Shoulder trouble

[milkman21]

A little shoulder trouble...

When did the pain begin?
I was on the pull-up bars with a wide grip, and I was going to do L-Pull-ups. I brought my legs up and began to pull, and it felt like something in my right shoulder near the top began to wrench.

Where, anatomically, is the pain?
The pain is in my right shoulder, I'd say near the area of the supraspinatus (top and interior portion of the shoulder--certainly not an anterior or posterior injury)

What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting?
The pain is rather dull, but is noticeable in a shoulder press movement, and sore near the top 45 degrees of movement once the arm goes above parallel.

What motions make your pain worse?
Overhead movement.

I've never had any injuries in this area, and I'm not thinking that this one is terribly severe... but it's enough to make me wonder if I did any damage. I've obviously taken a few days off the shoulder and overhead movements, and things do appear to be improving. Does anyone have any ideas/prescriptions for handling this minor injury?

[UConnJulie]

A picture would help me a bit in locating where exactly you mean ...

Are you icing?

[milkman21]

Thanks Julie.

I was basing my comments before on this image:



According to that picture, the area that hurts is marked as the supraspinatus.

Anyway... yea, I've been icing, and laying off the overhead movments entirely. It's already feeling quite a lot better, but I can still tell something is wrong with it. I feel it most noticeably when I get my arms into a streamline position for swimming. (I'm not swimming any more, but just giving this as a reference to describe where/when it hurts)

[UConnJulie]

OK, that's end-range elevation ... you probably had a moment of impingement or even a mild strain. Keep icing it and avoiding overhead movements. When it's painfree, start with some isolated rotator cuff strengthening like external rotations and empty cans.

How's your thoracic mobility and scapular stabilization for prevention of recurrence purposes?

[milkman21]

Thanks again Julie.

Thoracic mobility and scapular stability are both relative strong points for me. I've got a good deal of natural (or perhaps trained) mobility from years of swimming, plus I've worked hard to overcome postural imbalances (e.g. eliminated the pronation I used to have with my shoulders).

I think I am ready for some external rotation and some minor "rehab" work. Would face pulls and other horizontal rows be appropriate as well?

[UConnJulie]

Absolutely ... just start light!!