Thought I had a shoulder problem...but now not sure...
After a little bit of a layoff (3-4 months), I've been back in the gym for around 6 weeks now, mostly working on compound movements. I'm 40 years old and I train more for strength than hypertrophy.
Wednesday morning, I was catching a snatch (not very heavy) in the full squat position. It felt like the bar drifted just a little too far backwards. I did not lose the lift, mostly because the weight was not very heavy. But I did feel a searing pain that I thought was in my shoulder. Now I'm not sure if it is the back of my rotator cuff muscles or my lat, but it hurts!
Whenever I read about shoulder injuries, I always hear that pulls shouldn't be a problem...but pressing movements can be painful and set a person back. So I worked out again today, but I figured that I'd do my pulls and avoid pressing movements.
I was incredibly surprised to find that I can do pressing movements as long as my elbows are in. I can bench or do military presses with a fairly narrow grip. But I can NOT do bent rows at all. I can not do pullups. I can not do dips, either, for some reason.
OK...here is the c-and-p
1. When did the pain begin? Wednesday morning.
2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time? Catching a full squat snatch.
3. Where, anatomically, is the pain? Back of my shoulder or lat...can't really tell...maybe even scapular.
4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting? It's pretty sharp and stabbing.
5. Is the pain constant, or intermittent, or only on certain motions? Only on certain motions.
6. What motions make your pain worse? Putting on a shirt. Anything overhead unless my elbow is close to my body.
7. What, if anything, makes your pain better? Avoiding pullups and rows!
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, rows, reaching overhead away from my body.
10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences? Ah...see #11...this is a good point that I forgot to mention above!
11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how?
ACTUALLY, back in September, I noticed some pain in this area before I took a break from lifting (for other reasons). Now that you mention it.
12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period?
I don't know that it really improved much at all, even with 3-4 months of rest. It didn't get worse, though.
One other point that is probably important...I definitely have some shoulder mobility issues that might play into this. I really have not studied what a shoulder should or should not be able to do, but I know that when I try to touch my hands behind my back (one over the shoulder), I can not even come CLOSE. I've also noticed that when I do push presses or military presses, the weight is NOT directly over my ears unless I try very hard to move it back. Generally, when I'm working overhead, the weights drift forward. I'd guess I have both internal AND external rotation issues...but I don't know.
But dammit...when people have shoulder issues, usually pullups and rows are things they CAN do! For me....OUCHY!
Oh, and, yes, I know I tend to sleep with my arm overhead.
I really do appreciate any input on this. Feel free to chastise me for being an idiot for years and not dealing with shoulder mobility until it really hurt me.
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