^^ This.

In the meantime, stop doing things that irritate it. Even if it's healing on it's own you're slowing that process and may make yourself more likely to re-damage it in the future.

Keep us updated.

 

[turff49]

A chiropractor may be cheaper and should be able to diagnose. Preferably a sports minded one.
Does it bother you on lateral raises or on bench pressing?

 

[YouBet33]

Don't waste time at the chiropractor, get straight to a specialist! Trust me I've made that mistake. Anytime I've pissed off my shoulder (one of the four labrum tears I've had)just rest until you see a true orthopedic doc, you don't want to make it any worse, it's not fun...

 

[turff49]

Don't waste time at the chiropractor, get straight to a specialist! Trust me I've made that mistake. Anytime I've pissed off my shoulder (one of the four labrum tears I've had)just rest until you see a true orthopedic doc, you don't want to make it any worse, it's not fun...

If it's only bothering him on curls and not "any" other movements it sounds more like a bicep issue. As for chiro's I typically agree unless you find one who is well versed in sports. Ortho's typically want to do injections, prescribe meds or do surgery. Been there done that.

 

[Gutterpump]

Yup, could be a bicep issue, could be tendinitis, might even be the labrum. The bicep tendon attaches to the labrum in the shoulder. A shoulder specialist will be your best bet.

Hopefully you can get away with some physical therapy for it.

 

[feather319]

Does it hurt to overhead press? I messed up my shoulder and pushed through the pain week after week. I would not recommend that. I have a micro labral tear with tendonosis in the supraspinatus and infraspinatus. My pain is similar to your when trying to do curls. It could be your bicep tendon or one of rotator cuff tendons. As everyone mentioned above and stop using it. Let it heal before you further damage it. It is hard to do mentally but worth it in the end.

 

[Mumbles01]

Thanks for the feed back fellas. I really appreciate the feed back. Though I should say it doesn't actually hurt. Like to the point where I actually feel enough pain to quit. What ever the issue is simply causes my left arm to basically give out. Like there's no power behind it. It's more of a bother then a actual pain I guess I could say. Something similar to temporary muscle failure. Just a WHOLE lot quicker then it should happen.
To answer a few of you questions with the above stated..
Yes it bothers me during lateral raises. I can barely get 20 lb DB up more then a few times with my left arm,
For over head press if feel like if I bring the DB down to a full press I can hardly get it back up again so I've been half assing my left arm.
On bench press I haven't noticed it at all.

I guess letting it rest is about my only option right now beings as I have no health insurance or money to spare on a specialist. Just sucks because I typically hit the gym 6 days a week. Leg day it is I guess! Lol FML.

Thanks again for the feed back guys!

 

[kjetil1234]

Exactly where is the pain, and what part of the moment aggrevates it? Sounds like it could be humeral anterior glide syndrome. However it should hurt in other exercises too.

 

[Mumbles01]

It's mainly in my deltoid area. But like I said it's not really a pain. More of a bothersome weakness. Feels like there's no power behind it when ever I do certain exercises.

 

[Bchesney]

Have you tried using Voodoo floss? Rogue sells some for pretty cheap. Its my go to remedy for stiffness and increased mobility.

 

[kjetil1234]

It's mainly in my deltoid area. But like I said it's not really a pain. More of a bothersome weakness. Feels like there's no power behind it when ever I do certain exercises.

Possibly TIS (triangular internal syndrome). It's impingement of the axial nerve, which controls the deltoid. If you feel SIGNIFICANTLY weak in the deltoid, this is definitely plausible.

The axial nerve may impinge between the teres major, teres minor and long tricep head. This sometimes happen when the subscapularis is weak or inhibited, as the above mentioned muscles need to compensate and get over worked and tight. May lead to RC tears, TIS and similiar.

My suggestion. Stretch lats, teres maj, teres min and long tricep head.

STRENGTHEN the subscapularis. You should be able to get 8 rep at around 13-14% of your max bench in internal rotation, and 10% in external.

With a 315 bench that'd be 8x42lbs internal and 31 external rotations.

The mobility work should be both stretching and deep massage. I had clients with this issue before, and doing trigger point release of the posterior shoulder (teres min maj) yielded immediate relief of the nerve.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mumbles01]

Just got done at the gym after 2 straight days off (drive me nuts) and things seem on the up. Though I didn't go heavy by any means the overall feel of the work out was great. I did 30lb DB curls for sets of 10 which is way more then I was doing when this problem initially occurred.

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll keep this all in mind just incase things take a turn for the worse at some point.
Going to hit legs tomorrow to give it another day of rest.

