[xanderd]

1. When did the pain begin?
About 1.5 weeks ago

2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time?
Gradually over time. I suspect it was a heavier than normal dumbell bench press that caused it, but no sudden pain or injury during the exercise

3. Where, anatomically, is the pain?
on the top of the shoulder, on the shoulder seam of a T shirt. towards the outside of the deltoid cap.

4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting?
aching and sharp upon certain movements

5. Is the pain constant, or intermittent, or only on certain motions?
worse if i actually use the shoulder and better on rest.
hurts somehwat to press in hard with my finger on a very small area-a sharp pain.

6. What motions make your pain worse?
Hurts to move my arm diagonally up and outside (full flexion&abduction)

7. What, if anything, makes your pain better?
total rest

8. Does your pain radiate to any other part of your body?
no

9. What things could you do before, that you cannot do now because of your injury?
pullups, bench press and other strain on the shoulder

10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences?
the length of time it will take to heal and leave me unable to train. Additionally, will it simply heal itself if I rest or do i need special treatment...its already been nearly 2 weeks

11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how?
no

12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period?
no - only worse if i use the shoulder

additional info:

Empty can (tinny) test: Hold your arm out straight in front of you with the thumb facing downwards. Raise and lower the arm (as if emptying a can!). Pain indicates injury to the Supraspinatus muscle or tendon.

hurts quite a lot!


Neer's Test: With your arm straight out in front and the thumb pointing downwards the practitioner with passively raise your arm above your head (if it will go this far pain free!). A positive test indicates an rotator cuff impingement.
full range and hardly any pain

Hawkin's Test: This is a more sensitive test for impingement than Neer's test. The practitioner will place the arm at 90 degrees of flexion and internal rotation (thumb pointing downwards) and then bend the elbow. They may then get you to push your arm upwards against resistance.
hurts

Gerber's Lift-off Test: Place the back of you hand on the lower back. Try to then lift the hand off the lower back Pain and difficulty in this movement indicates a tear of the subscapularis muscle. No pain but a complete lack in movement indicates a complete rupture.
no problems doing this

Drop-Arm Test: Fully abduct your arm so that you lift it out to the side and above the head. Then slowly and with a controlled motion return it back to your side. Difficulty in producing a smooth movement (with the arm 'dropping' back to the side) and pain on returning the arm back to the side indicate Supraspinatus muscle injury.
no problems

Apprehension Test: The practitioner ask you to lay down and will passively abduct your arm to 90 degrees with the elbow bent. They will then externally rotate the shoulder. The apprehension test is positive if this feels uncomfortable or as if the shoulder will pop out of the socket. Anyone who has recently had an anterior dislocation of the shoulder joint or has anterior instability will find this position uncomfortable.
difficult to do on my own but seems fine when passively rotating my arm out against a wall

Crank Test: The arm is abducted to 90 degrees with the elbow also bent to 90. The practitioner pushes on the elbow, pushing the humeral head further into the joint whilst rotating the shoulder. A positive test is painful and indicates glenoid labrum injury.
hard to do properly but seems fine

Yergasons Test: With the elbow bent to approximately 90 degrees and the palm facing down the practitioner applies resistance as the patient turns the palm over and bends the elbow at the same time. Pain indicates tendonitis of the long head of biceps.
no probs