Potential shoulder injury

[The Cavalier]

Okay, I've done a cursory search and can't find anything on this specifically.  Apolgoies if I missed something obvious.  I was doing some heavy bag cardio a week ago and suddenly my right shoulder began to hurt.  I've continued my work outs as it doesn't seem to impeded any of the pushups, situps et al I'm doing.  However, I inadvertently did a forward shoulder roll after finishing some stretching and now it seems to be worse.  I explored it a little and it seems okay, though aches, when I do pushups but if I try to ease my self to the floor wtih just my right arm, the shoulder hurts and gives out.  Is this indicitive of a muscle injury or something more like a meniscal or ligament injury?  To complicate things I don't have any money or insurance to trott off to the doctor and investigate.  Any suggestions are helpful but if the bottom line is 'go to the doctor' that will have to wait for now.  Thanks in advance.

[cianalas]

(Disclaimer, not a doctor and all that)
Shoulders are really complicated.  As a general rule, I've heard if you can do exercises without causing more pain, you can continue those.  Also, if it continues to be a sharp pain (esp. keeping you from sleeping) for more than a couple days, or if it lasts for several weeks it needs to be seen by a doctor.

Most of the treatments short of surgery are the same though, don't do anything that hurts, take NSAIDs, and ice for the first few days to reduce inflammation.  Do heat after to help with recovery. If you've got someone to aid in putting it on, taping the shoulder can help keep it from hurting as much during activity.

[The Cavalier]

I put Tiger Balm on it yesterday and it seems to feel better today (love that stuff).  I've decided to alter my workout for at least the coming week and shift all exercise to legs and core leaving my arms out if at all possible.  Let's see if some rest is helpful? Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

[PaulG]

(Disclaimer, not a doctor and all that)

Shoulders are really complicated.  As a general rule, I've heard if you can do exercises without causing more pain, you can continue those.  Also, if it continues to be a sharp pain (esp. keeping you from sleeping) for more than a couple days, or if it lasts for several weeks it needs to be seen by a doctor.

Most of the treatments short of surgery are the same though, don't do anything that hurts, take NSAIDs, and ice for the first few days to reduce inflammation.  Do heat after to help with recovery. If you've got someone to aid in putting it on, taping the shoulder can help keep it from hurting as much during activity.

 

^ This.

 

cianalas is totally correct. A doctor would able to tell you which muscles are strained, but not with 100% surety -- not much more than you could do for free with an anatomy textbook or a few Mwods. But one way or another, a doctor would just tell you to rest, use RICE and NSAIDS, and come back if something more serious happens. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're contemplating the bill), doctors don't have magic bullets for muscle strains, which is more than likely what this is.

 

Unfortunately all we can suggest is rest and mobility. Sounds like you're doing things right by giving your shoulder a week off. Incidentally, I strained my left shoulder a little last week and I'm doing the same thing. By moving it through a few ranges of motion, I was able to isolate it as (probably) strained external rotators. Massaging the backs of my shoulders around the external rotators has helped a bunch. I'm not sure how you feel about mobility stuff but I've found it to be very helpful for complaining muscles.

[The Cavalier]

Don't know what 'mobility stuff' is.  Please expand...

[cianalas]

Flexibility stuff.  Here's a good resource.
http://www.mobilitywod.com/
 

There's also things like Indian Clubs, yoga, etc. that you can do.  It'll strengthen all the small the supporting muscles and can help fix muscle imbalances that cause pain/ limit your range of motion.

[The Cavalier]

I'm familiar with how yoga works but through the I Chin Ching exercises from Tai Chi.  I'll have to select some of those and fit them into the work out.

[Waldo]

You might find this video series useful:

[PaulG]

Don't know what 'mobility stuff' is. Please expand...

Cianalas just tapped my main resource for mobility exercises. "Mobility" is a set of exercises of movements that increase mobility of your joints, muscles and other tissues, either through traditional stretching or another method. I highly recommend it, because if you've got shoulder pain, you're likely missing flexibility in a certain part of your shoulder. Stretching or other mobility work will help you gain that flexibility and avoid further injury.

It's tough to go into more detail about your shoulder specifically without knowing in what ranges of motion or during what movements it hurts.