 

[TeamTGB]

Possibly TIS (triangular internal syndrome). It's impingement of the axial nerve, which controls the deltoid. If you feel SIGNIFICANTLY weak in the deltoid, this is definitely plausible.

The axial nerve may impinge between the teres major, teres minor and long tricep head. This sometimes happen when the subscapularis is weak or inhibited, as the above mentioned muscles need to compensate and get over worked and tight. May lead to RC tears, TIS and similiar.


My suggestion. Stretch lats, teres maj, teres min and long tricep head.

STRENGTHEN the subscapularis. You should be able to get 8 rep at around 13-14% of your max bench in internal rotation, and 10% in external.

With a 315 bench that'd be 8x42lbs internal and 31 external rotations.

The mobility work should be both stretching and deep massage. I had clients with this issue before, and doing trigger point release of the posterior shoulder (teres min maj) yielded immediate relief of the nerve.

Hope this helps.

This is good info, i was recruited by the rockies outta high school for pitching, and alot of shoulder problems can come from being to tight, get on a good stretching routine and you should see great improvements after a few weeks.

 

[mj40069]

Sounds like bicep tendinitis, but you should consult a professional.

 

[STEELCITY]

I am actually also dealing with a shoulder issue as we speak. Tomorrow is the 5th straight week I am going to my chiropractor. I usually go once every 5-6 weeks but since I've had this issue I've been going once a week. It does depend on the chiropractor too guys. My chiropractor was also a massage therapist so he's really has been explaining my shoulder issue to me. He's been doing a lot of "cross-fiber massaging" to my shoulder. It hurts like a b!tch when he does it but the whole purpose of it is to get the blood flowing in there. He does 3-4 minutes of ultrasound to it prior to the massage. Another critical thing is like some of the people pointed out. Rest it, rest it and rest it!!! It is CRITICAL to not make it worse. I've been letting it recover and another very important key is to try and ice it 3-4x a day. In my case there is inflammation. The shoulder is very delicate. Up until this injury, I never understood how complicated the shoulder really is. Top it all off. It wasn't even an injury that occurred. I spoke with a friend of the family who is a doctor and I asked him "how the hell did this happen to me?" and he said, "...it was probably a slow incurring injury." Just a build up over the years.

I remember when I went to see my chiropractor he asked me "where does it hurt?" and I honestly told him, "I don't know". It's a dull pain but the way he pinpointed it out in my case was pretty cool. If you want to pinpoint it here's what you should do. First have someone to help you. You'll need that persons hand as a form of resistance. In my case, my chiropractor had me laying flat on my back on the chiropractic bench and he had me raise my arm straight to the ceiling with my hand open. He put his hand out by mine and he asked me to push his hand forward. I felt no pain. Then he put his hand by my knuckles and he said "push my hand with your knuckles" and again no pain. Then he put his hand to the left and right sides of my hand. I pushed left and right. Again, no pain. But when he tested me at a diagonal push...that's when I felt it. Your palm stays in the same direction the whole time. You do not adjust your palm with that persons hand. When he pinpointed my problem it was when he tested my resistance between the back hand push and the left push that I did. Perfect way to put it...Picture doing a military style salute...my hand going in that direction pointed out what part of my shoulder was in that dull pain. Overall he tested my shoulder through (8) pushes. He did the front, back, left, right and all of the diagonal pushes between.

I don't know what kind of shoulder injury you have. But to summarize my book report in a few easy steps, here goes:

1) Pinpoint your shoulder injury through the above test

2) Rest your shoulder/do not aggravate it (I haven't been to the gym in 6 weeks)

3) Ice it 3-4x a day because it can be inflammation

4) Use resistance bands to strengthen your rotator cuff in the meantime <<<forgot to mention this

 

[dbrock504]

Ya sounds like bicep tendinitis. I have it too. Went to a chiro weeks back. Had some work done and rest for 2 weeks. Came back in benching more than I have in months. Stay away from any heavy pressing or heavy curling for now.

 

[compudog]

Curls are dangerous and injury prone IMO. If you can curl a 35 lb dumbbell you can probably row a 55 or 60 lb dumbbell. Same bicep muscle lifting the weight, but it's more efficient and safer too. So you might drop the curls & switch to rows for a while. I bet after a few weeks you'll forget you were injured.

 

[dbrock504]

Curls are dangerous and injury prone IMO. If you can curl a 35 lb dumbbell you can probably row a 55 or 60 lb dumbbell. Same bicep muscle lifting the weight, but it's more efficient and safer too. So you might drop the curls & switch to rows for a while. I bet after a few weeks you'll forget you were injured.

Completely agree.