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chaddukes · 02-11-2009, 07:54 PM

Note: I apologize if this is something that has been answered in the past. I searched but didn't find an answer that I could apply to my situation....not saying that it's not out there...just didn't see it. Also, I posted this same question on the Fitcast Forums as well, but this site seems to have more traffic. I was hoping to get an answer that might point me in the right direction......

Now, on to the question.

I've been having some issues with my left shoulder recently. It isn't in agonizing pain. But, it is a bit tender when I make certain movements.

Here is a little history. I injured my shoulder years ago during a collision from playing Rugby. It was the third injury that I'd had that year. After that I stopped playing sports, stopped working out, and basically stopped being concerned about my fitness. At the time I didn't have health insurance and it didn't immediately hurt worse than any other strain, or pull that I'd had in the past. So, I didn't go see a doctor. But, it never seemed to get better. Months later I couldn't lift my arm to parallel to the ground. That was the same time that I started playing a lot of guitar; three to four hours per day, every day. I'm not sure that the guitar playing has anything to do with this, but it does put your left shoulder in a weird position as you drop your elbow to your side and outwardly rotate your upper arm. I played like this for several years.

Now, about 12 years later, I'm back in the gym and I'm noticing some issues with that same shoulder. It hasn't caused any real difficulties yet, but I want to try to catch it and be proactive rather than waiting for an injury to cause me a serious setback. I've talked to a couple of doctors about this and have had an x-ray. There is no bone damage. The doctor didn't think that it was significant enough to warrant seeing a PT and told me to come back if it continued to get worse.

So, whats the issue? Two things. Upward rows hurt. Of course, as soon as I realized that I stopped doing them. But, even holding my left arm (with no weight) in that position that you see at the top of an upward row hurts. The pain is somewhere near the shoulder blade. There is also a bit of clicking in my shoulder, but it is pretty minor. Second, I do a lot of leg raises at the dip station/knee raise machine. I have real trouble supporting my weight while suspended in the air. My shoulders, specifically the left one, seems to give out before my abs do. I can't make progress there because I can't stay up there long enough to really stress my abs. At first I thought that I was just weak and that it would improve with time. But, 12 weeks later I find that I am much stronger in everything else, but still can't seem to support my body weight in that hanging knee raise position on the dip station.

Any ideas what my particular brand of dysfunction is?

02-11-2009, 07:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
chaddukes Will Deadlift for Food! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Maryland Posts: 884	What is this shoulder issue? Note: I apologize if this is something that has been answered in the past. I searched but didn't find an answer that I could apply to my situation....not saying that it's not out there...just didn't see it. Also, I posted this same question on the Fitcast Forums as well, but this site seems to have more traffic. I was hoping to get an answer that might point me in the right direction...... Now, on to the question. I've been having some issues with my left shoulder recently. It isn't in agonizing pain. But, it is a bit tender when I make certain movements. Here is a little history. I injured my shoulder years ago during a collision from playing Rugby. It was the third injury that I'd had that year. After that I stopped playing sports, stopped working out, and basically stopped being concerned about my fitness. At the time I didn't have health insurance and it didn't immediately hurt worse than any other strain, or pull that I'd had in the past. So, I didn't go see a doctor. But, it never seemed to get better. Months later I couldn't lift my arm to parallel to the ground. That was the same time that I started playing a lot of guitar; three to four hours per day, every day. I'm not sure that the guitar playing has anything to do with this, but it does put your left shoulder in a weird position as you drop your elbow to your side and outwardly rotate your upper arm. I played like this for several years. Now, about 12 years later, I'm back in the gym and I'm noticing some issues with that same shoulder. It hasn't caused any real difficulties yet, but I want to try to catch it and be proactive rather than waiting for an injury to cause me a serious setback. I've talked to a couple of doctors about this and have had an x-ray. There is no bone damage. The doctor didn't think that it was significant enough to warrant seeing a PT and told me to come back if it continued to get worse. So, whats the issue? Two things. Upward rows hurt. Of course, as soon as I realized that I stopped doing them. But, even holding my left arm (with no weight) in that position that you see at the top of an upward row hurts. The pain is somewhere near the shoulder blade. There is also a bit of clicking in my shoulder, but it is pretty minor. Second, I do a lot of leg raises at the dip station/knee raise machine. I have real trouble supporting my weight while suspended in the air. My shoulders, specifically the left one, seems to give out before my abs do. I can't make progress there because I can't stay up there long enough to really stress my abs. At first I thought that I was just weak and that it would improve with time. But, 12 weeks later I find that I am much stronger in everything else, but still can't seem to support my body weight in that hanging knee raise position on the dip station. Any ideas what my particular brand of dysfunction is?