Nagging shoulder pain
I'm hoping to get some advice about an old shoulder injury. It's a heck of a lot better than it was, but sometimes I get very frustrated.
I consulted a physiotherapist after the injury who said it was "neural strain with adaptive typing of the shoulder girdle muscles". The treatment was to back off lifting for a few weeks, specific stretching and patience. The injury was definitely caused by overtraining - since then I have changed my routine and do a thorough warm-up using some of the exercises from the "Inside Out" DVD, including some foam rolling, before lifting.
Since I took up boxing a few weeks ago, I have started strength/cardio circuit training twice a week on non-boxing days. I now box three days a week. I figured my shoulders get enough punishment from hitting the heavy bag, so I stopped doing shoulder presses (the physiotherapist said shoulder presses were a bit iffy). The only upper body strength exercises I do at the moment are flat bench presses, lateral pulldowns and cable crossovers. My boxing classes include a lot of pushups and sometimes dips.
1. When did the pain begin?
18 months ago.
2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time?
Upper body strength training
3. Where, anatomically, is the pain?
Usually at the very bottom of my right shoulder blade, although it moves around to my traps and sometimes the top of my shoulder and upper arm.
4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting?
A sharp twinge at the bottom of my right shoulder blade, followed by a dull ache throughout my upper back, right trap, top of shoulder and upper arm.
5. Is the pain constant, or intermittent, or only on certain motions?
Intermittent
6. What motions make your pain worse?
Decline bench presses. (I've stopped doing those). Sometimes on the first set of flat benches I'll get a painful twinge at the very bottom of my right shoulder blade, and a limited range of motion throughout my right shoulder and arm. I'll really struggle on the first set, but the second set will be fine and I'll feel really strong.
7. What, if anything, makes your pain better?
Foam rolling, Chi Gong (sometimes produces loud cracking noises from my shoulder and spine), massage.
8. Does your pain radiate to any other part of your body?
Top of shoulders, traps, upper arms
9. What things could you do before, that you cannot do now because of your injury?
Decline bench presses. (Too scared to try incline bench presses since the injury.)
10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences?
That it's affecting my boxing, and that I'll lose strength.
11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how?
Several years ago I had shoulder impingement from benching, but the pain only lasted for a week.
12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period?
No. The pain is now very minor compared to what it was when I originally injured myself, but still occurs often enough to be upsetting and frustrating.
Any advice would be appreciated. Maybe I should stop benching, but with the limited time I now have for strength training, I'm scared of losing strength.
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