[161803398874989]

I disagree with pretty much everyone in this thread. Saying "it's probably just a muslce strain" based on no information whatsoever and pertaining to shoulder pain of all things. That's just... I have no words for that.

 

Paul, you are immensely generalizing, and suggesting that you can do as good as a doc with just an anatomy textbook and a few mwod is dumb. There are a million potential pathologies that can cause shoulder pain, and the value of a doctor is that he (or she) can consider your specific case, perform passive range of motion tests. The doctor is an expert eye, and your untrained eye will certainly miss a lot of fine details.

 

Rest it for a week. See if it still hurts. If it does, see a doc. <-- My advice for every pain ever.

[PaulG]

I disagree with pretty much everyone in this thread. Saying "it's probably just a muslce strain" based on no information whatsoever and pertaining to shoulder pain of all things. That's just... I have no words for that.

 

Paul, you are immensely generalizing, and suggesting that you can do as good as a doc with just an anatomy textbook and a few mwod is dumb. There are a million potential pathologies that can cause shoulder pain, and the value of a doctor is that he (or she) can consider your specific case, perform passive range of motion tests. The doctor is an expert eye, and your untrained eye will certainly miss a lot of fine details.

 

Rest it for a week. See if it still hurts. If it does, see a doc. <-- My advice for every pain ever.

 

You're going kind of overboard on this one. Especially given that "pretty much everyone on this thread" already gave the same advice you did.

 

I brought in the concept of mobility because it helps.  Can I diagnose someone else's pain over the internet? Of course not. None of us are presuming to give qualified medical advice. We're on a fitness forum. All we can do is relate what has worked for us. And I don't know what doctor you see, but my experience has been that if you go in saying something has been hurting for less than a week, most doctors send you home with a prescription for ibuprofen and a large bill (especially the ones an uninsured person, like the OP mentioned he was, generally has access to). After a week or so, yes, it's time to see a doctor -- and if I or anyone else on the thread missed anything, it was not spelling that out as clearly as you did.

 

But sorry, that's all I'm going to give you there. Don't assume we're being irresponsible when we offer a few problem-solving tools along with the same advice everyone gives for exercise-related pain. It just makes you look like you're gunning for a fruitless and ridiculous argument.

[The Cavalier]

I have been around long enough to know my body and how to treat minor issues on my own.  I handle common ailments with over the counter remedies that take care of the typical aches, pains, and coughs.  I think it's a little reactionary to suggest going to the doctor everytime something hurts.  Yes, I get that a qualified doctor can get to the heart of the issue more rapidly.  Yes, I also understand we are on a fitness forum and no one here is a qualified doctor and I don't expect them to be nor am I holding anyone (but myself) accountable for what advice I do or do not take.  I'm looking for input/advice and I'm getting it including your suggestion that I do to a doctor straight away, for which I am grateful.  I'm going to take a week off from arm/upper body work and see where I am, then I'll move forward.

[The Cavalier]

I have isolated the issue and I believe it IS a muscle issue.  With my right arm straight, I can lift a weight up to shoulder height relatively pain free iwth my palm facing upward.  If I rotate my hand 90 degrees counter clockwise with my palm perpendicular to the floor, I experience some pain in that muscle running from my neck to my deltoid over my colar bone.  I also experience some loss of strength.  If I do the same motion with my palm turned down toward the floor, I experience a great deal of pain in that same area and cannot lift the weight.  Sucks so much because I was very psyched for this challange and now I'm out for a couple weeks.   I'm going to walk on the treadmill for the duration of my workout just to keep the calorie burn going but the muscle building is out for now

[161803398874989]

That sucks, man. Hope you get better soon!

[Vintage]

I agree with the "rest it a bit and if it doesn't get better see a doctor."

 

I will also say that the bulletproof shoulders protocol has worked wonders for me for creating more stability in my shoulders. You can find tutorials on youtube. 

[The Cavalier]

Well, resting it since Thursday til today (Monday) made it feel tons better. I've been taking ibuprophine as often as I can remember.  It is still very weak and tender though.  Just reaching for a ball on the ground in the wrong way set the pain off.  Unfortunately, my job is to load and unload trailers for an events company so I have to work it somewhat this week, though I will be protecting it as much as possible.